Language: Manchu
Source: Classical literature

Sirdan sele

Description

The Manchu word for the suspension bar on top of a sword scabbard.¹

Sirdan literally means arrow, specifically a type of war arrow. Sele means iron. ² 

For a complete overview of Manchu saber terms, see: A Manchu saber glossary.

Suspension bar on a very fine Chinese saber of the 18th century.
With its original suspension system with belt hook.

Suspension bar on a 19th-century southern saber.

References
1. Wuti Qingwen Jian (五體清文鑑) or "Five languages compendium", a Qing imperial dictionary in Manchu, Mongolian, Uighur, Tibetan and Chinese of 1766.
2. Jerry Norman; Concise Manchu-English Lexicon, University of Washington Press, Seattle, 1978.