Yes, that's a pretty general yet extensive enquiry.

Sword comes from the Germanic language, is still used today in those languages (e.g. German: 'Schwert') and is onomatopoeic in these languages still - 'schw-' is deifnitely a cutting sound.

Special types of swords are a rapier, épée, and saber. In fencing it's usually a foil I think. If you want further information on these you'll have to look for yourself. I don't enough to tell you anything.

I read an interesting article recently that put forth the claim that the high quality (particularly the hardness) of the Viking sword (sverð), that made them far superior in battle was due to the fact that they used metal from a massive meteor that is well documented both by science and in pagan mythology. Apparently this claim is completely unfounded, but it is a fact that their swords were highly coveted by the Romans who paid top dollar for them. I'm sure they kept their techniques pretty secret, and presumably Viking metallurgy and forgers were just that much better.