Editing Talwar (section)

==Etymology and classification==
The word ''talwar'' originated from the [[Sanskrit Language|Sanskrit]] word ''taravāri'' ({{langx|sa|तरवारि}}) which means "one-edged sword".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/talwar |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161201013243/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/talwar |url-status=dead |archive-date=1 December 2016 |title=Talwar |website=Lexico }}</ref> It is the word for ''sword'' in several related languages, such as [[Hindustani language|Hindustani]] ([[Hindi]] and [[Urdu]]), [[Nepali language|Nepali]], [[Marathi language|Marathi]], [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]], [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]], etc. and as {{lang|bn|toloar}} ({{lang|bn|talōẏāra|italic=no}}) in [[Bengali language|Bengali]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Swords meaning in Urdu |url=https://hamariweb.com/dictionaries/swords_urdu-meanings.aspx |website=Hamari Web }}{{better source needed|date=April 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Talwar meaning in Hindi |url=https://www.gkexams.com/dictionary/english/7865-sword-meaning-in-hindi.html |website=Gk Exams}}{{better source needed|date=April 2022}}</ref>

Like many swords from around the world with an etymology derived from a term meaning simply 'sword', the talwar has in scholarship, and in museum and collector usage, acquired a more specific meaning. However, South Asian swords, while showing a rich diversity of forms, suffer from relatively poor dating (so developmental history is obscure) and a lack of precise nomenclature and classification. The typical talwar is a type of sabre, characterised by a curved blade (without the radical curve of some Persian swords), possessing an all-metal hilt with integral quillons and a disc-shaped pommel. This type of hilt is sometimes called the 'Indo-Muslim hilt', or 'standard Indian hilt'. Talwars possessing only slightly curved blades can be called ''sirohi''. However, many other variations exist. Swords with straight blades and the disc-pommel hilt are usually referred to as 'straight-bladed talwars' (though the word ''dhup'' is also used), while those with the same hilt but [[yatagan]]-type forward-curved blades are termed 'sosun patta'. Swords with sabre-blades and all metal Indo-Muslim hilts, but having the pommel in the shape of the head of an animal or bird, instead of the disc, are termed talwar, without being differentiated by name.{{sfn|Jaiwant Paul|1995|loc=plate facing p. 32, pp. 46-47, 77}}