- To pierce or strike with, or as if with, any long, narrow object. To make a thrusting motion with the tip of a long device that catches an object.
- To develop a long stem, as some plants do.
- To advance quickly.
What was the purpose of a spear?
What is the purpose of a spear? A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The spear has been used throughout human history both as a hunting and fishing tool and as a weapon. Along with the axe, knife and club, it is one of the earliest and most important tools developed by early humans.
What does the a spear symbolize?
what do spears symbolize? Spiritually, the spear signifies directness and honour. It has the power of life and death. The spear is psychologically that part of ourselves that is fertile and assertive. A spear represents the masculine in dreams and is a phallic symbol.
What advantages does a spear have over a sword?
- The spear has more leverage
- The spear is better against armor
- Spears pack more of a punch on the thrust.
- They cost less.
What's the merits of spear?
Advantages of Spear Point Blade
- Sharp & Strong Tip. Mostly spear point blades have strong tip as compared to clip point blades because the center of these blades also got good amount of material.
- Very Controllable
- Perfect Combat Knife. Spear Blades are really good combat knives because of their ability to pierce through amours and strong sharp tip.
- Easy to sharpen. ...
What was the original purpose of a spear?
One of the earliest weapons devised by man, the spear was originally simply a sharpened stick. Primitive peoples used spears primarily as thrown weapons. When military practice evolved from the independent action of individuals to the group movements of masses of soldiers, the spear became a thrusting weapon.
What is the benefits of spear?
SPEAR offers: faster turn-around time. reduced copying, collating and postage costs. increased transparency leading to fewer enquiries on the progress of an application. a single interface to all councils for applicants, referral authorities, VCAT and members of the public.
Is a spear an effective weapon?
A spear can cut, slice, and thrust with extreme effectiveness. It can be used to beat swords and soldiers to the ground. It can even be thrown with deadly efficiency when balanced in the right hands.
Why is spear the king of weapons?
The spear is also called the King of Weapons because of its versatility and power. The spear is long and has a sharp point. One small poke can kill. Even an unskilled person who only knows how to thrust straight ahead is dangerous with a spear because it is hard to get around the length of the spear.
What do you call someone who uses a spear?
Pike - Pikeman (courtesy of @HotLicks) Sling - Slinger (courtesy of @ab2) Spear - Spearman/ Tribeman.
Why did swords replace spears?
Because they had more metal. A phalanx was useful when metal was more rare and expensive, since the only metal you need is that for the tip of the spear. A phalanx is a relatively simple structure. You have the phalanx itself, then a cavalry to protect its weakspots.
Can an axe beat a spear?
An axe, due to it's smaller reach but heftier material, can simply step inside a spears range and murder the wielder.
When did spears stop being used?
They were commonly used in Ireland until the end of the 16th century. Spears began to lose fashion among the infantry during the 14th century, being replaced by pole weapons that combined the thrusting properties of the spear with the cutting properties of the axe, such as the halberd.
What is the most used weapon in history?
There's a very good reason why you can find spears in the history of every civilization and tribe on Earth. It's not just because they're simple, be it a common pointy stick or an elaborately engineered and weighted one.
Can a sword beat a spear?
Once cavalry loses its momentum, swords and spears are about equal against them. Although spears are better at killing the rider. The spear makes a very effective front line weapon, the sword tends to be better for charging and attacking. Using a spears on horse back is much less effective then a sword on a horse.
How heavy is a spear?
Spears, in general, about 1 - 2 kg, halberds 3 - 4 kg, but there's quite a bit of range. i recently did some spear length comparations in medieval art, and the length seems to go from a head taller (so, just a bit short of 2 m) to almost three heads taller (3 m).
Why do spears have cloth?
The tassel can be used to bind a crosspiece (wood, antler, metal) to the haft to help prevent over-penetration of a target. Such crosspieces were used on both hunting and military spears. The tassel can help prevent water from entering the socket, by diverting rain - a little raincoat for the bottom of the socket.
Is spearfishing good exercise?
The sport is great exercise. It's estimated that you can burn as many as 800 calories per hour while spearfishing. This makes sense when you consider that diving is a close second to running when it comes to burning calories. Physical fitness may not be the goal with this sport but it's definitely a benefit.
What is meant by spear fishing?
Spearfishing is a method of fishing that involves impaling the fish with a straight pointed object such as a spear, gig or harpoon. It has been deployed in artisanal fishing throughout the world for millennia.
When did the spear carrying phalanx start?
