Saga Which name do you personally prefer for the ''ancient weapons'' ?

I am asking only the ancient weapons, not Han Solo's hokey religions. Do you prefer to call it as just ''lightsaber'' since it's the classic term, or ''laser sword'' as they use it recently?

First the Phantom menace;

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The last Jedi,

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The mandalorian;

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It could be more than that.

While I know lightsaber is the most known and the classic term, I personally think the laser sword could be a better choice, because recently we also have a ''darksaber'' in the new canon,

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And laser sword name would actually apply to both darksaber and to lightsabers, (although they also said darksaber is ''a type of lightsaber'')

And I also believe the ''light''saber sounds like a weapon that belongs to only Jedi, and to the users of the light side of the Force, then saying that the Red sabers of the dark siders are actually the weapon of the ''light'', and they are actually using the weapon of the ''light'' wouldn't be an accurate description in my opinion.

Though it's no big deal, I just want to learn if there are other people who prefer to call it laser sword or not.

 

I prefer the term lightsaber for sure.

I wonder why Luke referred to the lightsaber as a laser sword. It seems like the term "laser sword" is used (in universe) whenever someone unfamiliar with the weapon is referring to a lightsaber. I suppose maybe Luke referring to it as a "laser sword" is because he's distanced himself from the Jedi, so he contemptuously refers to a Jedi's weapon with that term?

I know GL has used the term "laser sword" in some interviews before also.

 

I prefer lightsaber. "Laser sword" is the kind of silliness you read about in Darths & Droids: Darths & Droids (darthsanddroids.net)

 

Yeah, I always assumed it was meant somewhat disparagingly, and perhaps to put into perspective the absurdity of the idea of him facing down the FO with such a weapon, since "laser sword" sounds less impressive than "lightsaber."

 

"Laser sword" is from the early screenplays and novelizations, where the terms are used interchangeably. I much prefer that term. I suspect the main reason why people would prefer otherwise is familiarity.

 

I prefer lightsaber, because it just sounds better. I recall reading that Sir Alec Guinness refused to say "laser sword" when they were filming the exposition scene in ANH, so I always took Anakin calling it a "laser sword" in TPM (the only time the weapon is referred to by name) as Lucas' way of kind of getting the last word. Luke using "laser sword" in TLJ just felt like him being dismissive of the Jedi, and Din using it in TM is him displaying his near-total ignorance of the Jedi. Regardless, lightsaber is pretty clearly the commonly accepted term used in-universe, and I don't see that changing.

 

Not that Guinness’ opinion matters much, but I nevertheless got interested and used my mad Google skillz to verify this. Well, apparently my Google skillz aren’t mad enough because I couldn’t find any evidence that this is true. I did find quotes by him talking about it in interviews though, e.g.,

 

I need to try to find that account, because I vividly remember reading it within the past five or six years.

 

Re-reading my post, I think I come across as dismissive, and I didn’t intend to be, and I apologize for that.

 

Oh, not at all. Don't worry about it, no offense was interpreted or taken

 

Lightsaber is the name of the weapon.

Laser sword is just a colloquial term for lightsaber.

 

Yep, pretty much. I say lightsaber.

"Laser sword" also functions as an umbrella term for... well, laser swords, as a fictional concept. They're only lightsabers in Star Wars.

 

Laser sword. Just evokes an atmosphere that’s a little less corporate, one that calls back to a more broad and open SF canvas.

 

'Laser sword' developed from Lucas' boredom/contempt for SW. The same one that decided 20 years later that Hoth is pronounced to rhyme with "both" instead of "moth". Luke calling it a laser sword is pure contempt for the fans. Calling it a laser sword is the naming version of Luke throwing Anakin's lightsaber over his shoulder.

The idea that random people - never having seen one before - would always call it a 'laser sword' is more unlikely than them actually calling it a lightsaber. They don't call guns 'laser guns'. They call them blasters. In fact, I don't think anything else is called a laser in SW. I could buy that they might not call it a saber, but then they'd call it a light-sword. That'd at least fit.

Light-Amplification-by-Stimulated-Emission-of-Radiation Sword. I don't think that's mean to be the basis for any of the beam weapons we see in SW. Those aren't lasers.

 

they laser sword line was a nice tie in with Anakin using it in E1. It suited Lukes speech and mirrors Anakins use of the term which is in awe

 

I prefer lightsaber. I think "laser sword" is fine when a character who has had little to no interaction with the Jedi is using it, like TPM Anakin or in The Mandalorian. I think that Luke using it in TLJ was supposed to be in a mocking sense, which I wasn't cool with.

 

I don't like lightsaber or laser sword.

I prefer "big glowy burn stick"

 

Lightsaber obviously. Laser sword just feels like a casual / slang term for it.

 

"That wasn't a laser blast. Something hit us!"

 

I don’t know where you get your delusions, blaster brain.

 

Anakin in TPM and Din Djarin use the term "laser sword" because they don't know that the Jedi call them lightsabers.

Mark Hamill in TLJ uses it sarcastically, as his entire statement is a mockery towards the concept.

I am pretty sure all Jedi refer to them as lightsabers, not laser swords.

I personally think the term "laser sword" is stupid, if used unironically.

 

I think of it as like how the Japanese would refer to their traditional edged weapons correctly, i.e. the katana, the wakizashi and the tanto. But to those unfamiliar, the katana especially is referred to colloquially as a "samurai sword".

 

Lightsaber

 

I tend to say "laser sword," or sometimes just "sword," when riffing about the actual filmmaking of Star Wars. Especially when I'm digging into the cinematic references that go into Star Wars and drawing parallels there. I know I said "sword" a lot when talking about The Mandalorian Chapter 13 in conjunction with its heavy Kurosawa inspiration.

In a more explicitly Star Wars-centric discussion where I'm talking more about the particulars of the universe, I tend to go with "lightsaber."