dartn.
/dɑːt/, U.S. /dɑrt/ 1.
a. A pointed missile weapon thrown by the hand; a light spear or javelin; also applied to pointed missiles in general, including arrows, etc.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > missile > [noun] > pointed missile
pileOE
dartc1330
plumbataa1460
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > sharp weapon > spear or lance > [noun] > specific for throwing
gavelockc1000
wifleOE
dartc1330
gavelot14..
pilec1400
hurlbatc1450
javelot1489
espiot1490
javelin1513
archegay1523
framea1545
zagaie1590
bourdonasse1596
assegai1600
c1330 (?c1300) Guy of Warwick (Auch.) l. 3488 Launces, swerdes, & dartes.
c1330 R. Mannyng Chron. (1810) 178 A darte was schot to þem, bot non wist who it schete.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Prov. xxvi. C As one shuteth deadly arowes and dartes.
c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 10548 Parys cast at the kyng..Þre darttes.
1662 J. Davies tr. A. Olearius Voy. & Trav. J. Albert de Mandelslo ii. 156 in Voy. & Trav. Ambassadors They use no other Arms than the Dart, (which they cast..dexterously).
1715 A. Pope tr. Homer Iliad I. iv. 511 The sounding Darts in Iron Tempests flew.
1840 C. Thirlwall Hist. Greece VII. 7 After a short siege, he was killed by a dart from an engine.
b. figurative.
ΚΠ
1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) Ephes. vi. 16 The firy dartis of the worste enmye.
1509 S. Hawes Pastime of Pleasure xli. i Deth with his darte arest me sodenly.
1664 J. Evelyn Kalendarium Hortense 65 in Sylva The too parching darts of the Sun.
1764 O. Goldsmith Traveller 12 Love's and friendship's finely pointed dart.
a1839 W. M. Praed Poems (1864) II. 259 The lightning's vivid dart.
c. transferred. A kind of eel-spear (see quot. 1883); a needle-shaped piece of caustic used in surgery; †a representation of a dart or arrow used to mark direction on a drawing, etc. (obsolete); the tongue or spear of flame produced by a blowpipe.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > representation > a plastic or graphic representation > graphic representation > drawing plans or diagrams > [noun] > arrow on plan or diagram
shaft1730
dart1784
arrowhead1832
1784 Watt Specif. Patent 1432 9 The direction of motion of these..wheels is shown by the darts.
1816 F. Accum Pract. Ess. Chem. Re-agents (1818) 174 Expose it to the flame of a blowpipe dart.
1876 tr. H. W. von Ziemssen et al. Cycl. Pract. Med. IV. 80 Darts of equal parts of iodine and iodide of potassium prepared with dextrine and made as fine as Carlsbad needles, are used..with success in the treatment of..hypertrophied tonsils.
1883 G. C. Davies Norfolk Broads (1884) xxxi. 244 The spear in use on the Ant and Thurne is the dart, and is made with a cross-piece, with barbed spikes set in it like the teeth of a rake.
d. A light pointed missile thrown at a target in the game called darts. Also attributive and in other combinations.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > darts > [noun] > dart
dart1901
arrow1936
1901 Stationer, Printer & Fancy Trades' Reg. 1 June 322 (advt.) Ring Boards. Dart Boards. Parlour Cricket.
1916 H. G. Wells Mr. Britling sees it Through i. v. §11 Dart-throwing and ring-throwing stalls.
1924 B. Gilbert Bly Market 18 Coconut Saloons. Shooting Galleries. Dart-Saloons.
1924 B. Gilbert Bly Market 419 Darts, darts, darts, penny a dart. Over 50 wins the prize... No skill needed.
1929 B'ham Post 12 Jan. A peculiar thing I noticed was that two darts, such as they use in public-houses, were near the body.
1941 ‘G. Orwell’ Lion & Unicorn 15 A nation of stamp-collectors, pigeon-fanciers..coupon-snippers, darts-players.
1958 Times 29 Apr. p. x/5 The darts themselves have changed during the past 20 years, from the comparatively light, wooden-stemmed type with feather flights to a shorter kind with much heavier metal body carrying plastic flights.
2. Zoology. An organ resembling a dart: spec. (a) the sting of a venomous insect, scorpion, etc., or that part which pierces the skin; (b) a dart-like organ in some gastropods, having an excitatory function (see dart-sac n. at Compounds 2).
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > animal body > general parts > [noun] > instruments of defence or offence > sting
prickc1350
stang1382
stingle1398
prickle?c1425
forker1616
dart1665
1665 R. Hooke Micrographia 163 The Sting of a Bee..I could most plainly perceive..to contain in it, both a Sword or Dart, and the poisonous liquor that causes the pain.
