The Semispatha and the Saex

[Renatus]

The Dictionary Entry

sēmispathium, iī, n., eine kleine spatha, Veget. mil. 2, 15 u. 16. Isid. orig. 18, 6, 5.

The Translation

sēmispathium, iī, n., a small spatha, Veget. mil. 2, 15 & 16. Isid. orig. 18, 6, 5.

Thanks for that. Unfortunately, it does not take the argument much further. It cites the references that we know of already and, in fact, misrepresents them. Neither Vegetius nor Isidorus uses the word semispathium; the word that they both use is semispatium. Vegetius does not relate spatha and semispatium to each other; he describes them as differently-sized gladii - and we know what we think of Isidorus' etymology!

I am tempted into indulging in some cod-etymology of my own. My dictionary gives one of the meanings of spatium as 'size, dimension'. Applying this, semispatium could mean simply 'half-size'. There would be no need to say 'half-size what'; the soldier would know that. It need not be a half-size spatha.