Excalibur

noun

Ex·​cal·​i·​bur ek-ˈska-lə-bər How to pronounce Excalibur (audio)
: the sword of King Arthur

Word History

Etymology

Middle English Excalaber, from Anglo-French Escalibor, from Medieval Latin Caliburnus

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of Excalibur was in the 15th century

Rhymes for Excalibur

See All Rhymes for Excalibur

Browse Nearby Words

excalcarate
Excalibur
excamb
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Excalibur.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Excalibur. Accessed 13 May. 2025.

Copy Citation

Share

Kids Definition

Excalibur

noun
Ex·​cal·​i·​bur ek-ˈskal-ə-bər How to pronounce Excalibur (audio)
: King Arthur's sword

More from Merriam-Webster on Excalibur

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about Excalibur

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Using Bullet Points ( • )

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Words You Always Have to Look Up

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

Every Letter Is Silent, Sometimes: A-Z List of Examples
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments

Birds Say the Darndest Things

10 Words from Taylor Swift Songs (Merriam's Version)
See More

Popular

See More

Using Bullet Points ( • )

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
crayons-in-a-circle
Guess the Color Quiz Questions that use the whole box of crayons.
See All