throwing stick

American  

noun

1. a short, straight or curved stick, flat or cylindrical in form, often having a hand grip, and used generally in preliterate societies as a hunting weapon to throw at birds and small game.

2. Australian. a boomerang.

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throwing stick British  

noun

1. a primitive device for hurling a spear with greater leverage, consisting of a rod with a groove in it and a hook or projection at the back end to hold the weapon until its release

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Etymology

Origin of throwing stick

First recorded in 1760–70

Example Sentences

Spears and a double-pointed throwing stick were found lying between animal bones about ten meters below the surface in deposits at a former lakeshore.

From Science Daily • Apr. 4, 2024

Locals believe it portrays an Aboriginal man carrying a woomera - a throwing stick - in his left hand.

From BBC • Jun. 26, 2018

Pinto Man did his hunting with a "throwing stick" which projected stone-tipped spears.

From Time Magazine Archive

The womera, or throwing stick, which enables the natives of Port Jackson to cast their spears with such amazing force and precision, is not used by them.

From Statistical, Historical and Political Description of the Colony of New South Wales and its Dependent Settlements in Van Diemen's Land With a Particular Enumeration of the Advantages Which These Colonies Offer for Emigration, and Their Superiority in Many Respects Over Those Possessed by the United States of America by Wentworth, William Charles

In Torres' Strait bows and arrows are the offensive weapons; but here we saw spears only: each man had several in his hand, and something which was supposed to be a throwing stick.

From A Voyage to Terra Australis — Volume 2 by Flinders, Matthew