Dictionary

javelin en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• jăv'lǐn
• /ˈd͡ʒæv.(ə.)lɪn/
• (Southern-England) audio

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.

Meanings

1. A light spear thrown with the hand and used as a weapon.
   • As a lion or wild boar turns fiercely on the dogs and men that attack him, while these form a solid wall and shower their javelins as they face him—his courage is all undaunted, but his high spirit will be the death of him;[…] 1898, Homer, “Book XII”, in Samuel Butler, transl., The Iliad of Homer: Rendered into English Prose for the use of those who cannot read the original, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., page 189:
   • With what apprehensions we proceeded, ignorant at what moment we might be greeted by the javelin of some ambushed savage! 1846 February 26, Herman Melville, chapter X, in Narrative of a Four Months’ Residence among the Natives of a Valley of the Marquesas Islands; or, A Peep at Polynesian Life [Typee], London: John Murray, […], →OCLC, part I, page 73:
   • Searching through snow / For the javelin I had not / Meant to throw right at you / For if it had hit its mark / There’d be blood in the place / Where you stood 2023, Sufjan Stevens, “Javelin (To Have and To Hold)”, in Javelin:
   • Flies the javelin swifter to its mark, / Launched by the vigour of a Roman arm? 1712 (date written), [Joseph] Addison, Cato, a Tragedy. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], published 1713, →OCLC, Act I, scene iv, page 9:
   • And when Phinehas the sonne of Eleazar, the sonne of Aaron the Priest saw it, hee rose vp from amongst the Congregation, and tooke a iauelin in his hand. And he went after the man of Israel into the tent, and thrust both of them thorow, the man of Israel, and the woman, thorow her belly: So the plague was stayed from the children of Israel. 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Numbers 25:7–8:
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).

Forms

Deriveds

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

Translations (126)

