estoc means A type of sword used from the 14th to the 17th century, characterized by a long, straight, edgeless, sharply pointed blade designed for penetrating mail or plate. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 89 out of 100.
Why “estoc” is a great word
A long, straight, edgeless, and sharply pointed sword designed for thrusting and penetrating plate armor. Its name derives from the Old French *estoc* ("point, thrust"), ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *stokōn* ("to push, thrust"). Unlike the versatile arming sword, which balanced cut and thrust for the melee, or the slender rapier, a civilian dueler's elegant probe, the estoc is a specialist of brutal, singular focus—a heavier, often two-handed spike of tempered steel. It is the screech of its needle point against plate, the unadorned geometry of its rigid blade, the two-handed heft required to drive its length through iron and padding. It speaks not of honor, but of a grim, practical calculus: how to kill a man who has become a fortress.
Etymology
From French estoc, ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *stokōn (“to push, thrust”); see there for more. Compare Middle English touk (“a sword”) (whence obsolete English tuck (“rapier, sword”)), Middle English stok(e) (“blow with a sword”) (both probably from Old French estoc).
noun
- A type of sword used from the 14th to the 17th century, characterized by a long, straight, edgeless, sharply pointed blade designed for penetrating mail or plate.