▪ I. spear, n.1
(spɪə(r))
Forms: α. 1–7 spere (3 spære), 3–6 sper (5 sperre), 5–7 speere. β. 5–6 speir, 5 speire, speyre, spayre, 6 spair. γ. 6–7 speare, 7– spear.
[OE. spere, = OFris. spiri, spere, sper (WFris. spear), MDu. spere, speer (Du. speer), OS. and MLG., OHG. and MHG. sper (G. speer), ON. pl. spjǫr; MSw. spär and obs. Da. spær are from MLG. It is doubtful whether L. sparus, hunting-spear, is related.]
I. 1. a. A thrusting weapon consisting of a stout wooden staff of some length, on which a sharp-pointed head, usually of iron or steel, is socketed or otherwise securely fixed; a lance; also, a shorter or lighter weapon of this kind used for throwing.
| α c 725 Corpus Gloss. (Hessels) C 610 Contos, speoru. c 893 K. ælfred Oros. iii. xvii. §1 Þa for he..& funde hiene ænne be weᵹe licgan mid sperum tosticad. c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. John xix. 34 An ðara cempa mið spere sidu his untynde. c 1000 ælfric Saints' Lives xii. 55 Þæt hors hine bær forð swa þæt spere him eode þurh ut. c 1060 O.E. Chron. (MS. C) an. 1055, ær þær wære æniᵹ spere ᵹescoten, ær fleah ðæt Englisce folc. a 1225 Ancr. R. 60 Þerefter heo schekeð hire spere, & nehlecheð up on hire, &..ȝiueð speres wunden. c 1275 Passion our Lord 179 in O.E. Misc., Mid speres and myd staues and oþe vele þinge. c 1320 Sir Tristr. 1446 Wiþ a spere feloun He smot him in þe side. a 1400 Sir Perc. 191 Off alle hir lordes faire gere Wolde scho noȝte with hir bere, Bot a lyttille Scottes spere. 1470–85 Malory Arthur i. x. 48 Vlfyus and Brastias dressid theire speres and ranne to gyder with grete raundon. 1483 Cath. Angl. 354/2 A Sperre for a bayre, excipulum, venabulum. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VIII, 36 b, The Scottes dayly shipped long speres called Colleyne Clowystes. 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. i. 11 The Champion..to the Dwarfe a while his needlesse spere he gaue. |
| β c 1400 Destr. Troy 6494 Two speirus full dispitus he sparet to cast. 14.. Trevisa's Barth. De P.R. xvii. xxxi. (Bodl. MS.), Dartes of reede..so longe..þ{supt} þei vse hem in stede of speirs. 1562 Winȝet Wks. (S.T.S.) I. 78 That knycht quha peirsit our Lordis syde with the speir. 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. II. 330 The Scotis ouerthrew monie Jnglismen with speiris. |
| γ 1524 St. Papers Hen. VIII, II. 115 Englishe speares, bowes, and billes. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 130 The chief Prophet..thrusteth his speare into hym. 1630 R. Johnson's Kingd. & Commw. 109 Some after the fashion of Italie, using a Scull, a Iacke, a Sword, and two light Speares. 1667 Milton P.L. i. 292 His Spear, to equal which the tallest Pine Hewn on Norwegian hills..were but a wand. 1756–7 tr. Keysler's Trav. (1760) IV. 403 The spears of both these champions are still shewn here. 1813 Scott Trierm. i. xvii, Four of the train combined to rear The terrors of Tintadgel's spear. 1889 Baden-Powell Pigsticking 90 The short or ‘jobbing’ spear is generally used throughout Bengal and Upper India. |
b. Without article,
freq. coupled with
shield,
sword, etc., and used in a collective sense.
| c 1205 Lay. 548 Brutus..mid sweord & mid spere al he todrof þes kinges here. a 1250 Owl & Night. 1022 He myhte bet teche ane beore To bere scheld and spere. a 1300 Cursor M. 20817 To be þan for vs sper and scheild. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xviii. 12 Wyth-oute spores other spere spakliche he loked. c 1400 Rom. Rose 5823 That she..nyl..smyte a stroke in this bataile, With darte, ne mace, spere, ne knyf. c 1470 Henry Wallace iv. 302 All..Off that party that mycht weild bow or sper. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems liv. 16 Quhai for hir saik, with speir and scheld, Preiffis maist mychtelye in the feld [etc.]. 1595 Reg. Mag. Sig. Scot. 116/2 With jak, knaipisca, speir and suord. 1611 Bible Jer. vi. 23 They shall lay hold on bowe and speare. 1725 Pope Odyssey x. 169, I climb'd a cliff, with spear and sword in hand. 1810 Scott Lady of L. v. xi, And still, from copse and heather deep, Fancy saw spear and broadsword peep. 1849 Aytoun Lays Scott. Caval. 70 Why go you forth..With spear and belted brand? |
† c. Const.
of (peace or war).
spear of peace, a blunt spear used in jousting.
Obs.| a 1400 Sir Degrev. 1177 Tak ether of ȝow a spere, Bothe of pes and of were. Ibid. 1261 To gret sperus of pese Bothe these lordes hem chese. 1508 Kennedy Flyting w. Dunbar 545 Deulbere, thy spere of were, but feir, thou yelde. |
† d. The sharp head of a pike.
Obs. rare.
| 1690 Exercise of Foot 121 Trail your Pikes with the Spears behind. Ibid. 144 The Pikemen Charge their Pikes to the Front, the Spears in a Line Breast high. |
e. Mil. One of the transverse spikes or poles of a cheval-de-frise.
| 1823 Crabb Technol. Dict. 1828 Spearman Brit. Gunner (ed. 2) 142 Weight, Dimension, &c. of Chevaux-De-Frize... Barrel, Length 9 ft. 5 in. Spears, 20. Length 6 ft. 1834–47 J. S. Macaulay Field Fortif. (1851) 82 The spears of the chevaux-de-frise should be so arranged as to present three rows of points to the enemy. 1876 Voyle & Stevenson Milit. Dict. (ed. 3) s.v. Chevaux de frise, Each length is composed of a barrel or stout beam.., with strong sharp spears driven through it, in two or more different directions. |
2. a. In
transf. and
fig. uses.
| c 897 K. ælfred Gregory's Past. C. xxxv. 244 Ða speru ðære soðfæstnesse, ðæt sindon haliᵹra ᵹewrita manunga. a 1300 Cursor M. 28046 O licheri agayn þe spere Wit chastite þou sal þe were. c 1470 Henry Wallace ii. 231 Compleyne for hym that was your aspre sper. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems lxxxiv. 40 Inconstance..; Secreit invy, and of dispyt the speir. 1546 J. Heywood Prov. (1867) 29 Will is a shrewde boy... A gentle white spurre, and at neede a sure speare. 1593 Shakes. Rich. II, i. i. 171, I am..Pierc'd to the soule with slanders venom'd speare. 1820 Shelley Prometh. Unb. i. 31 The crawling glaciers pierce me with the spears Of their moon-freezing crystals. 1873 M. Arnold Lit. & Dogma (1876) 328 The spear of Butler's reasoning. 1930 R. Campbell Adamastor 60 A starved mongrel..From where he crouched, a thrilling spear of pain, Hurled forth his Alleluia to the sky. 1934 T. S. Eliot Rock ii. 78 Encompassed with enemies armed with the spears of mistaken ideals. |
b. The ‘sack’; dismissal.
