javelin

[ jav-lin, jav-uh- ]

/ ˈdʒæv lɪn, ˈdʒæv ə- /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR javelin ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a light spear, usually thrown by hand.

Track.

a spearlike shaft about 8½ feet (2.7 meters) long and usually made of wood, used in throwing for distance.
Also called javelin throw. a competitive field event in which the javelin is thrown for distance.

verb (used with object)

to strike or pierce with or as if with a javelin.

RELATED WORDS

lance, weapon, dart, harpoon

Nearby words

javan, javanese, javari, javascript, javel water, javelin, javelin fish, javelina, javelle water, javelot, javits

Origin of javelin

1505–15; < Middle French javeline, by suffix alteration from javelot, Anglo-French gavelot, gaveloc, probably < Old English gafeluc, *gafeloc ≪ British Celtic *gablākos presumably, a spear with a forklike head; compare MIr gablach forked branch, javelin, MWelsh gaflach (apparently < OIr), derivative of Old Irish gabul fork, forked branch, cognate with Old Breton gabl, Welsh gafl

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for javelin

Like his predecessors, his background was as a javelin thrower.
The Aftermath of Disney’s ‘Million Dollar Arm’|Alex Suskind|May 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But Javelin Strategy estimates that in 2012, credit-card-fraud losses were approximately $10 billion.
How to Commit a $200 Million Scam: Inside the Year’s Most Shocking Credit Card Fraud|Daniel Gross|February 6, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Without the javelin in his hand he walked through the entire delivery for us in slow motion, describing it as he did so.
Philip Roth’s Departure from Writing is Well Deserved|Bernard Avishai|November 14, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Jeremy Hunt has introduced a new sport to the Games, to go with the discus, shot put, javelin.
20 Reasons to Feel Good About the 2012 Olympics in London|The Telegraph|July 30, 2012|DAILY BEAST

They diverted themselves in the palace of Odysseus by throwing the discus and javelin.
Odysseus, the Hero of Ithaca|Homer
No tattooed savage with club and javelin guarded the path; and when we forded the stream, we were free to roam where we pleased.
The Cruise of the Snark|Jack London
He also carried a javelin, and a shield with an owl painted on its face.
The Fair God|Lew Wallace
The soldiers wore coats of mail of wadded cotton, which neither arrow nor javelin could easily penetrate.
Hernando Cortez|John S. C. Abbott
Thereafter, he always carried one of these short ones in addition to his long spear, and thus a javelin was invented.
Longhead: The Story of the First Fire|C. H. Robinson

British Dictionary definitions for javelin

javelin

/ (ˈdʒævlɪn) /

noun

a long pointed spear thrown as a weapon or in competitive field events

the javelin the event or sport of throwing the javelin

Word Origin for javelin

C16: from Old French javeline, variant of javelot, of Celtic origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for javelin

javelin

late 15c., from Middle French javeline (15c.), fem. diminutive of Old French javelot "a spear," probably from Gaulish (cf. Old Irish gabul "fork;" Welsh gafl "fork," gaflach "feathered spear"), ultimately from PIE *ghabholo- "a fork, branch of a tree." Also found in Italian (giavelotto) and Middle High German (gabilot). Javelot also was borrowed in Middle English, but this is the form of the word that has endured.