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javelin

ja·ve·lin

UK/ˈd͡ʒæv.(ə.)lɪn/ US/ˈdʒævlɪn/ uncommon

noun

1.

an athletic competition in which a javelin is thrown as far as possible

2.

a spear thrown as a weapon or in competitive field events

Origin

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.

Phrases

  • javelin dart
  • javelin sand boa
  • javelin throw
  • javelin thrower

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.