noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
Received-Pronunciation:/ˈkwɪlən/
Received-Pronunciation:/ˈkijɔ̃/following the French word
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
General-American:/ˈkwɪlən/
Received-Pronunciation:/ˈkwɪlənz/
Received-Pronunciation:/ˈkijɔ̃/following the French word, same as the singular
General-American:/ˈkwɪlənz/
CMU ARPABET:K W IH1 L AH0 N
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
Synonym of crossguard (“a metal bar fixed between, and at right angles to, the blade and the handle of a sword or other bladed weapon that stops an opponent's similar weapon from sliding along the blade and injuring the hand of the person wielding the sword”).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
Holonym: hilt
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: guard, crossguard
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
Either of the two arms of a crossguard.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: in-plural
Examples
Holonyms: crossguard, guard < hilt
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
History
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from French quillon (literally “little ninepin”), from quille (“club; ninepin, skittle”) (from the similar appearance) + -on (diminutive suffix). Quille is derived from Middle High German kegel (“club”), from Old High German kegil, from Proto-West Germanic *kagil (“pile, pole, stake; peg, pin”), from *kagō (“bush, shrub”) + *-il (diminutive suffix).
Across languages
Translations
15 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Albanian:
kullon
— synonym of crossguard (cognates) — see also crossguard
Assamese:
কুইলিয়ন
(kuilin)
— synonym of crossguard (cognates) — see also crossguard
Italian:
quillone
— synonym of crossguard (cognates) — see also crossguard
Japanese:
クィリオン
— synonym of crossguard (cognates) — see also crossguard
Mongolian:
квиллон
(kvillon)
— synonym of crossguard (cognates) — see also crossguard
Persian:
میلیارد
— synonym of crossguard (cognates) — see also crossguard
Polish:
jelec
— synonym of crossguard (cognates) — see also crossguard
Russian:
кильон
(kilʹon)
— synonym of crossguard (cognates) — see also crossguard
Serbo-Croatian:
kilon
— synonym of crossguard (cognates) — see also crossguard
Tajik:
килон
(kilon)
— synonym of crossguard (cognates) — see also crossguard
Thai:
ควิลเลียน
— synonym of crossguard (cognates) — see also crossguard
Tibetan:
ཁུ་ལི་ཡན།
(khu li yan)
— synonym of crossguard (cognates) — see also crossguard
Yiddish:
קוויליאָן
(kvilyon)
— synonym of crossguard (cognates) — see also crossguard
Finnish:
väistimen pää
— either of the two arms of a crossguard
French:
quillon
— either of the two arms of a crossguard