Definition
nounA pointed missile weapon, intended to be thrown by the hand; for example, a short lance or javelin.
nounAny sharp-pointed missile weapon, such as an arrow.
Sentence Examples
The last dart he threw, bounced off the board.
Tom threw the dart.
Word Origin & History
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *dʰerh₃-
Proto-Indo-European *dʰórh₃-eh₂
Proto-Germanic *darō
Proto-Germanic *-ōþuz
Proto-Germanic *darōþuz
Frankish *darōþubor.
Medieval Latin dardus
Old French dartbor.
Middle English dart
English dart
From Middle English dart, from Old French dart, dard (“dart”), from Medieval Latin dardus, from Frankish *darōþu (“dart, spear”), from Proto-Germanic *darōþuz (“dart, spear”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰerh₃- (“to leap, spring”).
Compare Old High German tart (“javelin, dart”), Old English daroþ, dearod (“javelin, spear, dart”), Swedish dart (“dart, dagger”), Icelandic darraður, darr, dör (“dart, spear”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Then said Joab, I may not tarry thus with thee. And he took three darts in his hand, and thrust them through the heart of Absalom, while he was yet alive in the midst of the oak."
— 1769, Oxford Standard Text, “King James Bible”, in 2 Samuel, xviii, 14:
"The artful inquiry, whose venom′d dart / Scarce wounds the hearing while it stabs the heart."
— 1830, Hannah More, Sensibility: The Works of Hannah More, volume 1, page 38:
"Fighter aircraft also use restricted areas for target shooting at darts towed 1500 feet behind another aircraft."
— 1988, Michigan Aviation, volumes 21-25, page 62:
"Trucking′s my dart too."
— 1947, Norman Lindsay, Halfway to Anywhere, published 1970, page 79:
"Six minutes later Cueto went over for his second try after the recalled Mike Tindall found him with a perfectly-timed pass, before Ashton went on another dart, this time down his opposite wing, only for his speculative pass inside to be ruled forward."
— 2011 September 24, Ben Dirs, “Rugby World Cup 2011: England 67-3 Romania”, in BBC Sport: