Meaning & use
Excalibur
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Meanings
proper nounproper
The famous magical sword of King Arthur in medieval British legend, often linked with his royal power.
Grammar: Always capitalized and used without 'a' or 'the' as a name: Arthur drew Excalibur.
Patterns
- draw Excalibur
- the legend of Excalibur
In one version of the legend, Arthur pulls Excalibur from a stone to prove he is the rightful king.
The children acted out the story, with a cardboard Excalibur raised high.
Excalibur is said to have been returned to a lake when Arthur died.
proper nounproperfigurative
A name given to a powerful or prized weapon, tool or thing, borrowing the legend's sense of ultimate strength.
Grammar: Used as a figurative name, often in games and brand-like contexts.
Patterns
- wield Excalibur
In the video game, players search for a rare blade called Excalibur.
He joked that his old red pen was the Excalibur of editing.
The team treated the new software as their Excalibur against the competition.
Common combinations
- draw Excalibur from the stone
- Only the true king could draw Excalibur from the stone.
- wield Excalibur
- The knight in the painting wields Excalibur with both hands.
- the sword Excalibur
- The sword Excalibur gleamed in the lake's morning light.
- the legend of Excalibur
- The legend of Excalibur has been retold in many films.
- the Lady of the Lake and Excalibur
- In some tellings, the Lady of the Lake gives Excalibur to Arthur.
Synonyms and how they differ
- Caliburn
- Caliburn is an older form of the name found in early texts, while Excalibur is the version most people know today.
- the sword in the stone
- This phrase refers to the test that proves Arthur's right to rule, and in many versions it names a different sword from Excalibur.
Word family
- Arthurian adjective
- relating to King Arthur and his legends
- Camelot proper noun
- Arthur's legendary court
- Caliburn proper noun
- an earlier form of the sword's name
Commonly confused: Excalibur or Excalibur and the sword in the stone?
Excalibur vs Excalibur and the sword in the stone
In some versions of the legend these are two different swords: Arthur takes one from a stone and later receives Excalibur from the Lady of the Lake.
Practice
In the legend, who is the owner of Excalibur?
Choose one answer.
Excalibur is King Arthur's sword. Lancelot is one of his knights, Merlin is his wizard, and Robin Hood belongs to a different legend.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “Excalibur”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.