Bayonet

A bayonet (from old French bayonette, now spelt baïonnette) is a knife, dagger, sword, or spike-shaped weapon designed to fit on the end of the muzzle of a rifle, carbine, musket or similar firearm, allowing it to be used as a spear-like weapon.^[1] The term is traditionally derived from Bayonne, the town in south-west France where bayonets were supposedly first used by Basques in the 17th century.^[2] From the early 17th to the early 20th century, it was a melee weapon used by infantry for offensive and/or defensive tactics. Today, it is considered an ancillary weapon or weapon of last resort, although it is still used for ceremonial purposes.

^ Brayley, Martin, Bayonets: An Illustrated History, Iola, WI: Krause Publications, ISBN 978-0-87349-870-8 (2004), pp. 9–10, 83–85.
^ J. Ayto, Dictionary of Word Origins, 1990

[BRA-1] Brayley, Martin, Bayonets: An Illustrated History, Iola, WI: Krause Publications, ISBN 978-0-87349-870-8 (2004), pp. 9–10, 83–85.

[2] J. Ayto, Dictionary of Word Origins, 1990

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