Atlatl
//ˈatlat(ə)l// noun
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A spearthrower consisting of a wooden stick with a thong or perpendicularly protruding hook on the rear end that grips a grove or socket on the butt of its accompanying spear (or dart), intended to steady the spear immediately prior to throwing, to increase its potential range when thrown, and to increase its force of penetration of the target.
"While large game was still hunted, mainly using projectile spears but later enhanced by atlatls (spear-throwers) and bows and arrows, evidence for the exploitation of small game such as tortoises, rabbits, wild fowl and eggs increased."
Example
More examples"While large game was still hunted, mainly using projectile spears but later enhanced by atlatls (spear-throwers) and bows and arrows, evidence for the exploitation of small game such as tortoises, rabbits, wild fowl and eggs increased."
Etymology
From Classical Nahuatl ahtlatl.
More for "atlatl"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.