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

See Examples For:

throwing stick

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

All spears are thrown with the 'wommera', or throwing stick.

From Narrative of the Overland Expedition of the Messrs. Jardine from Rockhampton to Cape York, Northern Queensland by Frederick J. Byerley

It was a throwing stick consisting of two parts.

From The Hohokam Dig by Theodore Pratt