A karabela was a type of Polish sabre (szabla) popular in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Polish fencer Wojciech Zabłocki defines a karabela as a decorated sabre with the handle stylized as the head of a bird and an open crossguard.

The word "karabela" does not have well-established etymology, and different versions are suggested.

Another suggestion is that the name originated from the most popular Seljuk sword named Kara-bela. Other suggestion is that its name derives from the Turkish town of Karabel, in the vicinity of İzmir, or the Karabel district in Crimea.