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The Cutlass is a sword with a wide, curved blade, with an edge on only one side (or counter-edge on the last third). Etymologically, the word Alfanje is a type of short sword of Muslim-Oriental descent that was adopted and modified both in the peninsula and in other Christian areas of the Mediterranean. In Spain, Anfanje derives from other similar terms such as alfanjón, alfanjonazo and alfanjete, terciado or chafarote.
In its first meaning, it is in a certain way an evolution derived from Chinese, Mongolian, Turkish and Muslim saber-type weapons, to which traditional characteristics of the large medieval slash blades were added. Shorter than the eastern sabers, heavier than them, with a characteristic counter-edge that could well be inherited from the longsax, cuytelos or falchion, and which have, as a generalized characteristic, the S-shaped hawks that are also used by the falchion, messer and some late falchion. This type of cutlasses became fashionable in large Italian city-states such as Venice, and from there their refined finishes were exported.
Alfanje also serves to refer to any slashing weapon with a blade curved on at least one side, with a single edge; from an Italian storta (which is what Renaissance alfanjes are called in Italy and not to mention, which are pocked weapons), to a German Messer or Langmesser, to the English falchion, to the French fauchar and faussar, etc. But all of them have the main characteristic that they are wide and powerful weapons, thus separating themselves from the saber family.
Thus, the Cutlass would remain a single-edged weapon (or with a counter-edge in its last third) and one-handed, curved, at least in its last third, wider than the scimitar tending to widen in the strong third of the blade, right at the point of pursuit where it hits and, very close to the tip, slightly shorter in its Castilian meaning.
