Please note: the definitions here are by no means infallible or definative. I am not a speaker of either Thai or Burmese, but I have made the best effort at spelling that I could, and indicated language of origin as I understand it. Please let me know if there are any errors or omissions in my definitions.

Angkor: capital of the ancient Khmer empire, in present-day Cambodia (approx. 13°, 20' N long., 1030, 40' E lat.), made up of several temple/palace complexes, the most famous of which are Angkor Wat and Angkor Tom.

Ayutthaya: early capital of the Kingdom of Siam, in central present-day Thailand (approx. 14°, 30' N long., 110°, 30' E lat.); flourished between 1350 and 1767 ("Ayutthayan period").

Burman: tribe of present-day Burma (Myanmar), from which the old country name Burmaderived.

hua bua: (Thai) sheeps headtip, blunt spear-tip with a very slight extension at the tip (see figure).

hua chuey: (Thai) "cut head" tip, tip angled back from the edge of the blade to the spine, such as is seen in a Chinese "Boxer" ring-hilt sword (synonymous with hua tat).

hua lu guy: (Thai) "sheeps foot" tip, sweeping up slightly from the edge but more radically down from the spine to give an asymmetrical point with a very slight extension (see figure). Issued by the Thai king to leadership.

hua lu guy

hua lem or hua darb

hua bua

hua tat or hua chuey

hua tat khong

Jingpaw: one of the major sub-tribes of the Kachin peoples of Myanmar, an upland tribe of northern Myanmar (also spelled Singhpo)

Kachin: one of the principal tribes inhabiting the uplands of northern Burma (Myanmar); a Tibeto-Burman people.

Karen: one of the principal tribes inhabiting central Burma (Myanmar), a Tibeto-Burman people.

krabi-krabong: literally "sword-stick," a form of the muai thai martial art employing the dha, either singly, in pairs, or with a stick in the off-hand.

Lao: a Tai (Dai) people related to the Shan of Burma and the Thai of Thailand, originally from southern China (Yunnan and Szechuan provinces), which settled in the upper Mekong River valley, in present-day Laos.

maker's mark: an incised or stamped symbol on the blade denoting the individual or smithy that made the weapon. See examples here.

Nanzhao: (also Nanchao) kingdom in western/northwestern Yunnan Province, between the 8 and the 13 centuries, with varying degrees of independence from the Empire of China. Finally annexed by the Mongols in the 13 century. Though popular tradition holds that the Tai were the dominant group of Nanzhao, it appears that a Tibeto-Burman people were the governing elite.

Pagan: ancient capital of the Burmese empire (approx. 21° N long, 95° E lat.); flourished between 1057 and 1287, when it was conquered by the Mongols.

Shan: a Tai (Dai) people related to the Shan of Burma and the Lao of Laos, originally from southern China, which settle along the Salween river valley and the upland Shan Plateau; not a hill tribe, as the Shan inhabit the river valleys of the uplands.

Tai: an ethnic group originating in southern China (south of the Yangtze, in Yunnan Province and parts of Szechuan and Guangxi Provinces), which gradually migrated and spread west and south into upper Burma, Thailand and Laos; present-day Thai, Shan and Lao all belong to this ethnic group (also spelled Dai).

Thai: a Tai (Dai) people related to the Shan of Burma and the Lao of Laos, originally from southern China, which settled in the Menam (Mae Nam) river basin; an alliance of Thai princes resulted in the foundation of the kingdom of Sukothai in around 1220. Sukothai was the progenitor of the later Kingdoms of Siam and Thailand.

Yunnan: province in southern China, bordered by Burma and Tibet to the west, and Laos and Vietnam to the south.