Austral. slang.| 1912 in Stewart & Keesing Old Bush Songs (1957) 273 I've been many years a shearer and I fancied I could shear, I've shore for Rouse of Guntawung and always missed the spear. 1941 Baker Dict. Austral. Slang 69 Get the spear, to be dismissed from a job. |
† 3. In allusive phrases or uses.
a. under a spear, under one banner, pennon, or flag.
Obs.—1| 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 11861 So þat þer were To & tuenti kniȝtes vnder a spere. |
† b. to sell at the spear,
to put, etc., under the spear, to sell by auction.
to pass under the spear, to ‘come under the hammer’.
Obs. After the common L. phrase
sub hasta vendere.
| 1600 Holland Livy ii. xvii. 55 The rest of the inhabitants were sold at the speare in ouvert market like slaves. Ibid. xxiii. xxxii. 496 Their fields he would lay wast; sell their servants in port sale at the speare. 1611 B. Jonson Catiline ii. i, When you see..that..their Houses, and fine Gardens [are] giuen away, And all their goods, vnder the Speare. 1689 Evelyn Let. to Pepys 12 Aug. in E.'s Diary (1827) IV. 319 The noblest library that ever pass'd under the speare at outcry. 1709 Mrs. Manley Secret Mem. (1736) IV. 96 They persuaded him to put all the Furniture of the House immediately under the Spear. |
† c. stroke of the spear: (see
quot. and
feather n. 11 b).
| 1753 Chambers' Cycl. Suppl. s.v., The feather of a horse, called the stroke of the spear, is a mark in the neck, or near the shoulder, of some Barbs [etc.]. |
4. a. A soldier armed with or carrying a spear; a spearman. Now
arch.| c 1205 Lay. 7453 Com of Muriene, moni spere kene. a 1400 Sir Degrev. 319 The best mene that he ledde, He hadd y-lefft home to wedde, With ffyffty spers is he ffledd. c 1450 Contin. Brut 580 One Watkyn Ruskyn, a gentill man and a gud spere, was slayn at þe wynnyng of þe same bullewerk. 1475 Bk. Noblesse (Roxb.) 38 Ser John Chaundos,..whiche had bene in many batailes, and had the governaunce of M{supl}. speris. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VI, 55 The Erle of Huntyngdone,..with twoo M. archers, and foure hundred speres, was sente into Gascoyne. a 1578 Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (S.T.S.) II. 39, ij{supc} speiris witht the earle of Angus and ij{supc} witht my lord governour. 1618 Bolton Florus (1636) 55 Caius Minutius, a speare in the fourth Legion. 1820 Scott Monast. xxxv, That plump of spears that are spurring on so fast. 1885 Ruskin Pleas. Eng. 113 He sent..for some German knights, and got five hundred spears. |
† b. (See
quots. and
pensioner 2.)
Obs.| 1539 Cranmer Let. to Cromwell in Rem. (1833) I. 296 Edward Askew..is by some nobleman preferred unto the room of one of these new spears in the Court. 1540 Wriothesley Chron. (Camden) I. 112 This yeare [1539] the kinge made many yong gentlemen speres, and gave them 5 l. a peece. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VIII, 6 Also this yere [1509], the kyng ordeined fiftie Gentle menne to bee speres, euery of theim to haue an Archer, a Dimilaunce and a Custrell, and euery Spere to haue three greate Horses. Ibid. 237 b, In December [1539] were appointed to wayte on the kynges hyghnes person fiftie Gentelmen called Pencioners or Speares, lyke as they were in the first yere of the kyng. |
c. A hunter or sportsman who uses a spear; a pig-sticker.
| 1849 E. B. Eastwick Dry Leaves 75 One of the best spears who ever chased the wild boar over wide plain and tangled hill. 1863 Trevelyan Compet. Wallah (1866) 139 Mr. Mildred, an indigo planter, a first-rate spear and rough-rider. |
5. a. A sharp-pointed weapon used for various purposes;
esp. one for catching fish, a leister.
Also with defining terms, as
eel-spear,
fish-spear,
salmon-spear,
trout-spear.
| 1551– [see salmon n.1 4]. 1555– [see eel-spear]. 1611 [see fish n.1 6 b.]. a 1700 Evelyn Diary 22 July 1654, Abounding in trouts catch'd by speare in the night. 1766 State of Proc., A. Macdonald v. Dk. Gordon Pursuer's Proof 13 The fish..were killed and taken out by spears. 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) VI. 208 They renew their attacks, till the whale begins to be quite enfeebled.., when they plunge their longer spears into various parts of its body. 1815 Scott Guy M. xxvi, This chase, in which the fish is pursued and struck with barbed spears,..is much practised at the mouth of the Esk. 1840 D. P. Blaine Encycl. Rural Sports §2889 The salmon is also caught with a spear, which they dart into him as he swims near the surface of the water. |
b. A pointed iron bar.
rare.
| 1607 Dekker Jests G ij, If they haue..taken note of any casement, without a speere going vp in the middle. Ibid. G ij b. |
c. A prong
of a fork. (
Cf. speer n.2)
| 1739 Baker in Phil. Trans. XLI. 135 A Young Woman..received a Wound just in the Pupil of her right Eye, by the Spear of a common Fork. 1748 Aery Ibid. XLV. 412 She received a Wound in the Cornea of her right Eye, by the Spear of a common Fork, which also divided the Uvea. |
6. a. pl. The thorns or prickles of a plant, the spines or spikes of a hedgehog, sharp fins of a fish, etc. Chiefly
poet.; now
rare.
