Quick Definition
ῥομφαία, ας, ἡ n.f. a sword, piercing grief
Strong's Definition
probably of foreign origin; a sabre, i.e. a long and broad cutlass (any weapon of the kind, literally or figuratively)
KJV Usage: sword
UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament
noun, f. | -ας
6.32 · Artifacts · Weapons and Armor
sword a large, broad sword used for both cutting and piercing In a number of languages the term for ‘sword’ is simply ‘a large knife,’ but in some regions it may be called ‘a machete for killing.’
LUK 2:35 · REV 1:16 · REV 2:12 · REV 2:16 · REV 6:8 · REV 19:15 · REV 19:21
55.6 · Military Activities · To Fight
war, fighting, conflict (figurative extension of meaning of ῥομφαία[a] ‘broad sword,’ 6.32) It is possible that ῥομφαία in REV 6:8 should be understood in its literal meaning of ‘broad sword’ (see 6.32).
25.279 · Attitudes and Emotions · Sorrow, Regret
Collocation: τὴν ψυχὴν διέρχεται ῥομφαία
to feel pain and sorrow, to be sorrowful and distressed (an idiom, literally: a sword goes through one’s soul) to feel the intense pain of sorrow
UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament © United Bible Societies, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Thayer's Greek Lexicon
ῥομφαία, -as, 7, a large sword; prop. a long Thracian javelin [ef. Rich, Dict. of Antiq. 5. v. Rhompxa]; also a kind of long sword wont to be worn on the right shoulder, (Hesych. ῥομφαία - Θράκιον ἀμυντήριον, μάχαιρα, ξίφος ἢ ἀκόντιον μακρόν ; [Suidas 3223 ὁ. (cf. ῥέμβω to revolve, vibrate) ]; ct. Plut. Aemil. 18); [A. V. sword]: Rev. i. 16; ii. 12,16; vi. 8; xix. 15, 21; σοῦ δὲ αὐτῆς τὴν ψυχὴν διελεύσεται ῥομφαία, a fig. for ‘extreme anguish shall fill (pierce, as it were) thy soul’, Lk. ii. 35, where cf. Kuinoel. (Joseph. antt. 6, 12,4; 7, 12,1; in Ev. Nicod. 26 the archangel Michael, keeper of Paradise, is called ἡ pdoyim ῥομφαία. Very often in Sept. for 33; often also in the O. T. Apoer.)
Mounce Concise Greek Dictionary
ῥομφαία rhomphaia 7x
pr. a Thracian broad-sword; a sword, Rev. 1:16; 2:12; by meton. war, Rev. 6:8; met. a thrill of anguish, Lk. 2:35
Abbott-Smith Greek Lexicon
† ῥομφαία, -ας, ἡ
[in LXX chiefly for חֶרֶב ;]
a large broad sword, used by the Thracians (v. DB, iv, 634); then generally (in LXX used interchangeably with μάχαιρα, q.v.), a sword: Re 1:16 2:12, 16 6:8 19:15, 21; metaph., Lk 2:35.†
Moulton & Milligan — Vocabulary of the Greek NT
ῥομφαία. For ῥομφαία, a Thracian weapon of large size, see Hastings’ DB iv. p. 634, where the different uses of the word are fully illustrated. In the NT it is found sexzes in Rev, and once, metaphorically, in Lk 285.
Liddell-Scott-Jones — Greek-English Lexicon
ῥομφαία (rhomphaia) — sword. ῥομφαία, ἡ, large, broad sword, used by the Thracians, ὀρθὰς ῥ. βαρυσιδήρους ἀπὸ τῶν δεξιῶν ὤμων ἐπισείοντες [Refs 3rd c.BC+]: generally, sword, [LXX+NT+4th c.AD+]; of the sword of Goliath, [LXX+1st c.AD+]
II. ={νυκτερίς}, [Refs 1st c.AD+]