I am afraid the article is in error. If I understand it right, it says that the Romans invented the Spatha. This is not true. In fact, the precursor was invented by the Celts, and then adopted by both Romans and Germans. Cf de:Spatha for more detailed (and well researched) information. I'll leave the latin correction to someone who is better at Latin than me.

Revertere ad "Spatha".