- Spear grass
- Spear Spear, n. [OE. spere, AS. spere; akin to D. & G. speer,
OS. & OHS. sper, Icel. spj["o]r, pl., Dan. sp[ae]r, L.
sparus.]
1. A long, pointed weapon, used in war and hunting, by
thrusting or throwing; a weapon with a long shaft and a
sharp head or blade; a lance.
Note: [See Illust. of {Spearhead}.] ``A sharp ground spear.'' --Chaucer. [1913 Webster]
They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. --Micah iv. 3. [1913 Webster]
2. Fig.: A spearman. --Sir W. Scott. [1913 Webster]
3. A sharp-pointed instrument with barbs, used for stabbing fish and other animals. [1913 Webster]
4. A shoot, as of grass; a spire. [1913 Webster]
5. The feather of a horse. See {Feather}, n., 4. [1913 Webster]
6. The rod to which the bucket, or plunger, of a pump is attached; a pump rod. [1913 Webster]
{Spear foot}, the off hind foot of a horse.
{Spear grass}. (Bot.) (a) The common reed. See {Reed}, n., 1. (b) meadow grass. See under {Meadow}.
{Spear hand}, the hand in which a horseman holds a spear; the right hand. --Crabb.
{Spear side}, the male line of a family. --Lowell.
{Spear thistle} (Bot.), the common thistle ({Cnicus lanceolatus}). [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.