| [1503 Dunbar Thistle & Rose 130 Vpone the awfull Thrissill scho beheld, And saw him kepit with a busche of speiris.] 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts 279 The Hedghog rowleth vpon the Serpent..and killeth his aduersary, carrying the flesh vpon his speares. 1693 Dryden, etc. Juvenal iv. (1697) 91 Mark the pointed spears That from thy Hand on his pierc'd Back he wears! Note. He makes the Flatterer call the sharp Fins rising on the Fishes back, Spears. 1821 Clare Vill. Ministr. II. 161 The very bramble, weeping 'Neath dewy tear-drops that its spears surround. 1827 ― Sheph. Cal. Feb. ix. 23 The hedgehog,..As shepherd-dog his haunt espies,..rolls up in a ball of spears. |
b. The sting of a reptile or insect,
esp. of a bee. Now
Sussex dial.| 1608 Topsell Serpents 172 Nor yet he when [he] with his angry mouth Doth byte, such paines and torments bringeth As other Serpents..When with his teeth and speare he stingeth. 1609 C. Butler Fem. Mon. A iij b, The speere she hath is but little and not halfe so long as the other Bees. Ibid. A v b, Hir speere she [the bee] is very loth to vse, if by any other meanes she can shift hir enimy. a 1700 Ken Edmund Poet. Wks. 1721 II. 90 Into his tendrest Parts..the pertinacious Legion dart their spears. 1721 Bradley Philos. Acc. Wks. Nat. 149 Our Gnat, which is of the unarmed Kind, having no Spear in its Mouth. 1875 Parish Sussex Dial., Spear, the sting of a bee. 1889 Longman's Mag. July 269 The best thing..when you have taken ‘the spear’ out, is to rub the place with a leek. |
7. A beam or ray
of light.
| c 1850 Lowell Above & Below i. iii, 'Tis from these heights alone your eyes The advancing spears of day can see. 1894 Hall Caine Manxman 277 A spear of candle-light shot from her door. |
II. attrib. and
Comb. 8. Simple
attrib., in the sense ‘of or belonging to a spear’, as
spear-blade,
† spear-block,
spear-butt,
† spear-pile (
= shaft),
spear-tip, etc.; also denoting distance or measurement, as
spear-cast,
spear-length,
spear-throw; and miscellaneous, as
spear-arm,
spear-forest,
spear-print,
spear-storm,
spear-stroke,
spear surge,
spear-thrust.
| 1880 Browning Dram. Idylls, Echetlos 5 Up, back, out, down—was the *spear-arm play. |
| 1880 F. Witti Diary in J. Hatton New Ceylon iv. (1881) 99 To the one end of the blowpipe is always made fast a *spear-blade. |
| 1543 Acc. Ld. High Treas. Scot. VIII. 223 For certane *speir blokis boucht..to his grace in Ayr,..xv li. |
| 1853 Kingsley Hypatia vi. 73 An obedience which the Roman soldiers could only have compelled by hard blows of the *spear-butt. |
| 1865 Morris Jason x. 209 As in the stream they lay A *spear-cast from the shore. |
| 1946 S. Spender European Witness xiv. 217 A country of clustered *spear-forests and gloomy heaths. |
| 13.. Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 2316 He sprit forth spenne fote more þen a *spere lenþe. c 1400 Destr. Troy 3698 Hit spirit vp spitiously fyue speire lenght. 1585 T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. i. viii. 9 The ditch..was only seuen fadomes broade, and twoo speare lengths deep. 1890 Doyle White Company xxxvi, He fell within a spear-length of the English line. |
| 1638 R. Brathwait Psalmes Paraphr. cli, Six hundred iron shekels masse upon my *speare-pile playes. |
| 1911 E. Pound Canzoni 4 Deep in my heart that *spear-print stays, That wound I got beyond the waters. |
| 1848 Lytton K. Arthur iii. xlviii, May Harold, thus confronting all, Pass from the *spear-storm to the Golden Hall. |
| 1835 Court Mag. VI. 35/2 The captive English,..awaiting the *spear-stroke with unblenching fortitude. |
| 1900 Chesterton Wild Knight & Other Poems 103 The crest of the *spear-surge. |
| 1884 J. Colborne Hicks Pasha 46 Their many-coloured *spear-tassels dropping on their shoulders. |
| 1892 Rider Haggard Nada 28 The men were running..with the length of a *spear-throw between them. |
| 1825 Scott Talism. xxvi, With sword-cut and *spear-thrust all hack'd and pierced through. |
| 1930 T. S. Eliot tr. St.-J. Perse's Anabasis 43 The horsemen..feeding on their *spear-tips the pure disasters of sunshine. |
| 1857 Gosse Omphalos xii. 362 It falls to the ground before the *spear-touch of our Ithuriel. |
| 1895 Cath. Mag. Aug. 210 The *spear-wound in His side. |
9. General combs.
a. With agent-nouns, as
spear-bearer,
spear-fisher,
spear-fisherman,
spear-hurler,
spear-planer.
| 1449 in Sharp Cov. Myst. (1825) 193 Item, ij sperberrers..ij d. c 1515 Cocke Lorell's B. 10 Tankarde berers,..and spere planers. 1876 G. W. Cox Gen. Hist. Greece ii. i. 103 His spear-bearer Gyges. 1895 J. Menzies Cynewulf's Elene 25 The great spear-hurler, who the hosts to battle led. 1951 T. C. Roughley Fish & Fisheries of Australia ix. 309 Members will not..seek quarrels with line⁓fishermen or other spear-fishermen regarding priority rights of fishing at any place. 1962 Underwater Swimming (‘Know the Game’ Ser.) 19/1 The spearfisherman should always carry a knife. Ibid., An added safety device is to have a float anchored in the diving area to which the spearfisher can go to rest or leave his catch. 1982 Times 21 July 3/3 Dr Paul Cragg, a biologist, was in favour of resuming grants for spearfishermen. |
b. With verbal
ns. (objective or instrumental), as
spear-bearing,
spear-breaking,
spear-fishing (hence, as a back-formation,
spear-fish vb. intr. and
trans.),
spear-pricking, etc.; also similative, as
spear-flashing.