1771 J. Beattie Minstrel: Bk. 1st xii. 7 It poisons like a scorpion's dart.
1860 N. Hawthorne Marble Faun I. xx. 231 His [a demon's] scaly tail, with a poisonous dart at the end of it!
1861 R. T. Hulme tr. C. H. Moquin-Tandon Elements Med. Zool. ii. iii. ii. 84 Their [snails'] generative organs..contain a copulative pouch, the dart enclosed in a sac.
1888 G. Rolleston & W. H. Jackson Forms Animal Life (ed. 2) 118.
1888 G. Rolleston & W. H. Jackson Forms Animal Life (ed. 2) 481 Some Pulmonata and certain species of Doris possess a dart, attached in the former to the female, in the latter to the male, duct.
3. Dressmaking. A seam joining the two edges left by cutting a gore in any stuff.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > sewn or ornamented textile fabric > [noun] > sewing or work sewn > seam > specific
seamc1394
round seam1626
fell1852
run and fell1852
French seam1882
dart1884
overseam1891
French seam1903
slot seam1918
jetting1923
channel seam1931
flat-fell seam1939
channel seaming1948
1884 Dress Cutting Assoc. Circular To sew the Darts (or Breast Plaits) commence at the top, holding both edges even for one inch.
1893 Weldon's Ladies' Jrnl. 14 252/3 The shape is fitted with hip darts.
4. A name for the snake-like lizards of the genus Acontias (formerly supposed to be venomous serpents) from their habit of darting upon their prey; = dart-serpent n., dart-snake n. at Compounds 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > reptiles > order Squamata (lizards and snakes) > suborder Lacertilia (lizards) > [noun] > family Scincidae > member of genus Acontias (dart-snake)
dart1591
darter1608
dart-serpent1608
arrow snake1611
dart-snake1694
shoot-serpent1731
javelin-snake1835
1591 R. Percyvall Bibliotheca Hispanica Dict. at Tiro A caste, dart, also a serpent called a dart..Acontias.
1608 E. Topsell Hist. Serpents 145 (heading) Of the Dart.
1635 J. Swan Speculum Mundi ix. §1. 489 The Dart taketh name from his swift darting or leaping upon a man to wound and kill him.
a. The fish otherwise called dace n. or dare n.3
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > fish > class Osteichthyes or Teleostomi > order Salmoniformes (salmon or trout) > superorder Ostariophysi or order Cypriniformes > [noun] > suborder Cyprinoidei > family Cyprinidae (minnows and carps) > genus Leuciscus > leuciscus vulgaris (dace)
dacec1430
dare?a1500
vendosy1528
dart1655
showler1689
skelly1846
1655 T. Moffett & C. Bennet Healths Improvem. xix. 178 Daces, or Darts, or Dares be of..good nourishment.
b. Short for dart-moth n. at Compounds 2.
6.
a. [ < dart v.] The act of darting; a sudden rapid motion.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > rate of motion > swiftness > swift movement in specific manner > [noun] > sudden > a sudden dart
startc1330
gird1545
whip1550
shoota1596
whippeta1603
snap1631
jet1647
flirt1666
whid1719
dart1721
spout1787
with a thrash1870
sprit1880
divea1897
1721 R. Bradley Philos. Acct. Wks. Nature 71 The first Dart they make at any thing.
c1850 Arabian Nights (Rtldg.) 306 A bird made a sudden dart from the air upon it.
1867 A. Trollope Last Chron. Barset II. li. 87 She rose quickly..and prepared herself for a dart at the door.
b. The act of casting a dart or pointed missile; the range within which it may be thrown.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > operation and use of weapons > action of propelling missile > [noun] > casting of darts
tresgeta1400
darting1565
dart1839
1839 T. Beale Nat. Hist. Sperm Whale 180 With their harpoons held above their heads ready for the dart.
1839 T. Beale Nat. Hist. Sperm Whale 182 The whale continuing to descend the moment either of the boats got within dart of him.
c. The name of a type of aeroplane, used for attacking warships.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > aeroplane > [noun] > used in warfare > bomber
raider1908
bomber1917
night bomber1918
dart1925
bomb-dropper1928
flying boxcar1932
bombing plane1934
bomber aircraft1935
medium bomber1935
dive-bomber1937
heavy1943
nuisance raider1944
shuttle bomber1944
atomic bomber1945
interdictor1965
stealth1979
1925 E. Fraser & J. Gibbons Soldier & Sailor Words Darts, a device used in the earlier part of the War for attacking troops from an aeroplane... Also, the name of a type of small, very fast aeroplane, intended for attacking warships by diving down at high speed and dropping a torpedo when at close range and just clear of the water.
1928 Times 23 Mar. 19/2 We saw three of her [sc. The Eagle, aircraft-carrier's] ‘Dart’ machines appear as specks in the blue, to dive and to attack the Furious with torpedoes.
