Pilum vs Spear - What's the difference?
pilum | spear |
A Roman military javelin.
* 1776' Besides a lighter spear, the Roman legionary grasped in his right hand the formidable '''pilum , a ponderous javelin whose utmost length was about six feet and which was terminated by a massy triangular point of steel of about eighteen inches. This instrument was indeed much inferior to our modern fire-arms; since it was exhausted by a single discharge at the distance of only ten or twelve paces. Yet when it was launched by a skilled and firm hand, there was not any cavalry that durst venture within its reach, or any shield or corslet that could withstand the impetuosity of its weight. : ''The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire : Edward Gibbon. This edition Penguin 2000. p. 21
A long stick with a sharp tip used as a weapon for throwing or thrusting, or anything used to make a thrusting motion.
A soldier armed with such a weapon; a spearman.
* 2011 , Thomas Penn, Winter King , Penguin 2012, p. 187:
A sharp tool used by fishermen to retrieve fish.
(ice hockey) an illegal maneuver using the end of a hockey stick to strike into another hockey player.
(wrestling) a running tackle on an opponent performed in professional wrestling.
A spearman.
A shoot, as of grass; a spire.
The feather of a horse.
The rod to which the bucket, or plunger, of a pump is attached; a pump rod.
A long, thin strip from a vegetable.
To penetrate or strike with, or as if with, any long narrow object. To make a thrusting motion that catches an object on the tip of a long device.
To shoot into a long stem, as some plants do.
As nouns the difference between pilum and spear
is that pilum is a Roman military javelin while spear is a long stick with a sharp tip used as a weapon for throwing or thrusting, or anything used to make a thrusting motion.As a verb spear is
to penetrate or strike with, or as if with, any long narrow object. To make a thrusting motion that catches an object on the tip of a long device.As a proper noun Spear is
{{surname|A=An English|from=nicknames}.pilum
English
Noun
(en-noun)spear
English
(wikipedia spear)Noun
(en noun)- Two of the four spears came directly from Lady Margaret's staff. One was her great-nephew Maurice St John […].
- (Sir Walter Scott)
- asparagus and broccoli spears
Derived terms
* spearbush * spear gun * spearhead * spearmint * spear thrower * spear tackle * spearwoodSee also
* assegai, assagai, assagaie, assagay, assegay, azagaia, hassagay, hassaguay, zagaie, zagaye * atlatl * bayonet * harpoon * javelin * joust * lance * pike * spit, used to grill food on fire * woomeraVerb
(en verb)- (Mortimer)