30 Must-Know Fencing Terms, Phrases and Slang

58 fencing terms explained, from en garde, parry and riposte to fleche, remise and right of way, plus the sayings fencing gave English.

Fencing terminology is mostly French, and it stays French even in an English-speaking club, which is why the words related to fencing sound foreign long before they sound technical. The words associated with fencing fall into commands, blade actions and equipment, and once you can place a term in one of those three groups it stops being mysterious. The fencing glossary below collects every fencing word used on this page.

New to the sport? Our guide to fencing rules explains how a bout is scored and won, which makes most of the terms below fall into place.

Must-Know Fencing Terms, Phrases and Slang:

1. Advance
2. Bout
3. Cross
4. Disengage
5. En garde
6. Fleche
7. Foil
8. Guard
9. Hit
10. Lunge
11. Parry
12. Riposte
13. Sabre
14. Thrust
15. Touché
16. Epee
17. Feint
18. Point in line
19. Reprise
20. Right of way
21. Piste
22. Counter-attack
23. Red card
24. Yellow card
25. Black card
26. Corps-a-corps
27. Halt
28. Beat
29. Engagement
30. Off-target

Fencing Glossary: Every Term A to Z

Terms A to D

Term	What It Means
Advance	A step forward toward the opponent. The most basic piece of fencing footwork.
Allez	The referee’s command to begin. It follows En garde and Pret, and it is the word that actually starts the action.
Attack in preparation	An attack launched while the opponent is still preparing their own, a key idea in sabre right of way.
Balestra	A short jump forward, usually launched straight into a lunge.
Beat	A sharp tap on the opponent’s blade to knock it aside or to provoke a reaction.
Black card	The heaviest penalty in fencing, given for the most serious offenses. It means expulsion from the competition.
Body cord	The wire running under the jacket from the weapon to the scoring box. A broken one stops the bout.
Bout	A single match between two fencers, fenced to 5 hits in pools and 15 in the elimination rounds.
Chasse	A step forward or back with both feet.
Corps-a-corps	Body to body contact between fencers. Deliberate contact to avoid a hit is penalized.
Counter-attack	A hit made into the opponent’s attack rather than after it. Risky in foil and sabre, common in epee.
Cross	A step in which one leg crosses over the other, covering ground quickly at the cost of balance.
Direct elimination	The knockout stage that follows the pools, fenced to 15 hits in three periods.
Disengage	Moving the blade around the opponent’s parry to keep the attack alive.
Double	A hit in épée scored by both fencers within 1/25 of a second, which gives each a point.

Terms E to L

Term	What It Means
En garde	The ready position fencers take before the bout starts and after every halt. Also the referee’s first command.
Engagement	Contact between the two blades, used to feel out the opponent and take control of the line.
Epee	The heaviest of the three weapons. The whole body is target, hits count only with the point, and there is no right of way.
Feint	A movement that pretends to attack one line in order to draw a reaction and open another.
Fleche	A running attack in which the fencer sprints past the opponent after extending the arm.
Flunge	A sabre attack that mixes a lunge and a fleche, invented after the fleche was banned in sabre in 1992.
Foil	The light thrusting weapon whose target is the torso, fenced with right of way.
Guard	Both the defensive position and the metal bell on the weapon that protects the hand.
Halt	The referee’s command to stop. Fencers must freeze until Allez is called again.
Hit	A touch landed with the valid part of the weapon on the valid target area. It scores a point.
Lame	The metallic overjacket worn in foil and sabre. It registers hits on valid target electrically.
Line	The area of the target a fencer attacks or defends, such as the high line and the low line.
Lunge	The standard attack: the front leg drives out, the rear leg straightens, the arm leads with the point.

