Hi Jim,
Thanks a lot for your input.
It appears as, despite the use of the term spontoon is a coloquial attribution, indeed the partisan is an earlier weapon ... derived from the lance, we can admit. From what i have been reading, the partisan ended up as a rank insignia weapon, while the spontoon was already generated for such purposes ... or something of the kind
.
I guess the term 'partisan' (partasana in portuguese) derives from the italian 'partigiana', a weapon aledgedly used by the Partisan militians (Partigiani).
Isn't sometimes the sufix 'oon' the same as 'ão' in portuguese, or 'on' in french and spanish, meaning large, or dimensional... right ?
Fernando