The spear-carrying phalanx, or massed formation of closely ranked men, was used by Sumerian armies as early as 3,000 bc. Two thousand years later the Greeks refined the concept, using pikes6 to 9 feet (2 to 3 m) long.
What was the first weapon invented by man?
One of the earliest weapons devised by man, the spear was originally simply a sharpened stick. Primitive peoples used spears primarily as thrown weapons. When military practice evolved from the independent action of individuals to the group movements of masses of soldiers, the spear became a thrusting weapon.
What was the weapon used to pull knights off horses?
Pole-arms and tactics evolved along these lines until the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries, when soldiers used elaborate pikes like the halberd—a combination spear with a point, an ax-blade for cleavinghelmets, and a hook for pulling armoured knights off their horses.
Why do we do a Pap smear?
Why it's done. A Pap smear is used to screen for cervical cancer. The Pap smear is usually done in conjunction with a pelvic exam. In women older than age 30, the Pap test may be combined with a test for human papillomavirus (HPV) — a common sexually transmitted infection that can cause cervical cancer.
What does a Pap smear tell you?
A Pap smear can alert your doctor to the presence of suspicious cells that need further testing.
What does it mean when a Pap smear is positive?
If abnormal or unusual cells were discovered during your Pap smear, you're said to have a positive result. A positive result doesn't mean you have cervical cancer. What a positive result means depends on the type of cells discovered in your test.
How to do a Pap test?
Pap test. Pap test. In a Pap test, your doctor uses a vaginal speculum to hold your vaginal walls apart and to see the cervix. Next, a sample of cells from your cervix is collected using a small cone-shaped brush and a tiny plastic spatula (1 and 2). Your doctor then rinses the brush and spatula in a liquid-filled vial ...
Why are samples transferred to a laboratory?
The samples are transferred to a laboratory where they're examined under a microscope to look for characteristics in the cells that indicate cancer or a precancerous condition.
What is the instrument called that holds the walls of your vagina apart?
Your heels rest in supports called stirrups. Your doctor will gently insert an instrument called a speculum into your vagina. The speculum holds the walls of your vagina apart so that your doctor can easily see your cervix. Inserting the speculum may cause a sensation of pressure in your pelvic area.
Is a Pap smear safe?
Risks. A Pap smear is a safe way to screen for cervical cancer. However, a Pap smear isn' t foolproof. It's possible to receive false-negative results — meaning that the test indicates no abnormality, even though you do have abnormal cells. A false-negative result doesn't mean that a mistake was made.
Overview
A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fastened to the shaft, such as bone, flint, obsidian, iron, steel, or bronze. The most common design for hunting or combat spears since ancient times has incorporated a metal spearhead shaped like a triangle, lozenge, or leaf. The heads of fishing spe…
Origins
Spear manufacture and use is not confined to humans. It is also practiced by the western chimpanzee. Chimpanzees near Kédougou, Senegal have been observed to create spears by breaking straight limbs off trees, stripping them of their bark and side branches, and sharpening one end with their teeth. They then used the weapons to hunt galagos sleeping in hollows.
Archaeological evidence found in present-day Germany documents that wooden spears have bee…
Military
The spear is the main weapon of the warriors of Homer's Iliad. The use of both a single thrusting spear and two throwing spears are mentioned. It has been suggested that two styles of combat are being described; an early style, with thrusting spears, dating to the Mycenaean period in which the Iliad is set, and, anachronistically, a later style, with throwing spears, from Homer's own Archaic period.
Hunting
One of the earliest forms of killing prey for humans, hunting game with a spear and spear fishing continues to this day as both a means of catching food and as a cultural activity. Some of the most common prey for early humans were mega fauna such as mammoths which were hunted with various kinds of spear. One theory for the Quaternary extinction event was that most of these animals were hunted to extinction by humans with spears. Even after the invention of other hunti…
Gymnastics
One of the gymnastic exercises that ancient Greeks had, was the throwing of a spear which was called ἀκυντισμός.
In myth and legend
Like many weapons, a spear may also be a symbol of power.
The Celts would symbolically destroy a dead warrior's spear either to prevent its use by another or as a sacrificial offering.
In classical Greek mythology Zeus' bolts of lightning may be interpreted as a symbolic spear. Some would carry that interpretation to the spear that frequently is associated with Athena, inter…
See also
• List of types of spears
• Viking Age arms and armour
• Projectile
Related weapons:
• Arrow (weapon)