The term "rapier" appears both in English and German, near-simultaneously, in the mid-16th century, for a light, long, pointed two-edged sword. It is a loan from Middle French "espee rapiere", first recorded in 1474. The origin of the rapier is more than likely Spanish. Its name is a "derisive" description of the Spanish term "ropera". The Spanish term refers to a sword used with clothes ("espada ropera", dress sword), due to it being used as an accessory for clothing, usually for fashion and as a self-defense weapon. The 16th-century German "rappier" described what was considered a "foreign" weapon, imported from Italy, Spain or France. Du Cange in his Middle Latin dictionary cites a form "Rapperia" from a Latin text of 1511. He envisages a derivation from Greek ραπίζειν "to strike." Adelung in his 1798 dictionary records a double meaning for the German verb "rappieren": "to fence with rapiers" on one hand, and "to rasp, grate (specifically of tobacco leaves)" on the other.