Advance: A short step forward.

Armourer: Checks, verifies, and fixes equipment for competitions.

Attack: A move or series of aggressive moves where a fencer tries to score a point against the opponent.

Beat: A sharp tap on an opponent's blade to initiate or threaten an attack.

Blade: The hitting part of a sword from the guard to the point.

Black Card: Given for extreme penalties; results in exclusion from competition.

Bout: A contest in its entirety between two fencers.

Centre line: A line across the piste, or field of play, dividing it into two equal halves.

Composite/Compound attack: An attack or counter-attack involving several moves.

Corps-a-corps: A move involving body contact, where two fencers are engaged in a way that allows neither to use his or her weapon; results in a penalty in foil or sabre; the referee halts the action when this occurs.

Counter-attack: An attack by a fencer who has just defeated, or "parried", an attack by an opponent.

Counter-parry/Circular parry: A defensive movement executed by making a small circle with the point of the weapon around the opponent's blade and moving it away.

Counter-riposte: A riposte that follows the parry of an opponent's riposte.

Coupé: An attack made by passing the blade over an opponent's blade.

Disengage: To break contact between blades, done by one fencer passing his or her blade under the opponent's blade; term commonly used to indicate any avoidance of contact.

Double touch/hit: Both fencers being hit at the same time; if one has the right of way, in foil or sabre, a touch is counted against the other; in épée, both fencers have a touch scored against them.

Engagement: A contact of blades.

En guard: French for "On Guard", the position that fencers take before a bout begins or after a break in the action; also, a command given by the referee to warn the fencers that the bout is about to begin.

En guard line: A line on each side of the centre line where a fencer stands to begin or resume a bout after a hit has been awarded.

Enveloppement: A continuous binding movement so that the opponent's blade is carried for at least one complete circle.

Epée: A thrusting sword descended from the duelling sword, similar in length to a foil but heavier, with a larger guard and a much stiffer blade.

Feint: A false attack designed to force an opponent into a reaction that opens the way to a genuine attack.

Flèche: A running attack; literally, "arrow " or "dart."

Foible: The weaker part of a sword blade, between the middle and the point.

Foil: A thrusting sword with a flexible rectangular blade and a smaller guard than the épée.

Forte: The stronger part of a sword blade, between the middle and the handle.

Glide: A gentle forward action in contact with the opponent's blade.

Grip: The handle of a sword; also called the "hilt".

Guard: The part of a sword between the blade and handle that protects the duelling hand.

Hit/Touch: A point scored by a touch with the tip of the blade or, in sabre, the edge of the blade against any part of the opponent's body in the target area.

Invitation: Any movement intended to tempt an opponent into an attack.

Jump: An advance in which both feet move at the same time.

Lame: The metallic vest worn by a foil or sabre fencer (pronounced "lah me").

Lunge: The most common and basic attack in fencing where a fencer closes the distance between foes by moving the front leg forward while the back leg remains stationary and straightens out as the weapon is thrust forward..

Octave: The eighth of eight defensive positions in fencing.

One-metre penalty: A penalty where the action is moved a metre further back on the piste for the offending fencer before a bout is restarted.

Parry: A defensive action that blocks an attacking blade to keep it off target.

Penalty hit: A hit credited to a fencer when the opponent commits an offence after a warning.

Piste: French term (meaning "path") for the field of play where a fencing bout occurs; also called a "strip".

Plastron: Protective clothing worn under a fencer's jacket.

Point: The end of the blade, which must touch the opponent's target area to score a point.

Pommel: A nut at the butt-end of the weapon that holds it together.

President: Another name for the referee.

Prime: The first of eight defensive positions in fencing.

Quarte: The fourth of eight defensive positions in fencing.

Quinte: The fifth of eight defensive positions in fencing.

Rapier: A thrusting sword with an elaborate hilt and a long, slender, pointed blade, developed in the 16th century and the precursor to the épée.

Recover: To return to the en guard position after lunging.

Red Card: Penalty for second offence (penalty touch).

Redouble: To attack an opponent a second time after the opponent fails to counter-attack.

Remise/Replacement: Immediately attacking again after an initial attack.

Riposte: A counter-attack by a fencer who has just blocked an attack by the opponent with a parry.

Sabre: The modern version of the slashing cavalry sword, similar in length and weight to the foil but able to cut with the blade as well as hit with the point.

Seconde: The second of eight defensive positions in fencing.

Septime: The seventh of eight defensive positions in fencing.

Simple: An action, as in an attack or riposte, completed in one movement (as opposed to a composite).

Simultaneous: A ruling of no hit when two fencers in foil and sabre hit each other at the same time with an attack, redouble or remise.

Sixte: The sixth of eight defensive positions in fencing.

Stop-thrust: A sudden counterattack against an opponent's attack or riposte made by extending without lunging, intended to land with sufficient time advantage over an opponent's action to score a touch.

Strip: The fencing area, 1.5 - 2 metres wide by 14 metres in length.

Taking: Controlling an opponent's blade.

Target: The portion of the opponent's body which may be touched with the sword to score points.

Thrust: Extending the arm and sword toward the opponent and threatening the target with the tip of the weapon.

Tierce: The third of eight defensive positions in fencing.

Touch/Hit: A point scored by a touch with the tip of the blade or, in sabre, the edge of the blade against any part of the opponent's body in the target area.

Warning line: A line two metres inside the rear line warning a fencer he or she is near the end of the piste.

Weapon: A foil, épée or sabre.

Yellow Card: Penalty for the first offence (warning).