Find the word definition

The Collaborative International Dictionary
Spear hand

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.

    They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks.
    --Micah iv. 3.

  2. Fig.: A spearman.
    --Sir W. Scott.

  3. A sharp-pointed instrument with barbs, used for stabbing fish and other animals.

  4. A shoot, as of grass; a spire.

  5. The feather of a horse. See Feather, n., 4.

  6. The rod to which the bucket, or plunger, of a pump is attached; a pump rod. Spear foot, the off hind foot of a horse. Spear grass. (Bot.)

    1. The common reed. See Reed, n., 1.

    2. 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).