| 1861 Paley æschylus (ed. 2) Pers. 149 note, Archers, or Persians, are again opposed to *spear-bearing Greeks. |
| 1848 Buckley Iliad 265 *Spear-brandishing Polydamas came as an avenger. |
| 1823 Scott Quentin D. xxvi, I should otherwise have had *spear-breaking between you and my cousin of Orleans. |
| 1962 Times 6 Apr. 7/2 Sail, snorkel, skin-dive, *spear⁓fish in tropical Florida. 1963 Harper's Bazaar Jan. 65/1 On the Côte d'Azur, many of the big fish have been..spear-fished out of sight. 1973 J. Jones Touch of Danger xix. 106, I spearfished... Sonny..was no adept with flippers or speargun. |
| 1601 Reg. Mag. Sig. Scot. 392/2 Lie cobill, curroch et *speir fischingis super aqua de Spey. 1945 Spear-fishing [see flipper n.2 1 b]. 1960 M. A. Gabrielsen et al. Aquatics Handbk. xiv. 102/1 Spear fishing is becoming a popular competitive as well as recreational sport. 1973 J. Jones Touch of Danger xix. 107 Sonny was against spearfishing for sport. |
| 1937 Blunden Elegy 78 Against high blue *Spear-flashing white the spire. |
| 1895 Sir H. Maxwell Duke Britain viii. 117 Forced by heavy blows and *spear-prickings to resume progress. |
| 1865 Morris Jason vi. 485 *Spear-shaking warrior and slim-ankled maid. |
| 1895 K. Grahame Gold. Age 98 His *spear-splintering crash of tourney. |
| 1828 P. Cunningham N.S. Wales (ed. 3) II. 42 By means of their perpetual wars and the practices of *spear-throwing, child-murder, and concubinage. |
| 1848 Buckley Iliad 26 *Spear-wielding auxiliaries from many cities. |
c. With past
pples. (instrumental), as
spear-bound,
spear-fallen,
spear-famed,
spear-pierced,
spear-shaken,
spear-stuck,
spear-tipped, etc.
| 1816 H. G. Knight Ilderim 280 The *spear-bound steeds that ready harness'd fed. |
| 1824 Symmons Agamemnon 104 The blood-drop..from the *spear-fallen man Drips apace. |
| 1848 Buckley Iliad 42 These, *spear-famed Idomeneus commanded. |
| 1863 J. H. Newman Verses Var. Occas. 33 Faint shadows of the *spear-pierced side. |
| 1947 S. Spender Poems of Dedication iv. 56 Above the destroyed city reborn city..Tower of wings climbing *spear-shaken skies. |
| 1848 Buckley Iliad 43 He killed Mynetes and *spear-skilled Epistrophus. |
| 1943 D. Gascoyne Poems 1937–42 5 Whose are these hollow red-filmed eyes And thorn⁓spiked head and *spear-stuck side? |
| 1870 Morris Earthly Par. III. iv. 364 In forefront of battle let him fall; Or..on some foeman's *spear-swept wall. |
| 1954 W. Faulkner Fable 132 The *spear-tipped iron fence beyond which the three sentries flanked the blank door beneath the three morning-windy flags. |
d. With
adjs., as
spear-headed,
spear-pointed,
spear-straight, etc.
| 1561 Burning St. Paul's ¶2 (Camden), A long and a speare pointed flame of fier. 1598 Barret Theor. Warres ii. i. 20 A speare-headed staffe, sharpe pointed with iron. 1753 Chambers' Cycl. Suppl. s.v. Phaseolus, The American phaseolus, with a sinuated and spear-pointed leaf. 1777 Potter æschylus (1779) I. 184 Sev'n chiefs of high command, In arms spear-proof, take their appointed stand. 1846 Landor Exam. Shaks. Wks. II. 295 Rushes spear high. 1848 J. R. Lowell Poems 2nd Ser. 69 A stem..Standing spear-straight in the waist-deep moss. 1873 Spon Workshop Rec. Ser. i. 59/2 No spear-pointed drill can be tempered hard enough not to break. 1919 J. Masefield Reynard the Fox ii. 107 With spear-straight stern. |
e. In some specific names, as
spear-bill,
spear-billed (grebe),
spear-leaf,
spear-nosed (bat).
| 1827 Griffith tr. Cuvier II. 9 We may here add the Lunette,..spear-nosed bat. Ibid. V. 69 Phyllostoma Hastatum (Spear-leaf Phyllostome, or Javelin Bat). 1884 Coues N. Amer. Birds 793 æchmophorus, Spear-bill [Index, Spear-billed] Grebes. |
10. a. Special combinations, as
spear-axe, a spear with an axe-shaped head;
spear-carrier, a carrier of a spear, a spearman: used
transf. as (
a)
orig. Theatr. slang, an actor with a walk-on part; hence, an unimportant participant; (
b)
U.S. colloq., a proponent or ‘standard-bearer’ (
cf. spearhead 1 b);
† spear-egg-shaped a.,
Bot. lanceolate-obovate;
† spear-field, the field of battle;
† spear-foot (see
quot.);
spear gun, a type of weapon used in spearfishing which operates by firing a detachable harpoon; also
attrib.; hence
spear-gunner;
spear-hand, the hand with which a spear is usually held, thrown, etc.; the right hand or side;
spear-hook U.S., a kind of snap-hook or spring-hook for taking fish (
Cent. Dict.);
spear-nail (see
quot.);
spear-play, exercise or fighting with spears;
spear-pyrites Min., a variety of marcasite or white iron pyrites;
spear-running, jousting with spears; now
arch.;
spear-side (after
OE. on spere-healfe), the male line of descent;
† spear silver Sc., a form of military tax or levy;
† spear-stick, a spiked walking-stick;
spear tackle Austral., an illegal tackle in rugby football in which a player is lifted and thrust to the ground head first; hence as
v. trans.;
spear-thrower, an implement used to aid the throwing of a spear.
