h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Can a sword be seen as a variety of "knife," where human beings are the "stuff?"

I would have thought that you're correct there Fragilis. The sword is nothing but a big knife, which means you don't have to get as close to what you want to poke or cut - good if you're dealing with unfriendly people or nasty animals. I guess you could also apply a similar thing to spears - small knife, long handle.

For all intents and purposes, yes, a sword would just be a really long knife that people tend to use on each other, instead of more constructive uses like woodcarving or eating. However, if someone happens to have a sword at a given moment and looks like they might want to use it on you, that is not the time to refer to it as a "knife". Most swordsmen would find it insulting.

simplisticly you might refer to a sword as a "long knife" however by definition a knife would have a length of less than 16 inches. Any blade over 16 inches would be a sword. Knives are considered tools where as swords are considered weapons, even though a knife can be used as a weapon that is not its sole purpose in life like a sword.