arrow

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈæ.ɹəʊ/ (UK); /ˈæɹə/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English arewe, arwe, inherited from Old English arwe, earlier earh,^[2][3][4] probably borrowed from Old Norse ǫr (“arrow”) (genitive ǫrvar),^[4][5][6] from Proto-Germanic *arhwō, related to Gothic arhwazna, dart,^[3][5] and to Latin arcus (“bow”) (see arc), from PIE *arkʷ-.^[3][4][5] The etymological sense would be the thing belonging to the bow.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

A pointed missile shot from a bow: earh before 800, in Cynewulf, and arwan before 835;^[3][7] aro and arow before 1325, in the Cursor Mundi.^[3]

Semantic evolution

It was a rare word in Old English, where the usual words were stræl, which had disappeared by 1200, and flā, from Old Norse, which lingered as flo in Scots until after 1500.^[4] Figurative use is from about 1230.^[7] Surveyors' arrows, iron pins for chaining, are from 1571.^[7] An arrow-shaped mark or index is from 1834,^[4][7] and in darts slang a dart from 1946.^[7] The verb, to shoot arrows, is from 1865.^[7]

Timeline

• before 800 – earh.^[3]
• before 835 – arwan.^[3]
• c. 1230 – figurative use.^[7]
• 1571 – surveyors' arrows.^[7]
• 1834 – an arrow-shaped mark.^[4][7]
• 1946 – a dart.^[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A thin, straight shaft with a pointed head, often feathered at the other end, shot from a bow.
2. A symbol shaped like an arrow, used to show direction.

Word family

• arrowless
• arrowlike
• arrowwood
• arrowworm
• arrowsmith
• arrowhead
• arrowroot
• arrowy

Related words

• arc
• arch
• archer

Usage notes

A separate dialect word, arrow, any, as in arrow one, is from e'er a by folk etymology (1749),^[2] recorded in Somerset by the EDD.^[8] Word Origins notes that arrowroot is probably an alteration of Arawak haru, starch, made to match arrow and root.^[9]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
3. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)
9. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press