Bayonet
2 of the 7 encyclopedias on this shelf carry an entry for Bayonet. Both are reproduced below, so you can see where they agree and where they differ.
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
a steel dagger or stabbing instrument, made to be attached by an infantryman to the muzzle of his gun. In its original form, it had a sharp point and three edges. It was also made with a flat or sword-shaped blade. The shank was inserted in the muzzle of the gun after the soldier had fired. An improvement has been introduced by forming a shank in the shape of a ring in which the muzzle of the musket may be inserted in such a way that the soldier may fire his gun with the bayonet fixed. The name is derived from Bayonne, a Biscayan town of France, where it is said to have been invented. This theory is rendered more probable by the fact that the French have long maintained an arsenal at Bayonne. See Spear 2026 Editor's Note: The bayonet, named for the French town of Bayonne where it may have originated, outlasted every prediction of its obsolescence: soldiers still carry them, and British troops mounted actual bayonet charges as recently as the Iraq and Afghan wars. Its real power was always as much psychological as lethal — few enemies stand to receive a determined charge of cold steel. (Ed: BR 2026-07-21)
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
a miltary weapon formerly called a dagger, made to be fitted to the muzzle of a gun or rifle, to convert the latter into a kind of pike. At first it was so fixed that it required to be taken off before the gun was fired; but since the battle of Killiecrankie showed the danger of such an arrangement, it has been fastened on in such a way as not to interfere with the firing of the weapon. See INFANTRY.