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Definition

A projectile consisting of a shaft, a point and a tail with stabilizing fins that is shot from a bow.

Etymology

From Middle English arwe, from Old English earh (oblique form ēarw-), from Proto-West Germanic *arhu, from Proto-Germanic *arhwō, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂érkʷo- (“bow, arrow”). Cognate with Faroese ørv (“arrow”), Icelandic ör (“arrow”), örvar (“arrows”), Gothic 𐌰𐍂𐍈𐌰𐌶𐌽𐌰 (arƕazna, “dart”), Latin arcus (“bow”).

Example Sentences

• "The Citizens in their rage, imagining that euery poſt in the Churche had bin one of yᵉ Souldyers, ſhot habbe or nabbe at randon^([sic – meaning random]) uppe to the Roode lofte, and to the Chancell, leauing ſome of theyr arrowes ſticking in the Images."
• "Orion hit a rabbit once; but though sore wounded it got to the bury, and, struggling in, the arrow caught the side of the hole and was drawn out. Indeed, a nail filed sharp is not of much avail as an arrowhead; you must have it barbed, and that was a little beyond our skill."
• "Consider now the arrow with initial point A and terminal point B; this arrow we shall designate by #92;overrightarrow#123;AB#125;. If a#95;1,a#95;2,a#95;3, and b#95;1,b#95;2,b#95;3 are the coordinates of A and B, respectively, then #92;overrightarrow#123;AB#125; is equal to the arrow #92;overrightarrow#123;OP#125;, where O is the origin of the coordinate system and P has coordinates b#95;1-a#95;1,b#95;2-a#95;2,b#95;3-a#95;3. Thus each arrow is equal to one having the origin as its initial point."