Spear

spear, primitive weapon consisting of a wooden shaft tipped with a sharp point, usually 8 to 9 ft (2.4–2.7 m) in length. The point was made first of flint, later of bronze, and ultimately of steel; the spear has been in use since prehistoric times, originally as a missile weapon. Spear-throwers, such as the atlatl of the ancient Americas, are hooked sticks that are held in the hand in such a way as to increase the range and force with which a spear can be thrown. From the spears of antiquity the medieval lance and pike evolved. The pike is a long wooden shaft with a steel point that sometimes has a hook on one side. Longer by 2 or 3 ft (61–91 cm) than spears, lances were used by many European cavalry units as recently as the early 20th cent. In a few countries they are still borne in ceremonial military formations, sometimes with a small pennant near the point. Primitive peoples in remote areas still hunt and fight with spears, sometimes putting poison on the tips.

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spear

a shoot, slender stalk or blade, as of grass, asparagus, or broccoli

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spear [spir]

(design engineering)

A rodlike fishing tool having a barbed-hook end, used to recover rope, wire line, and other materials from a borehole.

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spear

weapon plunged into Jesus’s side during crucifixion. [N.T.: John 19:34]

See : Passion of Christ

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Spear

a thrusting or throwing weapon used in war and in hunting by most of the peoples of the world.

The spear appeared in the Paleolithic age. Originally it was a stick with a pointed end. Later, it consisted of a shaft, from 1.5 to 5 m long, and a tip (the tip was made of stone or bone in the Stone Age and of metal in the Bronze Age). Spears became especially widespread in the Iron Age.

The Roman infantry was armed with a spear (pilum) consisting of a heavy and long iron part. In the Middle Ages the knightly cavalry and infantry were armed with spears. In ancient Rus’, also, the spear was a weapon of the infantry and the cavalry; throwing spears (sulitsy) were carried in special quivers. Most medieval spears had faceted tips that could pierce the defensive armor of the enemy. A variety of the light and long spear, the pike, was retained in the infantry until the late 17th and early 18th centuries and in the cavalry until the early 20th century. Spears are still used as hunting weapons by some present-day backward tribes in Africa, South America, and other parts of the world.