throwing stick

noun

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.

Australian. a boomerang.

Origin of throwing stick

First recorded in 1760–70

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for throwing stick

A thorough kaiak-man can also right himself without an oar by help of his throwing-stick, or even without it, by means of one arm.
Eskimo Life|Fridtjof Nansen
I have spoken of them in connection with the geographical distribution of plate-armour, the throwing-stick, pile dwellings, etc.
The Races of Man|Joseph Deniker
A throwing-stick was now to be cut about eight or ten inches from the end; and to effect this, much ceremony was used.
An Account of the English Colony in New South Wales, Vol. 1|David Collins
His father had to help him now, for it needed skill and care to fit it exactly to the throwing-stick.
Our Little Eskimo Cousin|Mary Hazleton Wade

He leaped to his feet, drawing back his right arm and hurling, the throwing-stick giving added velocity to the spear.
Genesis|H. Beam Piper

British Dictionary definitions for throwing stick

throwing stick

noun

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

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

throwing stick

noun

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Origin of throwing stick

Examples from the Web for throwing stick

throwing stick

noun