no, even in modern japanese, a katana is a particular kind of sword.
Not according to my 1954 edition Kenkyusha' Japanese-English dictionary. Under "katana" it says "sword; blade." See also: http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/wwwjdic/
Maybe things have changed since 1954.
Note also that in Kenkyusha's English-Japanese dictionary (1960 edition), under "sword" you find "tsurugi; katana." And in a Japanese only dictionary, when you look up "tsurugi" you find "katana" and vice versa. Dictionaries are unhelpful in that regard.
- Jed
