spontoon
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of spontoon
1590–1600; < French esponton < Italian spuntone, equivalent to s- ex- 1 + puntone kind of weapon (literally, pointed object) ( punt ( o ) point + -one augmentative suffix)
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.
The captain and lieutenant bore in their hands the partisan, which had already been a little diminished, and was called spontoon; the subordinate officers still carried the short pike.
From Pictures of German Life in the XVIIIth and XIXth Centuries, Vol. II. by Freytag, Gustav
Casanova went first, on all fours, and thrusting the point of his spontoon between the joints of the lead sheeting so as to obtain a hold, he crawled slowly upwards.
From The Historical Nights' Entertainment First Series by Sabatini, Rafael
Johnson and sir Joshua talked with pleasure of what they had seen; and, says Johnson, in a tone of admiration: "How the little fellow brandished his spontoon!"
From Dr. Johnson's Works: Life, Poems, and Tales, Volume 1 The Works of Samuel Johnson, Ll.D., in Nine Volumes by Johnson, Samuel
When Balbi wrote that his walls were hung with pictures of saints, it became a question of conveying the spontoon to him.
From The Historical Nights' Entertainment First Series by Sabatini, Rafael
Recovered, he took up his spontoon, which he had placed in the gutter, and, assisted by it, he climbed back to the dormer.
From The Historical Nights' Entertainment First Series by Sabatini, Rafael
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
