a weapon with a long straight handle and sharp head or blade
from atop his horse the warrior hurled a javelin that pierced the chest of his hapless foe
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Recent Examples of javelinsThe Tofinu took refuge in the lagoons along the Bight of Benin, a core area of the slave trade, venturing forth in canoes with harpoons, javelins, and swords to fight off raiders from powerful nearby kingdoms.—Laurent Dubois, The Atlantic, 6 Jan. 2026
Yiyoguaje sported a spectacular headdress of layered feathers that cascaded down his back, blue and pink, green and yellow, topped by three long macaw feathers standing up like spears.
Three or four decades ago, the newspaperman was appealingly raffish—at once a bum who drank too much and a knight-errant who charged unafraid at social injustice, succored the weak, and crossed lances with the powerful and arrogant.
—
David Wingrave,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Oct. 2025
At a handful of locations, these spikes extended out to nearly a meter, looking more like lances than anything needed to ward off a close-in attack.