Side sword - Outou

Japanese: 横刀 - おうとう

…A long sword. It is also written as Yokotana. The character "tachi" means "cutting off." …

From 【Long Sword】

…A long sword. It is also written as Yokotana. The character "tachi" means "cutting off." …

From 【Tachi】

…The distinctive feature of a tachi is that it is hung from the waist with the blade facing down, with a foot metal fitting on the sheath and an obitori strap attached. From the Nara period to the early Heian period, it was written as dai-tachi or yoko-tachi and read as tachi, but in later times it was usually written as tachi. The maker's signature on the blade is usually inscribed on the front of the sword, so even without the exterior, it can be easily distinguished from uchigatana, which are worn on the waist with the blade facing up. …

*Some of the terminology explanations that mention "yokoto" are listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

Japanese:

…長大な刀。横刀とも書く。〈たち〉は〈断ち〉の意味という。…

【大刀】より

…長大な刀。横刀とも書く。〈たち〉は〈断ち〉の意味という。…

【太刀】より

…鞘（さや）に足金物（あしがなもの）を設け，帯取（おびとり）の緒をつけて，刃を下に向けて腰につるすのを太刀の特色とする。奈良時代から平安時代の初期には大刀または横刀と書いて〈たち〉と読ませ，後世は太刀と書くのが常である。太刀身も作銘（さくめい）は佩表（はきおもて）に入れるのを常とするから，外装がなくとも，刃を上に向けて腰に差す打刀（うちがたな）の類とは容易に識別することができる。…

※「横刀」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について | 情報

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