Spear , v. i. To shoot into a
long stem, as some plants. See Spire.
Mortimer.
Spear , v. t. [imp. & p. p. Speared (?);
p. pr. & vb. n.
Spearing.]
To pierce with a
spear; to kill with a spear; as, to
spear a fish.
Spear (?), n. [OE. spere, AS. spere; akin to D. & G. speer, OS. & OHS. sper, Icel. spjör, pl., Dan. spær, 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. [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.)
(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).
Hear it pronounced