spear-thrower

[ speer-throh-er ]

/ ˈspɪərˌθroʊ ər /

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noun Anthropology.

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.

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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Origin of spear-thrower

First recorded in 1870–75

Words nearby spear-thrower

spear phish, spear-phishing, spearpoint, Spears, spear side, spear-thrower, spearwort, spec, speccy, special, special act

How to use spear-thrower in a sentence

King Theodore was a celebrated spear thrower; it is said he could make sure of a man at thirty yards or more.
Sport in Abyssinia|Dermot Mayo
Beside him lay his flaked-stone ax, his bone-pointed spear and spear thrower, likewise preserved by a marvelous chemistry.
The Record of Currupira|Robert Abernathy
Spears and wooden clubs are universal, and the use of the spear-thrower is generally distributed.
Man, Past and Present|Agustus Henry Keane
Are the spear-thrower and the bull-roarer inevitably thought of as alive?
Anthropology|Robert Marett

But it is quite otherwise with his spear-thrower or his bull-roarer.
Anthropology|Robert Marett