 </ref> These oldest sabres had a slight curve, short, down-turned quillons, the grip facing the opposite direction to the blade and a sharp point with the top third of the reverse edge sharpened.<ref></ref><ref></ref>

The introduction of the sabre proper in Western Europe, along with the term "sabre" itself, dates to the 17th century, via the influence of the Eastern European "szabla" type ultimately derived from these medieval backswords.The adoption of the term is connected to the employment of Hungarian hussar ("huszár") cavalry by Western armies at the time.<ref></ref> Hungarian hussars were employed as light cavalry, with the role of harassing enemy skirmishers, overrunning artillery positions, and pursuing fleeing troops.In the late 17th and 18th centuries, many Hungarian hussars fled to other Central and Western European countries and became the core of light cavalry formations created there.<ref>Bavaria raised its first hussar regiment in 1688 and a second one in about 1700.