| 1865 J. H. Ingraham Pillar of Fire xi. 129 The offensive weapons of the [Egyptian] army are the..*spear-axe [etc.]. |
| 1960 New Yorker 13 Aug. 97/1 The ‘Quartet’ is full of characters who in one novel may seem irritatingly superfluous *spear-carriers,..but who in the ‘Quartet’ turn out to be members of a literary repertory company. 1963 Times 20 May 12/5 Most of those spear-carriers not only don't know where the United States is but they don't know where they are themselves. 1967 N.Y. Times 21 May 26/1 Dr. King had ‘emerged as the public spear⁓carrier of a civil disobedience program’. 1976 Times 18 Mar. 10 In Wisconsin on the same day Representative Morris Udall, the ‘liberal-progressive’ spear carrier, will have to win to stay in the race. 1981 N. Marsh Black Beech & Honeydew (rev. ed.) x. 215 The students..would begin to accept the enormous challenge of a Shakespeare play and their own real importance, if only as spear-carriers, in doing so. 1982 Sunday Sun-Times (Chicago) 20 June 100/1 By the time Breakfast at Wimbledon telecasts are beamed into the United States on Fourth of July weekend, American tennis pros Davis, Dunk and Hardie will have vacated their present lodging and be long gone from the venerable tournament that they graced momentarily as spear-carriers. |
| 1796 Withering Brit. Plants (ed. 3) I. 82 *Spear egg-shaped,..shaped like a spear towards the base, and like an egg towards its extremity. Ibid. II. 474 Flower-scales spear-eggshaped, in pairs. |
| c 1470 Gol. & Gaw. 1238 To speid thame our the *spere-feild enspringing thai sprent. |
| 1753 Chambers' Cycl. Suppl., *Spear-foot, of a horse, is the far⁓foot behind. |
| 1951 T. C. Roughley Fish & Fisheries Austral. ix. 303 The sport of fishing with spears or *spear-guns under water..has had only a brief history. Ibid. 304 Most Australian spear-gun fishermen use a gun with rubber as the motive power. 1979 J. Leasor Love & Land Beyond i. 7 The..five⁓pronged fork of an underwater spear gun. |
| 1951 T. C. Roughley Fish & Fisheries Austral. ix. 308 Those responsible for such an attitude know little of the *spear⁓gunner's activities. |
| 1728 Chambers Cycl. s.v. Hand, *Spear-Hand, or Sword-Hand, is used for a Horseman's Right-Hand. 1824 Symmons Agamemnon 12 On the spear-hand and by the seat of state. |
| 1875 Knight Dict. Mech. 2255/2 *Spear-nail, one with a spear-shaped point. |
| c 1640 J. Smyth Lives Berkeleys (1883) I. 325 Given to his Esquiers for to play at *Spearplay at Bristoll, 26s 8{supd}. 1885 C. J. Lyall Anc. Arab. Poet. 96 Steeds, in the spear-play skilled. 1894 Geogr. Jrnl. III. 479, I had the pleasure of witnessing a spear-play between two parties. |
| 1837 Dana Min. 405 White Iron Pyrites, Pyrites rhombicus... *Spear Pyrites. 1865 Watts Dict. Chem. III. 402 White Iron pyrites, Marcasite, Radiated pyrites, Spear pyrites. |
| c 1550 Rolland Crt. Venus iv. 597 Than tuik thay in Iurnayis of Tornament, And *speir rinning, with mony Interpryis. 1823 Scott Quentin D. xiv, At the spear-running of Strasbourg. |
| 1861 Pearson Early & Mid. Ages 122 In his [Alfred's] will he declares his intention of..leaving his land on the *spear-side. 1870 Lowell Study Wind. 246 Such and such qualities he got from a grandfather on the spear side. |
| 1496 Acc. Ld. High Treas. Scot. I. 324 To gadir in the *spere siluer of Perth, Forfare, and Striuelinschire. |
| 1801 tr. Gabrielli's Myst. Husb. II. 135 His *spear stick, pelisse, &c. were at the Curate's. |
| 1969 Sun-Herald (Sydney) 13 July 36/2 Canterbury were penalised for a *spear tackle on Cavanagh. 1977 Telegraph (Brisbane) 8 Nov. 3/3 He was injured after he was allegedly spear-tackled... A player is spear-tackled when an opponent tackles low, lifts the man with the ball high, turns him over and thrusts him into the ground head first. 1871 Tylor Prim. Cult. I. 60 The highest people known to have used the *spear-thrower proper are the Aztecs. |
b. In the names of plants, trees, etc., as
spear arum,
† crowfoot,
-fern,
-flower,
-lily,
-(plume) thistle,
-wood (see
quots.).
| 1845–50 A. H. Lincoln Lect. Bot. App. 220/1 *Spear arum, Rensselaeria. |
| 1597 Gerarde Herbal ii. ccclv. 815 Called..in English *Speare Crowfoote, Spearewoort, and Banewoort. |
| 1867 W. W. Smyth Coal & Coal-mining 37 The Odontopteris, or tooth-fern, and Lonchopteris, or *spear-fern, are [fossil] genera which occur less frequently. |
| 1891 Cent. Dict., *Spear-flower, a tree or shrub of the large tropical and subtropical genus Ardisia of the Myrsineæ. |
| 1889 J. H. Maiden Usef. Native Pl. 621 Doryanthes excelsa... ‘*Spear Lily.’ ‘ Giant Lily.’ |
| 1855 Miss Pratt Flower. Pl. III. 231 (*Spear Plume Thistle.) Heads of flowers large, mostly solitary. |
| 1753 Chambers' Cycl. Suppl. s.v. Thistle, The broad-leaved *spear-Thistle. 1777 Jacob Cat. Plants 19 Carduus lanceolatus, Spear-Thistle. 1844 H. Stephens Bk. Farm III. 1066 The biennial spear-thistle, Cnicus lanceolatus, the spines of which breaking in the flesh, give acute pain when touched. 1872 H. Macmillan True Vine vii. 320 In the common spear-thistle, each plant produces upwards of a hundred seed-vessels. |
| 1866 Treas. Bot. 1077/2 *Spearwood, Acacia doratoxylon. 1874 Ibid. Suppl. 1343/2 Spearwood, also Eucalyptus doratoxylon. |
c. In the names of fishes, as
spear-beak,
dog,
-fish (see
quots.).
| 1896 Lydekker Roy. Nat. Hist. V. 507 The extinct Jurassic *spear-beaks (Aspidorhynchus) constitute a second family. |
| 1848 Zoologist VI. 1975 Picked Dog, *Spear Dog, Spinax acanthias. |
| 1882 Jordan & Gilbert Syn. Fishes N. Amer. 119 Carpiodes cyprinus... Quillback; *Spear-fish; Sail-fish; Skimback. Ibid. 420 Tetrapturus albidus, Bill-fish; Spear-fish. 1888 Goode Amer. Fishes 241 In Cuba, the Spear-fishes are called ‘Aguja’. |
▪ II. spear, n.2 (
spɪə(r))
Forms: 5–6
spere, 6
speere,
speare, 9
speer, 7–
spear.
[Irregular variant of spire n.1, perh. influenced by prec.] † 1. A spire of a church or other building; a pyramid.
Obs.| a 1490 Botoner Itin. (Nasmith, 1778) 221 Altitudo de le spere..sicut modo fracto continet 200 pedes. [Ibid. 241 Spera sive pinaculum cum turri quadrata ecclesiæ Beatæ Mariæ de Radclyff.] 1509 Barclay Shyp of Folys (1570) 169 Chemnis also, as Diodorus sayes, Builded a speere hye and wonderous... This speere was costly, dere and sumptuous. 1570–6 Lambarde Peramb. Kent (1826) 260 The speare or steeple of which Churche was fired by lightening. c 1605 Acc. Bk. W. Wray, in Antiquary XXXII. 212 The great spere of St. Wilfrides steple. 1653 H. More Antid. Ath. i. iv. §2 If you say it consists of Points,..I can demonstrate that every Spear or Spire-Steeple is as thick as it is long. 1663 in Strype Stow's Surv. (1754) I. ii. vii. 443/1 Your Lordship being the Owner of the greatest Part of the said Speare or Steeple. 1755 Mem. Capt. P. Drake II. iii. 79 A great and rich Cloyster,..where there is a very fine Church that has four Spears. |
2. a. The plumule or rudimentary shoot of a seed;
spec. the acrospire of grain.
| 1647 Herrick Noble Numbers, To Finde God Tell me the motes, dust, sands, and speares Of Corn, when Summer shakes his eares. 1676 M. Cook Forest-Trees 63 Watering them [nuts, etc.] may kill them, by making the kernel swell too hastily, and so crack it before the spear causeth it; or it may Mould and stupifie the spear. a 1722 Lisle Husb. (1757) 91 By the time the spear is shot under ground the corn is well rooted. 1886 Elworthy W. Som. Word-bk. s.v., In malting or other germination of grain, the spear is that sprout which develops into the future stalk, as distinct from the shoots which form rootlets. |
b. A blade, shoot, or sprout (
of grass, etc.).
| 1841 Catlin N. Amer. Ind. lv. (1844) II. 203 Not a spear of grass is broken or bent by his feet. 1865 Athenæum No. 1979. 444/3 Leaves of trees and spears of corn. 1873 Joaquin Miller Life among the Modocs xx. 253 He pointed to the new leaves of the trees, [and] the spears that were bursting through the ground. 1896 Howells Impress. & Exp. 283 Every spear of grass had been torn from it. |
c. Similarly of hair.
| 1852 Mrs. Stowe Uncle Tom's C. xxv, If they's to pull every spear o' har out o' my head it wouldn't do no good. |
d. The edible shoot, including stem and tip or head, of asparagus or of sprouting broccoli (
esp. calabrese).
| 1952 Quick Freezing Jan. 9/1 At a Birds Eye press conference held recently it was stated that three new products have been added to that range. These are: (1) Chicken livers... (2) Broccoli spears, broccoli cuts... (3) Pineapple slices in syrup. 1966 Harrod's Food News Sept. 2/1 Brocolli Spears—8 oz. 2/11 Ibid. 5/1 Asparagus spears Spanish (5½ in. long)—17 oz. tin 4/9. 1969 Oxf. Bk. Food Plants 162/1 Asparagus..is usually considered to be a luxury vegetable. The part eaten is the young shoot or ‘spear’. 1974 P. Westland Taste of Country ii. 37/2 Cover with the cooked broccoli spears and then the cheese sauce. 1979 Sunset Apr. 178/2 A light entrée, it's especially good when accompanied with sliced ham..and additional spears of freshly cooked asparagus. |
3. south. dial. a. collect. Reeds,
esp. as a material for thatching, or for plastering upon.
| 1794 Trans. Soc. Arts XII. 144 This prevents its being overrun with spear and sedge. 1819 Cobbett Weekly Reg. 13 Feb. 658 In England we sometimes thatch with reeds, which in Hampshire, are called spear. 1894 Times 14 June 14/1 The long coarse herbage which fringes the banks of rivers and other streams, and is locally termed ‘spear’, makes excellent thatch for hay and corn stacks. |
b. A stem or stalk of a reed, osier, etc.
| 1844 W. Barnes Poems Rur. Life (1848) 388 Spears,..the stems of the reed arundo phragmites, sometimes employed instead of laths to hold plaster. 1905 Westm. Gaz. 12 Aug. 5/1 She walked down to the water's edge, through the green osier spears, bareheaded. |
c. attrib. in
spear-bed,
spear reed.
| 1812 P. Hawker Diary (1893) I. 46 Second storeys of many houses of spear reed, cemented..with plaster. 1863 Wise New Forest 287 The phrase ‘spire-bed’, or ‘spear-bed field’, is very common, meaning a particular field, near where the ‘spires’ grow. 1874 T. Hardy Far from Madding Crowd I. xxii. 251, I believe Farmer Boldwood kissed her behind the spear-bed at the sheep-washing. |
▪ III. spear, n.3 (
spɪə(r))
Also 6
spere.
[Variant of spire n.3] 1. A young tree,
esp. a young oak; a sapling. Also
attrib. in
spear oak,
spear tree.
| 1543 Mem. Fountains (Surtees) 412 Yonge saplings, speres of okes and ashes. 1891 Pall Mall G. 23 Mar. 3/3 Large numbers of spear trees are destroyed while decaying pollards are left standing. 1895 Daily News 20 May 6/5 Bury Wood, which is mainly composed of spear oaks, horn-beam, and blackthorn. |
† b. transf. A stripling, youth. Also
fig. Obs.| 1526 Skelton Magnyf. 947 In faythe, Lyberte is nowe a lusty spere. a 1529 ― Agst. Garnesche iii. 41 At Gynys when ye ware But a slendyr spere, Dekkyd lewdly in your gere. |
2. techn. A pump-rod. Also
attrib.| 1729 Capt. W. Wriglesworth MS. Log-bk. of the ‘Lyell’ 9 Oct., Took in..18 small Sparrs, and 9 Spears. 1731 Phil. Trans. XXXVII. 7 The four Necks of the Crank have each an Iron Spear, or Rod, fixed at their upper Ends to the respective Libra, or Lever. 1750 T. R. Blanckley Nav. Expos. 124 Stave or Spear (Pump Hand) is a long Rod of Iron with an Eye at the upper End, which Hooks to the Brake. 1824 Mechanic's Mag. No. 43. 238 Which requires least manual labour in the case of a common ship-pump, a long or a short spear? 1849 Greenwell Coal-trade Terms, Northumb. & Durh. 49 Spears are made of Memel or Norway fir, in lengths of about 40 feet, and joined together by spear-plates. 1862 Times 28 Jan., The engine from which the pumps derive their motive power..and the great beam to which their ‘spears’ or rods were attached. |
▪ IV. spear, n.4 Devon and
Cornwall dial. [Variant of spar n.4] A thatching rod. Also
attrib.| 1837 J. F. Palmer Dialogue Dev. Dial. Gloss. 84 Spears or Spear-sticks, the pointed sticks, doubled and twisted, used for thatching. 1891 Hartland Gloss. s.v., Slatting..shoots of withy or nut-halse by means of a spear-hook, which is like a narrow-bladed bill-hook. 1899 Bourne Billy Bray 55 (E.D.D.), I told the farmer to bring three hundred sheaves [of reed].., and some spears for them. |
▪ V. spear, n.5 rare.