Terms M to R

Term	What It Means
Mask	The mesh helmet that protects the head and neck. In foil and sabre it is wired into the scoring system.
Measure	The distance between the two fencers. Controlling measure is most of what a bout is about.
Off-target	In foil, a hit that lands outside the valid torso area. Nothing is scored and the action stops.
Parry	A block that deflects an incoming blade away from the target, usually followed by a riposte.
Piste	The strip the bout is fenced on, 14 metres long and 1.5 to 2 metres wide. Stepping off the back costs a hit.
Plastron	The padded underarm protector worn beneath the jacket on the weapon side.
Point in line	An arm fully extended with the point threatening valid target. It establishes right of way until the opponent removes the blade.
Poule	The opening round-robin pool, where each fencer meets every other fencer in the group over five hits.
Pret	Short for Prêts?, the referee’s question asking if both fencers are ready.
Prime	The first parry, protecting the inside line with the hand high and the point down.
Priority	Another name for right of way, the rule that decides who scores when both fencers hit.
Quarte	The fourth parry, protecting the inside high line.
Red card	A penalty for a serious infraction that awards a hit to the opponent.
Remise	An immediate renewal of an attack in the same line, without withdrawing the arm.
Reprise	A renewed attack after the first one fell short, usually by lunging or advancing again.
Retreat	A step backward, the counterpart to the advance.
Right of way	The rule in foil and sabre that awards the point to whoever attacked correctly when both fencers land.
Riposte	The counterattack made straight after a successful parry, while the opponent is still recovering.

Terms S to Y

Term	What It Means
Sabre	The cutting weapon. Hits count with the edge as well as the point, and the target is everything above the waist.
Salute	The brief raising of the blade to the opponent and the referee before and after a bout. Skipping it is a penalty.
Second intention	A planned action in which the first attack is meant to draw a response that the fencer then exploits.
Simultaneous	Both fencers hit at the same moment. In epee both score, in foil and sabre right of way decides who does.
Sixte	The sixth parry, protecting the outside high line, and the most common guard position in foil and épée.
Stop hit	A counter-attack aimed to land before the opponent’s attack finishes.
Strip	The English name for the piste.
Thrust	A straight attack driven forward with the point toward the target.
Touche	The acknowledgement of a hit against yourself. From the French for touched.
Weapon arm	The arm holding the weapon, the arm that must extend first in a correct attack.
Whip-over	A hit in which the flexible blade bends over the opponent’s parry or guard and lands.
Yellow card	A warning for a minor infraction. It carries no immediate penalty, but the next offense becomes a red card.

What Is It Called When…? Fencing Terms by Situation

Know what happened but not the word for it? Find the situation on the left and the fencing term on the right.

When…	It Is Called
Both fencers are hit at the same time in épée	Double
Both lights go on in foil or sabre	Right of way decides the hit
A fencer acknowledges being hit	Touché
The referee starts the bout	En garde, prêts, allez
The referee stops the action	Halt
The fencers’ bodies collide	Corps-a-corps
A fencer blocks the opponent’s blade	Parry
A fencer hits straight back after a parry	Riposte
A fencer attacks again in the same line without recovering	Remise
A fencer renews the attack after returning to en garde	Reprise
A fencer holds a straight arm with the point at the opponent	Point in line
A fencer runs past the opponent while attacking	Fleche
A fencer taps the opponent’s blade aside	Beat
The point goes around the opponent’s blade	Disengage
A hit lands outside the target in foil	Off-target
The blade bends over the parry and lands	Whip-over
A fencer steps off the back of the piste	The opponent scores a hit
A fencer refuses to salute	Black card
A fencer covers the target with the back arm	Yellow card

#1 Advance

The basic forward step: the front foot moves first, heel leading, and the back foot follows by the same distance. Fencers advance to close the distance before an attack, and the size of the step is constantly varied to disturb the opponent’s sense of distance.

In a sentence: “Two small advances, then the lunge as she steps back.”

#2 Bout

A single contest between two fencers. In the pools a bout is fenced to five hits in a maximum of three minutes, and in direct elimination to fifteen hits in three periods of three minutes, with a one-minute break between periods.

In a sentence: “He’s 14-12 up in the bout and one hit from the quarterfinal.”

#3 Cross

Moving the back foot past the front foot, either forward or backward, to cover ground quickly. In sabre the forward cross is forbidden and is penalized, which is why sabre fencers attack with the flunge instead of running at the opponent.

In a sentence: “He crossed forward in sabre, so the referee gives a yellow card.”

#4 Disengage

A blade action that takes the point around the opponent’s blade, from one line to the opposite line, usually passing underneath. It is used to escape an engagement or to avoid a parry, and it is one of the simplest ways of deceiving the opponent’s blade.

In a sentence: “She expected the parry and disengaged straight into the open line.”

