spear (redirected from spearlike)

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.

---

spear

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

---

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.

---

spear

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

See : Passion of Christ