el ακόντιο (spear used as a weapon) · fro javelot (spear used as a weapon) · cs oštěp (spear used in athletic competition) · enm dart (spear used as a weapon) · es jabalina (spear used as a weapon) · grc σαύνιον (spear used as a weapon) · id lembing (spear used in athletic competition) · ro suliță (spear used as a weapon) · th แหลน (spear used as a weapon) · mk џилит (spear used as a weapon) · nl speer (spear used as a weapon) · sa शल्य (spear used as a weapon) · frm javeline (spear used as a weapon) · uk спис (spear used as a weapon) · cs oštěp (spear used as a weapon) · uk спис (spear used in athletic competition) · ca javelina (spear used as a weapon) · gl azagaia (spear used as a weapon) · de Speer (spear used as a weapon) · nb spyd (spear used in athletic competition) · da spyd (spear used in athletic competition) · lt akstis (spear used in athletic competition) · io javelino (spear used as a weapon) · de Speer (spear used in athletic competition) · sl kopje (spear used as a weapon) · tr kargı (spear used as a weapon) · ru копьё (spear used as a weapon) · fro dart (spear used as a weapon) · tg зӯпин (spear used as a weapon) · ja 投げ槍 (spear used as a weapon) · sk oštep (spear used as a weapon) · pt dardo (spear used as a weapon) · ka სატყორცნი შუბი (spear used in athletic competition) · lt ietis (spear used in athletic competition) · fa نیزه (spear used in athletic competition) · la pīlum (spear used as a weapon) · sv kastspjut (spear used as a weapon) · el ακόντιο (spear used in athletic competition) · sv spjut (spear used in athletic competition) · he כידון (spear used in athletic competition) · ar مِزْرَاق (spear used as a weapon) · sl kopje (spear used in athletic competition) · ga sleá (spear used as a weapon) · ru копьё (spear used in athletic competition) · ka ოროლი (spear used as a weapon) · io javelino (spear used in athletic competition) · fa سل (spear used as a weapon) · enm launce (spear used as a weapon) · la verūtum (spear used as a weapon) · fi keihäs (spear used as a weapon) · mk копје (spear used in athletic competition) · th แหลน (spear used in athletic competition) · mnw ၜုန်ဇၞိက် (spear used as a weapon) · cy gwaywffon (spear used in athletic competition) · da spyd (spear used as a weapon) · gl bofordo (spear used as a weapon) · ur نیزَہ (spear used in athletic competition) · ur نیزَہ (spear used as a weapon) · cy gwaywffon (spear used as a weapon) · tl habalina (spear used in athletic competition) · eo ĵetlanco (spear used as a weapon) · bg копие (spear used as a weapon) · tr mızrak (spear used as a weapon) · fa نیزه (spear used as a weapon) · nn spjut (spear used in athletic competition) · nl speer (spear used in athletic competition) · ru дро́тик (spear used as a weapon) · bg копие (spear used in athletic competition) · mi mākoi (spear used as a weapon) · ja ジャベリン (spear used in athletic competition) · pi satti (spear used as a weapon) · he כידון (spear used as a weapon) · da kastespyd (spear used as a weapon) · fa خشت (spear used as a weapon) · pt dardo (spear used in athletic competition) · th หลาว (spear used in athletic competition) · hy նիզակ (spear used as a weapon) · gl venabre (spear used as a weapon) · tr cirit (spear used as a weapon) · ka ხელშუბი (spear used in athletic competition) · ca javelina (spear used in athletic competition) · uga 𐎌𐎍𐎈 (spear used as a weapon) · pl oszczep (spear used as a weapon) · hu gerely (spear used in athletic competition) · pdt Spiess (spear used in athletic competition) · tl balibabat (spear used as a weapon) · it giavellotto (spear used as a weapon) · id lembing (spear used as a weapon) · fr javelot (spear used as a weapon) · ja 槍 (spear used in athletic competition) · es jabalina (spear used in athletic competition) · nn spyd (spear used in athletic competition) · cmn 標槍 /标枪 (spear used in athletic competition) · ja やり (spear used as a weapon) · mi tārerarera (spear used as a weapon) · ka ჰოროლი (spear used as a weapon) · tl balibabat (spear used in athletic competition) · pl oszczep (spear used in athletic competition) · ml ജാവലിൻ (spear used in athletic competition) · fi keihäs (spear used in athletic competition) · fa زوبین (spear used as a weapon) · ru су́лица (spear used as a weapon) · cmn 標槍 /标枪 (spear used as a weapon) · hy աշտե (spear used as a weapon) · gl xavelina (spear used as a weapon) · th หลาว (spear used as a weapon) · grc ἀκόντιον (spear used as a weapon) · mnw သၞာ်သၟတ် (spear used as a weapon) · ms lembing (spear used as a weapon) · tr cirit (spear used in athletic competition) · lt akstis (spear used as a weapon) · ota جرید (spear used in athletic competition) · gl bafordo (spear used as a weapon) · sk oštep (spear used in athletic competition) · tl habalina (spear used as a weapon) · eo ĵetlanco (spear used in athletic competition) · grc ἀκόντιον (spear used in athletic competition) · lv šķēps (spear used in athletic competition) · grc ὑσσός (spear used as a weapon) · fr javelot (spear used in athletic competition) · ro suliță (spear used in athletic competition) · fi heittokeihäs (spear used as a weapon) · lv šķēps (spear used as a weapon) · pdt Spiess (spear used as a weapon) · gl xavelina (spear used in athletic competition) · gl ascuma (spear used as a weapon)

javelin en · VERB

Pronunciation

• jăv'lǐn
• /ˈd͡ʒæv.(ə.)lɪn/
• (Southern-England) audio

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.

