This is a topic of intense discussion on Frontierfolk where lots of knowledgable people "librarians" lol know far more than I do. There is controversy because the word was used in many ways during the period. Sometimes folks who are discerning also look at the prices of the "cutteaus" listed in trade lists and this helps them guess whether these are indeed short swords, long knives, or common French style trade knives. There is no consensus, and that may be because at different times, in different places, some words have different meanings to different people. So traders to the Ohio or Illinois country might use the word differently than traders in the Southeast, etc.
