Noun

(en noun)

A pointed missile weapon, intended to be thrown by the hand; a short lance; a javelin; any sharp-pointed missile weapon, as an arrow.

* 1769 , Oxford Standard Text, , xviii, 14,

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.

Anything resembling such a pointed missile weapon; anything that pierces or wounds like such a weapon.

* 1830 , , Sensibility'', ''The Works of Hannah More , Volume 1, page 38,

The artful inquiry, whose venom?d dart / Scarce wounds the hearing while it stabs the heart.

(Australia, obsolete) A plan or scheme.

* 1947 , , Halfway to Anywhere , 1970, page 79,

Trucking?s my dart too.

A sudden or fast movement.

* {{quote-news

, year=2011 , date=Septembe 24 , author=Ben Dirs , title=Rugby World Cup 2011: England 67-3 Romania , work=BBC Sport citation , page= , passage=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.}}

(sewing) A fold that is stitched on a garment.

* 2013 , The Economist, Nadia Popova

Somehow she managed, with a cinched waist here and a few darts there, to look like a Hollywood star.

A fish; the dace.

(in the plural) A game of throwing darts at a target.

Noun

(wikipedia stroke) (en noun)

An act of (gloss, moving one's hand over a surface).

A blow or hit.

* Bible, Deuteronomy xix. 5

His hand fetcheth a stroke with the axe to cut down the tree.

* Francis Bacon

He entered and won the whole kingdom of Naples without striking a stroke .

A single movement with a tool.

# (golf) A single act of striking at the ball with a club.

# (tennis) The hitting of a ball with a racket, or the movement of the racket and arm that produces that impact.

# (rowing) The movement of an oar or paddle through water, either the pull which actually propels the vessel or a single entire cycle of movement including the pull.

# (cricket) The action of hitting the ball with the bat; a shot.

# A thrust of a piston.

One of a series of beats or movements against a resisting medium, by means of which movement through or upon it is accomplished.

the stroke of a bird's wing in flying, or of an oar in rowing

the stroke of a skater, swimmer, etc.

A powerful or sudden effort by which something is done, produced, or accomplished; also, something done or accomplished by such an effort.

a stroke''' of genius; a '''stroke''' of business; a master '''stroke of policy

A line drawn with a pen or other writing implement.

# (hence, British) The symbol .

# (linguistics) A line of a Chinese, Japanese or Korean character.

The time when a clock strikes.

* {{quote-news, year=2012, date=May 9, author=John Percy, work=the Telegraph

, title= Birmingham City 2 Blackpool 2 (2-3 on agg): match report , passage=Already guarding a 1-0 lead from the first leg, Blackpool inched further ahead when Stephen Dobbie scored from an acute angle on the stroke of half-time. The game appeared to be completely beyond Birmingham’s reach three minutes into the second period when Matt Phillips reacted quickly to bundle the ball past Colin Doyle and off a post.}}

(swimming) A style, a single movement within a style.

* , chapter=7

, title= Mr. Pratt's Patients , passage=Old Applegate, in the stern, just set and looked at me, and Lord James, amidship, waved both arms and kept hollering for help. I took a couple of everlasting big strokes and managed to grab hold of the skiff's rail, close to the stern.}}

(medicine) The loss of brain function arising when the blood supply to the brain is suddenly interrupted.

(obsolete) A sudden attack of any disease, especially when fatal; any sudden, severe affliction or calamity.

a stroke''' of apoplexy; the '''stroke of death

* Harte

At this one stroke the man looked dead in law.

(rowing) The rower who is nearest the stern of the boat.

(rowing) The oar nearest the stern of a boat, by which the other oars are guided.

(professional wrestling) Backstage influence.

(squash) A point awarded to a player in case of interference or obstruction by the opponent.

(sciences) An individual discharge of lightning.

A flash of lightning may be made up of several strokes . If they are separated by enough time for the eye to distinguish them, the lightning will appear to flicker.

(obsolete) The result or effect of a striking; injury or affliction; soreness.

* Bible, Isa. xxx. 26

in the day that the Lord bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound

An addition or amendment to a written composition; a touch.

to give some finishing strokes to an essay

(Addison)

A throb or beat, as of the heart.

(Tennyson)

(obsolete) Power; influence.

* Robynson (More's Utopia)

where money beareth all the stroke

* Dryden

He has a great stroke with the reader.

(obsolete) appetite

(Jonathan Swift)