(
spɪə(r))
[f. spear v.3] The act of spearing or striking with a spear,
spec. in pig-sticking.
| 1903 Sir M. G. Gerard Leaves fr. Diaries vii. 224 The gainer of first spear in the final heat becoming the winner of the Cup. Ibid., The rule is that upon anyone touching the pig and calling ‘Spear’, should any other man..have reason to question the claim, he must shout ‘No spear’. |
▪ VI. spear variant of
speer n.1 (screen, etc.).
▪ VII. spear, v.1 Obs. (
exc. dial.).
(
spɪə(r))
Forms: 3
speren, 5
speryn (
speyryn); 4–5
spere,
sper (4
spir-); 6
speare 6, 9
dial. spear.
[a. MLG. speren (LG. speren, speeren, speiren), related to MDu. sperren, OHG. sperran: see spar v.1 It is clear from rimes and other evidence that the pret. forms
sperde,
sperd, common in the 13th and 14th centuries, usually belong to this verb and not to
sperre spar v.
1]
1. trans. To shut or close (a door, lid, etc.) firmly or securely;
† to bar or block (a way).
| c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 384 He ben don ut of blisses erd, Cherubin hauet ðe gates sperd. a 1300 Cursor M. 5618 In þis kist þe barn sco did. Quen it spird was wit þe lid,..Sco laid it on þe water fame. Ibid. 18086 Spers [Gött. Speris] your yates, þis es na gamen. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 13166 Sire Richer saw, & Beduer herde, Þat þer enemis þer weyes sperde. a 1400–50 Alexander 5545 In at a wicket he went & wynly it speris. ? 1449 Paston Lett. I. 83 And qhan he com thedder, the dors were fast sperid. 1542 Becon Potation for Lent I viij b, Heauen gates were speared agaynst vs for the sin of our first father Adam. c 1550 Bale Image both Ch. (East) 30 Speared is Gods Temple, when his true worshipping is hid. 1894 in Heslop Northumbld. Gloss. |
b. With
up.
| 1445 in Anglia XXVIII. 275 Where as townys were longe speryd vp, he dare sette wide þe yates. 1538 Bale Thre Lawes 1100, I close vp heauen, And speare vp paradyce. |
2. In general sense: To close, shut, etc.
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 80 Þet ȝe þertoȝeines..tunen [C. speren] ower eiðurles. a 1340 Hampole Psalter x. 5 His egh lidys..þat now ere oppynd & now sperd. Ibid. cxl. 3 Swa be oure lippis opyn til shrift, and sperd til excusynge of syn. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) VII. 121 For overmoche sorwe the herte is stoken and spered. a 1400–50 Alexander 3649 Brant vp he sittis, Springis out a spere, sperid all þe platis. a 1425 tr. Arderne's Treat. Fistula, etc. 39 Þe lacertes and þe synowes speryng and opnyng þe lure. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 283/1 Lacyn, or spere wythe a lace, fibulo. c 1550 Bale Image Both Ch. (Wyer) E v, So was it [a book] afore speared by the decre of God. 1560 Becon Policy War Wks. 1564 I. 139 Howe many wynke and speare theyr eyes, because they wyll not se it. |
3. To shut up or confine (a person) in a prison or other place. Also
fig.| c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 2194 He dede hem binden, and leden dun, And speren faste in his prisun. c 1300 Havelok 448 Onon he ferde To þe tour þer he woren sperde. 1375 Barbour Bruce iv. 14 Thai stythly speryt [thaim] Bath in fetrys and in presoune. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) xxiv. 113 He spered him in amanges his tresour withouten mete or drink. c 1460 Play of Sacrament 46 In an hoote ouyn [they] speryd hym fast. 1542 Becon Potation for Lent F iiij, Fastynge speareth vp & encloseth as though it were in a narrowe prison the extraordinary & vnlawfull mocions. 1548 ― Solace Soul Wks. 1564 II. 111 Therfore doth he..snarle him with these fetters and chenes, speareth hym in this prison & dongen. |
b. To shut up, put away, or enclose, in some receptacle.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 6888 Ilk waand þat þai þere bare He sperd wit-in þer santuare. 1303 R. Brunne Handl. Synne 3656 Cunsel of shryfte sperd yn hys breste, He ne oght for to telle. Ibid. 6134 Weyl I ferde Ar y, yn purs, penys sperde. a 1400 Minor Poems fr. Vernon Ms. xxiv. 195 In þi wombe þou speredest heuene Hele of god, vre mede. a 1564 Becon Art. Chr. Relig. Proved Wks. 1564 II. 158 When the disciples..dyd receaue his bodye they receiued it neither shutte or speared, or enclosed on ye bread. |
c. To unite or join closely.
| 1545 Bale Image Both Ch. C vj, They are speared up together faste unto hym with the shyninge cheane of charite. |
4. To exclude; to shut
out.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 25183 Þat thoru vr liuelade wick we sper fra us þe rightwis demester. 13.. Seven Penit. Psalms 72 in Engl. Stud. X. 234 In heuene, whan þou holdist alle, Late me not be þer out isperd. c 1440 Jacob's Well 228 Wo to ȝou þat speryn out of ȝoure herte þe mynde of cristes passioun. c 1450 Cov. Myst. (Shaks. Soc.) 31 This blysse I spere ffrom ȝow ryth fast. |
5. absol. To perform the act of closing or shutting.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 13329 O þaim þou sal þe caiss ber, For to oppen bath and sper. Ibid. 17357 Þai sperd fast wit lok and kai. c 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 3835 Of wilk þe pape þe kays bers, Whar-with he bathe opens and spers. 1538 Bale God's Promises vii, O perfyght keye of David,..whych openest and no man speareth. c 1550 ― Image Both Ch. (Day) I iij, With all auctorite..to open or to speare. |
6. intr. To close or shut; to admit of being closed.
