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Thanks for the backup, folks. There has been a lot of misunderstanding about that name "parabellum". I agree that the word, spelled that way, was a trademark, but the two words from which it is composed are pure Latin, not "Germanic". It is not in dictionaries because it is a trade name, not an actual word.
As long as we are here, a further note on cable addresses. During the heyday of international cable systems, a cable address was as important as a web site address is today. Every company that did, or hoped to do, business on an international scale had a cable address name. Coupled with the city, this was enough to address a cablegram from anywhere in the world. "PARABELLUM BERLIN" or "COLT NEW YORK" was sufficient; the cable company knew the actual address.
Further, to save cable charges, orders could be placed using code words. Cable codes were, by international agreement, five letters, so catalogs of the time would show an item, the price, and the cable code for ordering. For example, 1000 rounds of 8x57 ammunition might be AKGNH, and 5000 rounds would be AKGMM. A .25 pistol might be SOFOK and a .32 pistol would be SUBJO (as in the 1920 Aldazabal catalog). Other codes would indicate the quantity or terms.
Today, people looking at old arms catalogs for DWM, ALFA, Savage and others puzzle at the strange letters on each item; that is the explanation.
Jim
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