The cuirassiers (from the French word cuirass, armor) are a cavalry corps equipped with light chest armor, the cuirass. They developed in the 16th century in many European countries, and were designed to compensate for the dearth of knights in heavy cavalry. The cuirassiers' suite of armor (called 'cuirass armor') was reduced to a half-armor piece which was relatively inexpensive. By the 16th century, it consisted only of a helmet and a cuirass proper. Initially, when cuirassiers fought alongside knights, they wielded the same type of sword, but later they switched to using broadswords, and in certain armies, heavy sabers.