spear-thrower

American  

[speer-throh-er] / ˈspɪərˌθroʊ ər /

noun

Anthropology.

1. a flexible device for launching a spear, usually a short cord wound around the spear so that when thrown the weapon will rotate in the air.

2. Also called atlatl.  a rigid device for increasing the speed and distance of a spear when thrown, usually a flat wooden stick with a handhold and a peg or socket to accommodate the butt end of the spear.

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Etymology

Origin of spear-thrower

First recorded in 1870–75

Example Sentences

He was probably a right-handed spear-thrower, judging from the oversized bones in his right arm and leg.

From New York Times • Jun. 18, 2015

When they buried a chief, they erected spears at his head, fastened a spear-thrower to his forefinger, and laid a club on the top of his grave,547 no doubt for the convenience of the ghost.

From The Belief in Immortality and the Worship of the Dead, Volume I (of 3) The Belief Among the Aborigines of Australia, the Torres Straits Islands, New Guinea and Melanesia by Frazer, James George, Sir

The spear-thrower is then cast away, and the toothache goes with it in the shape of a black stone called karriitch.

From The Golden Bough by Frazer, James George, Sir

Are the spear-thrower and the bull-roarer inevitably thought of as alive?

From Anthropology by Marett, R. R. (Robert Ranulph)

In front of them stood a youth of about seventeen, his hand still raised and his body bent forward in the attitude of a Grecian statue of a spear-thrower.

From King Solomon's Mines by Haggard, Henry Rider