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spearman

American  
[speer-muhn] / ˈspɪər mən /

noun

  • spearmen
    plural
  1. a person who is armed with or uses a spear.


spearman British  
/ ˈspɪəmən /

noun

  1. a soldier armed with a spear

"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

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms


Etymology

Origin of spearman

Middle English word dating back to 1250–1300; see origin at spear 1, man


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

To this Peiraios the good spearman answered: “Aye, stay in the wild country while you will, I shall be looking after him, Telemakhos. He will not lack good lodging.”

From "The Odyssey" by Homer

The first guard appeared as they neared die horse lines, a lean spearman whose maroon beard marked him as Tyroshi.

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin

This man’s son had served under the great Odysseus, gone in the decked ships with him to the wild horse country of Troy—a spearman, Antiphos by name.

From "The Odyssey" by Homer

There, never could the spearman pass, Or forester, unmoved; There, oft the tear-besprinkled grass Llewellyn's sorrow proved.

From Children's Literature A Textbook of Sources for Teachers and Teacher-Training Classes by Erle Elsworth Clippinger

Each crew consists of a spearman, who is captain, and one or two oarsmen or paddlers, of whom the after one is the pilot.

From Boy Scouts Handbook The First Edition, 1911 by Boy Scouts of America

In Homer’s “Iliad,” for instance, the Abantes, a faction of spearmen, are described as having “hair long at the back.”

From New York Times ● May 17, 2022

A key military development unique to Greece was the phalanx: a unit of spearmen standing in a dense formation, with each using his shield to protect the man to his left.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2020

He’s waiting for a certain young lady and her dragons before he commits his Dornish spearmen to battle.

From Forbes ● Jun. 8, 2015

PADDLE-FOOTING through blue-green waters off the Bahamas, these submarine spearmen are demonstrating one of the fastest growing of modern sports.

From Time Magazine Archive

He'd returned from Rosby to deliver a fresh levy of spearmen recruited from Lord Cyles's estates and resume his command of the City Watch.

From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin

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