rare.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 1683 Þu sal..Mak a dor wit mesur wide, A windou sperand wel on hei. 1550 Bale Eng. Votaries ii 38 Whyls the dore..oft tymes opened and speared agayne. |
Hence
speared ppl. a.1;
ˈspearing vbl. n.1 and ppl. a.| a 1300 Cursor M. 10091 He com in at þe yatt sperd. a 1425 Ibid. 1683 (Trin.), Þou shalt..Make..A sperynge wyndowe als on heȝe. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 284/2 Latchynge, or sperynge wythe a lacche, clitura, pessulatus. Ibid. 460/1 Sloot, or schytyl of sperynge,..pessulum. c 1450 Mirour Saluacioun (Roxb.) 24 And bot it is merveille and more to passe thorgh spered ȝate. 1542 Becon Potation for Lent I viij b, The spearynge of the chyrch dore. |
▪ VIII. spear, v.2 (
spɪə(r))
Also 6–7
speer.
[Irregular variant of spire v. Cf. spear n.2] intr. Of corn, etc.: To sprout, germinate. Also with
out.
| 1573 Tusser Husb. (1878) 174 Malt being well speered, the more it will cast. 1651 R. Child in Hartlib's Legacy (1655) 91 Rooks, which pluck up in light land, presently after the Corn speareth, much Corn. 1678 Phil. Trans. XII. 946 As soon as the Heads begin to shoot or speer within the ground,..howe or pare the ground all over very thin. a 1722 Lisle Husb. (1757) 114 Fourteen barley-corns of the twenty had put forth roots, but had not speared. Ibid. 139 In turning up wet wheat straw..I found..many loose grains speared out. 1763 Mills Pract. Husb. III. 156 That surface must be so fine, and so lightly compressed, that the seed may spear through it. a 1825– in dial. glossaries (Yks., E. Anglia, Kent, Surrey, Sussex, etc.). 1886 Science VII. 174 The single blade ‘spears’ first into three, then into five or more side-shoots. |
Hence
speared ppl. a.2;
ˈspearing vbl. n.2| 1577–82 Breton Toyes Wks. (Grosart) I. 58/2 What their shiftes should be,..by speered Mault the Bruer soone will see. 1707 Mortimer Husb. (1721) II. 23 You may prepare them for spearing by laying the [Ash-] Keys in Earth or Sand. 1765 Museum Rust. III. 151 It would have been better..if more of it had been grown last year, when the wheat was almost all speared. |
▪ IX. spear, v.3 (
spɪə(r))
[f. spear n.1 Cf. G. speeren.] 1. a. trans. To pierce or transfix with a spear.
| 1755 in Johnson. 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1824) III. 40 A prodigious ray..was speared by the Negroes at Guadaloupe. 1815 Scott Guy M. liv, The only light..was a quantity of wood burnt to charcoal in an iron grate, such as they use in spearing salmon by night. 1823 ― Quentin D. x, He would questionless have made in, and speared the brute. 1853 Kane Grinnell Exp. I. (1856) 480, I have seen them spear the eider on the wing. 1869 Freeman Norm. Conq. (1875) III. xii. 176 The poet tells us how the King saw his men speared and shot down. |
| fig. and transf. 1843 Carlyle Past & Pr. iv. iii, Spearing down and destroying Falsehood. 1855 Tennyson Maud i. iv. 23 The Mayfly is torn by the swallow, the sparrow spear'd by the shrike. |
b. To dismiss.
Austral. slang. Cf. spear n.1 2 b.
| 1911 ‘S. Rudd’ Dashwoods 13 If I was the boss here I would. I'd spear him without warnin'. |
c. To cause to move like a spear; to spearhead.
| 1920 W. Camp Football without Coach v. 85 The ball should be held in the hand and speared through the air by giving the hand a twist as the ball leaves it. 1951 Daily Progress (Charlottesville, Va.) 11 Feb. 1/6 The Second Division at the end of its eight-day battle had set the pattern of the Eighth Army's new hunt-and-kill offensive with aggressive tank forces spearing the way. 1969 G. Macbeth War Quartet 46 So when I Speared the first squadron in the dawn assault Over the cliffs, that wool..Warmed the heart's beating. |
d. To beg; to obtain by begging.
U.S. slang.| 1912 Railroad Man's Mag. Apr. 493/1 They had mooched the stem and threw their feet, And speared four⁓bits on which to eat. 1926 Amer. Speech II. 390/1 To make the grade or connect is to get the amount of money one is after. Spear is another word for connecting. 1942 Berrey & Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Slang §370/3 Beg; request a loan or gift,..spear. |
2. a. intr. To rise
up like a spear.
| 1822 Ainslie Land of Burns 151 Do ye see a steeple yonner, spearing up frae amang the massy trees? 1891 Illustr. Lond. News 7 Feb. 174/1 The two broken masts, swinging and spearing high up under the..heaps of vapour. |
b. To move like a spear.
rare.
| 1944 Times 14 Apr. 4/2 Yesterday the tanks handed over to the infantry, and speared south-east and south-west towards the Crimean mountains. |
Add:
3. trans. (and
absol.)
a. Ice Hockey,
Lacrosse, etc.: to jab (an opponent) illegally with the point or end of the stick.
N. Amer.| 1963 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 14 Mar. 7/5 Spearing..is sometimes done in self-defense... ‘I spear any forward who runs interference and sticks too close.’ 1977 Washington Post 3 Jan. d2/1 The Blues' Garry Unger was observed shoving the butt end of his stick at Marson, then Gassoff speared Patey. 1988 Ibid. 10 Apr. c11/2, I like hard-nosed hockey. But the use of the stick tonight was atrocious... Rick Tocchet spears Dale Hunter above and below the eye, he spears Scott Stevens. |
b. Amer. Football. To ram or butt (an opponent) illegally with the helmet.
| 1964 Jrnl. Amer. Med. Assoc. 4 May 419/1 Over 60{pcnt} of the players receiving head injuries were coached to ‘spear’, or use their helmet-protected heads against the bodies of the opponents. 1971 C. Olson Prevention Football Injuries v. 45 About 60{pcnt} of head injuries and 44{pcnt} of neck injuries occurred in players who were coached to ‘spear’. 1980 N.Y. Times 28 Oct. a37/5 From film study, it looked as if Hartenstine had speared Jaworski with his helmet and at the least should have been penalized 15 yards. |
▪ X. spear(e obs. forms of
speer v.
1