'scabbard' originates from Old French (Norman) 'escabbard' / 'escabarde', from a West Germanic/Frankish source (reconstructed *skabbard), where the root meant 'cover' or 'case'.

'scabbard' changed from Middle English 'scabbarde' (borrowed from Old French) and eventually became the modern English word 'scabbard'.

Initially it meant 'a covering or case for a blade' in its early borrowings, and over time it retained that core meaning as the specific word for a sword's sheath.