#5 En garde

The ready position and the referee’s first command before each hit. The fencer stands sideways with knees bent, weapon arm forward and back arm raised. The full sequence is “En garde”, “Prêts?”, “Allez!”.

In a sentence: “The referee calls en garde and both fencers drop into position.”

#6 Fleche

A running attack, from the French for arrow: the fencer launches off the front leg, extends the arm and crosses the back leg forward, passing the opponent after the hit. It is common in épée and foil but has been banned in sabre since 1992, which is when the flunge was invented.

In a sentence: “She timed the fleche perfectly and ran past him with the light on.”

#7 Foil

The lightest of the three weapons, weighing under 500 grams, and the one most fencers start with. Only hits with the point count, the valid target is the torso, and right of way decides who scores when both fencers hit.

In a sentence: “Foil teaches you the right of way better than any other weapon.”

#8 Guard

The bell-shaped metal shield between the blade and the grip that protects the hand. The épée guard is the largest because the hand is valid target there. Guard is also used for the hand positions numbered prime to octave, such as sixte and quarte.

In a sentence: “The hit landed on the guard, so the light didn’t go on.”

#9 Hit

A valid touch on the target, scored electronically: a colored light means a hit on target, a white light in foil means a hit off target. In foil and épée the point must be pressed with a minimum force, while in sabre a cut with the edge also counts.

In a sentence: “The hit came in, but the light was white.”

#10 Lunge

The basic attacking action: the front leg kicks forward, the back leg pushes and stays straight, and the weapon arm extends ahead of the body. The fencer then recovers back to en garde. A lunge covers more distance than any step and is the standard finish to an attack.

In a sentence: “Her lunge is so long that he thought he was out of distance.”

#11 Parry

A defensive action that deflects the opponent’s blade with one’s own. Parries are numbered by the line they protect, from prime (1) to octave (8). A successful parry gives the defender the right to riposte.

In a sentence: “Parry four, and the riposte lands on the chest.”

#12 Riposte

The counterattack immediately after a successful parry. In foil and sabre the riposte has right of way over the attacker’s next action, so the attacker who simply continues after being parried loses the hit.

In a sentence: “Clean parry and riposte, the hit goes to the left.”

#13 Sabre

The weapon used for cuts as well as thrusts. Hits with the edge, the flat and the point all count, and the valid target is everything above the waist, including the arms and the mask. Sabre is by far the fastest of the three weapons, and many bouts last only a few minutes.

In a sentence: “In sabre the whole hit is over in less than a second.”

#14 Thrust

An attack with the point of the weapon, the only way to score in foil and épée. In sabre a thrust counts as well as a cut. Thrust is the word people use, while fencers call the action a straight attack or simply a hit with the point.

In a sentence: “Everything in épée comes down to one well-timed thrust.”

#15 Touché

French for “touched”, said by a fencer to acknowledge being hit. In modern competition the electronic box makes the call, and the referee announces the hit, so fencers rarely say it in a bout, but it survives in practice bouts and in everyday English.

In a sentence: “He raised his hand, said touché and walked back to his line.”

#16 Epee

The heaviest weapon, at up to 770 grams, with a stiff triangular blade and a large guard. The whole body is target, there is no right of way, and if both fencers hit within 1/25 of a second, both score a hit, called a double.

In a sentence: “In épée you can hit the foot, so watch your front leg.”

#17 Feint

A false attack that makes the opponent react, in order to hit them in another line. A feint has to look real, with an extending arm, or the opponent will ignore it. Feint attacks are used most against fencers who parry early.

In a sentence: “She feinted high and finished low under the parry.”

#18 Point in line

A straight arm with the point threatening the opponent’s target, held before the opponent starts an attack. In foil and sabre it has right of way over an attack, so the attacker must first remove the blade with a beat or take before attacking.

In a sentence: “He kept the point in line and she ran straight onto it.”

#19 Reprise

A renewed attack after returning briefly to en garde, usually after the first attack fell short or was parried without a riposte. It differs from a remise, which keeps the arm extended in the same line without going back to the guard position.

In a sentence: “The first attack fell short, so she went again with the reprise.”

#20 Right of way

The rule in foil and sabre that decides who gets the hit when both lights go on. The fencer who started the attack correctly has priority, and the defender only gains it with a parry or when the attack misses. Épée does not use right of way.