Meanings

1. (transitive) To pierce with a javelin.
   • Eventually ostriches arrived and with arrows I shot them in the burning arena with arrows tipped with small bronze crescents Saw flies buzz at the array of javelinned lions Saw the looks on faces crookedly aghast when before them I hoisted a hacked off ostrich head and wagged my own and grinned 1985, Christopher Middleton, “Commodus”, in Selected Writings, Manchester: Carcanet Press, published 1989, →ISBN, section 4 (From Serpentine (1985)), page 145:
   • Furrowing a giant oak, and javelining / With darted spikes and splinters of the wood 1859, Alfred Tennyson, “Vivien”, in Idylls of the King, London: Edward Moxon & Co., […], →OCLC, page 142:
2. (transitive) To throw like a javelin.
   • To retrieve the mophead she would have to immerse her hand into the bucket’s stagnant grey water and kitchen-floor debris. At the thought of doing so, she javelinned the mop handle onto the floor, the speed and violence of which action, afterward, made her feel deranged. 2022, Jem Calder, “Serenity Prayer”, in Reward System, London: Faber & Faber, →ISBN, “A Restaurant Somewhere Else” section:
   • There is a thing no man may name; / It comes like beauty, goes like flame. / It haunts dim labyrinths of time / And enters every poet’s rhyme. / Its cry is heard upon the wind / When it is high and javelinned, / And on still nights its steps are heard, / Soft as the footfalls of a bird. 1938 May 4, W. E. Bard, “The Unknown”, in The Atlanta Journal, volume LVI, number 70, Atlanta, Ga., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 6, column 3:
   • The year the tornado swept through, it scattered the debris of two garages and their contents outward for hundreds of yards. An 8-foot 2-by-4 was javelinned through my bedroom wall; its blunt end stared at me just three feet short of my bed. 1998 August 16, Marjorie Daniel, “Essay: Nature’s Broom”, in The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Oh., →ISSN, →OCLC, “Sunday Magazine” section, page 6:
   • good morning city. another day of digging. wrapping. numbering. dnaing. […] of reciting a poem by li po. about forever. about wrapping forever into a ball. about wrapping forever into a ball and javelinning it out to sea. the beautiful beautiful sea. 2009, Bruce Weber, “untitled poem for the twin towers”, in The Breakup of My First Marriage: Poetry, New York, N.Y.: Rogue Scholars Press, →ISBN, page 6:
   • He will have questions of all sorts javelined at him from the benches on both sides, from above the gangway and from below it. 1926, “The Exchequer”, in Aids to the Study of European Governments: Brief Readings, Reprints of Constitutions, Chronologies, Diagrams, Questions, and Topics for Special Study (with References) Prepared for Use in Government 1 at Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard Co-operative Society, →OCLC, section XII (Parliamentary Finance), page 106:
3. (intransitive) 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. 1967, Clement Agunwa, “Performing a Duty Unassigned”, in More Than Once: A Novel, London: Longmans, →OCLC, page 68:
   • One man dropped his rifle from high up and it javelined down, with the muzzle burying itself deep in the ground. 2017, Iain Hollis, “Life begins at 40”, in Box of Frogs: Memoirs of a Canoeing Cyclist, Kibworth Beauchamp, Leicestershire: Matador, →ISBN, page 66:
   • For answer the ship righted as she rolled upon another great swell, leaned as far the other side, and crashed, bows first, into a cleft rock under water which held her as in a vise while her jib boom flew up in splinters, and her foretopgallant and royal mast, with yards and gear and sails, tore loose aloft and javelined down until brought up short by the involved rigging. 1922 October 7, Captain [Aylward Edward] Dingle, “Ocean Magic”, in The Saturday Evening Post, volume 195, number 15, Philadelphia, Pa.: The Curtis Publishing Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 72:
   • Jagged bolts of lightning javelined down from the sky, attempting to skewer him with their electrical touch. 2010 March, Thomas E. Sniegoski, chapter 17, in Where Angels Fear to Tread (Remy Chandler; 3), New York, N.Y.: Roc, →ISBN, page 272:

Forms

Relateds

hammer · discus