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javelin

noun
/ˈd͡ʒæv.(ə.)lɪn/

Etymology

From Middle English chafeveleyn, gavelong, from Old French javelline, diminutive of javelot, diminutive of *javel, from Vulgar Latin *gabalus, from Gaulish gabulum (compare Old Irish gabul (“fork”), Welsh gafl), from Proto-Celtic *gablā (“fork, forked branch”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰeh₁bʰ-. The Old French term was also borrowed into Middle Low German as gaveline, and into Middle High German as gabilot. Cognate with gavelock, gaffle.

  1. derived from *gʰeh₁bʰ-✻
  2. derived from *gablā✻
  3. derived from gabulum
  4. derived from *gabalus✻
  5. derived from javelline
  6. inherited from chafeveleyn,gavelong

Definitions

  1. A light spear thrown with the hand and used as a weapon.

    • Flies the javelin swifter to its mark, / Launched by the vigour of a Roman arm?
    • With what apprehensions we proceeded, ignorant at what moment we might be greeted by the javelin of some ambushed savage!

  2. A metal-tipped spear thrown for distance in an athletic field event.

    • I managed to medal in the javelin throw.

  3. A javelinfish (Coelorinchus australis).

  4. ›+ 3 more definitions

    1. To pierce with a javelin.

      • Furrowing a giant oak, and javelining / With darted spikes and splinters of the wood

    2. To throw like a javelin.

      • He will have questions of all sorts javelined at him from the benches on both sides, from above the gangway and from below it.

    3. To fall like a javelin.

      • The ants broke loose and attacked. In an attempt to beat them off, Ejeka lost grip of his whip which javelinned earthward.
      • Jagged bolts of lightning javelined down from the sky, attempting to skewer him with their electrical touch.

The neighborhood

Derived

javazon, javelin dart, javelineer, javelinier, javelinist, javelin sand boa, javelin throw, javelin thrower

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at javelin. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

01javelin02field03woodland04existing05existence06dictionary07encyclopedia08category09arrow10shaft

A definitional loop anchored at javelin. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

10 hops · closes at javelin

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA