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

“They’re splitting spears or throwing sticks to make tools for other tasks,” Milks says.

From Science Magazine

Rough wooden spears and throwing sticks attributed to H. heidelbergensis were found in the 1990s in northern Germany.

From Scientific American

She would make spears, throwing sticks, a bow and arrows, a sling.

From Literature

He loved throwing sticks as far as he could while walking around his family’s wheat and rice farm.

From Seattle Times