In a sentence: “Both lights on, but the referee gives right of way to the attack.”

#21 Piste

The fencing strip: 14 metres long and between 1.5 and 2 metres wide. Stepping off the side costs a penalty of one metre, while retreating off the back end with both feet gives the hit to the opponent.

In a sentence: “He’s two metres from the end of the piste and running out of room.”

#22 Counter-attack

An attack made into the opponent’s attack instead of parrying. In foil and sabre it only scores if it lands clearly before the attack finishes, because the attacker has right of way. A stop hit is the most common counter-attack.

In a sentence: “He counter-attacked on her preparation and the referee gave it to him.”

#23 Red card

A penalty card that gives the opponent a hit. A red card is given for a second offence of the same group after a yellow card, and for more serious offences straight away, such as deliberately hitting off the piste.

In a sentence: “That’s his second yellow, so the red card gives her the point.”

#24 Yellow card

A warning card for a first minor offence, such as turning the back on the opponent, covering the target or starting before Allez. It costs nothing on the scoreboard, but the next offence in the same group brings a red card.

In a sentence: “Yellow card for covering the target with his back arm.”

#25 Black card

The heaviest penalty: the fencer is excluded from the competition. It is given for serious offences such as unsportsmanlike conduct, fraud with equipment or refusing to salute the opponent before or after the bout.

In a sentence: “He refused to salute after the bout and got a black card.”

#26 Corps-a-corps

French for body to body, the moment the fencers’ bodies or guards touch. In foil and sabre deliberate body contact is a penalty, and the referee calls halt. In épée it is not penalized unless done with violence or to avoid being hit.

In a sentence: “Corps-a-corps, halt, and the referee separates them.”

#27 Halt

The referee’s command to stop fencing, called after a hit, a corps-a-corps, a fencer leaving the piste or any irregular action. Any hit started after the command does not count.

In a sentence: “Halt, the hit came after the command.”

#28 Beat

A sharp tap on the middle or weak part of the opponent’s blade, used to open a line or to take right of way away from a point in line. A beat on a blade in line gives the attacker priority for the following hit.

In a sentence: “She beat the blade aside and went straight in.”

#29 Engagement

The contact between the two blades. Fencers take an engagement to control the opponent’s blade and change it, with a disengage or by moving the blade, to look for an opening. Changes of engagement are common in foil and épée, much less so in sabre.

In a sentence: “He took the engagement in sixte and pushed the blade aside.”

#30 Off-target

A hit that lands outside the valid target area, shown by a white light in foil. It does not score, but it stops the action: any hit that follows does not count. In épée and sabre the scoring box simply ignores hits off target.

In a sentence: “Off-target, white light, nothing scores.”

Fencing Slang Players and Fans Actually Use

Slang	What It Means
Flunge	A sabre attack that mixes a lunge and a fleche, the standard way to cover distance since the fleche was banned in sabre.
Whip-over	A hit where the blade bends over the parry or the guard and still lands, mostly in sabre and foil.
Flick	A hit in foil or épée where the blade whips around to land on the back or shoulder.
The box	The electronic scoring apparatus that turns on the lights.
Light	A scored hit, from the lights on the scoring box. Getting the light means scoring.
Double	In épée, two hits at the same time, which give a point to each fencer.
Lamé	The conductive jacket worn in foil and sabre so the box can register hits on target.
Body cord	The cable inside the sleeve connecting the weapon to the scoring system.
Dead weapon	A weapon that does not register hits because of a broken wire or a faulty tip.
Pool	The round-robin group at the start of a competition, called a poule in French.
DE	Short for direct elimination, the knockout rounds fenced to 15 hits.

Fencing Expressions and Sayings in Everyday English

• Touché: Used in everyday English to concede that someone has made a good point in an argument, from the fencer’s acknowledgment of being hit.
• Cut and thrust: Lively, aggressive argument or competition, from the two ways of hitting with a sword: cutting with the edge and thrusting with the point.
• Thrust and parry: A quick exchange of argument and counterargument, from attack and defense in sword fighting.
• En garde: Used jokingly to mean be ready, or to warn someone that a challenge is coming, from the fencer’s ready position.
• Riposte: A quick, clever reply, especially to criticism, from the counterattack that follows a parry.

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