7. slang (chiefly Australian). Plan, aim, scheme. Also, (one's) fancy or favourite.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > intention > planning > [noun] > a plan
redeeOE
devicec1290
casta1300
went1303
ordinancec1385
intentc1386
imaginationa1393
drifta1535
draught1535
forecast1535
platform1547
ground-plat?a1560
table1560
convoy1565
design1565
plat1574
ground-plota1586
plot1587
reach1587
theory1593
game1595
projectment1611
projecting1616
navation1628
approach1633
view1634
plan1635
systema1648
sophism1657
manage1667
brouillon1678
speculationa1684
sketch1697
to take measures1698
method1704
scheme1704
lines1760
outline1760
measure1767
restorative1821
ground plan1834
strategy1834
programme1837
ticket1842
project1849
outline plan1850
layout1867
draft1879
dart1882
lurk1916
schema1939
lick1955
1882 Sydney Slang Dict. 3 Dart, object of attraction, or enticing thing or event, or a set purpose.
1887 J. Farrell How he Died 20 Whose ‘dart’ was to appear the justest steward that ever hiked a plate round.
1888 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Robbery under Arms I. iv. 56 The great dart is to keep the young stock away from their mothers until they forget one another.
1890 Argus (Melbourne) 9 Aug. 4/2 When I told them of my ‘dart’ some were contemptuous.
1895 in E. E. Morris Austral Eng. (1898) 115 ‘Fresh strawberries eh!—that's my dart,’ says the bushman when he sees the fruit lunch in Collins-street.
1914 J. Joyce Dubliners 112 Suddenly..he thought of Terry Kelly's pawn-office... That was the dart! Why didn't he think of it sooner?
Compounds
C1.
dart-caster n.
ΚΠ
1550 T. Nicolls tr. Thucydides Hist. Peloponnesian War iv. xii. f. cxviii A certayne nomber of slingers and darte casters.
dart-holding adj.
ΚΠ
1647 H. More Philos. Poems iii. lxviii No fear of Death's dart-holding hand.
dart-shaped adj.
ΚΠ
1835–6 Todd's Cycl. Anat. & Physiol. I. 203/1 Dart-shaped mandibles.
dart-wounded adj.
ΚΠ
a1400–50 Alexander 225 Hire bewte bitis in his brest..as he ware dart-wondid.
C2.
dart-moth n. a moth of the genus Agrotis, so called from a mark on the fore wing.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > Heterocera > [noun] > family Noctuidae > genus Agrotis (dart-moths) > member of
dart-moth1819
1819 G. Samouelle Entomologist's Compend. Index Dart-moths.
1848 Hist. Berwickshire Naturalists' Club 2 329 Agrotis segetum (the Dart Moth), and Agrotis exclamationis (the Heart and Dart Moth).
dart-sac n. a hollow structure connected with the generative organs of some gastropods, from which the darts ( 2(b)) are ejected.
ΚΠ
1870 G. Rolleston Forms Animal Life 49 A cylindrical hollow muscular organ, the dart-sac.
dart-serpent n. = dart-snake n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > reptiles > order Squamata (lizards and snakes) > suborder Lacertilia (lizards) > [noun] > family Scincidae > member of genus Acontias (dart-snake)
dart1591
darter1608
dart-serpent1608
arrow snake1611
dart-snake1694
shoot-serpent1731
javelin-snake1835
1608 E. Topsell Hist. Serpents 147 Soddainely there came one of these Dart-Serpentes out of the tree, and wounded him.
1745 P. Thomas True Jrnl. Voy. South-Seas 338 (C. Good Hope) The Eye-Serpent..is also call'd sometimes the Dart-Serpent, from its darting or shooting himself forward with great swiftness.
dart-snake n. a snake-like lizard of the genus Acontias (= 4).
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > reptiles > order Squamata (lizards and snakes) > suborder Lacertilia (lizards) > [noun] > family Scincidae > member of genus Acontias (dart-snake)
dart1591
darter1608
dart-serpent1608
arrow snake1611
dart-snake1694
shoot-serpent1731
javelin-snake1835
1694 J. Clayton in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 18 135 This I think may..be referred to the Dart-Snakes.
1843 J. Dayman tr. Dante Inferno xxiv. 154 Though puffsnake, dartsnake, watersnake, she [Libya] boast.
Draft additions December 2016
In plural. An indoor game in which small pointed missiles with feather or plastic flights are thrown at a dartboard in order to score points.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > darts > [noun]
darts1771
1771 Craftsman 5 Oct. There was playing at back-sword, cudgels, darts, &c.
1836 Bristol Mercury 8 Oct. When he went in they asked him to play at darts; he did so and drank part of the beer that was won.
1886 Huddersfield Daily Chron. 6 June 3/3 They was no playing at darts either for money or beer at his house.
1919 Mind & Body 26 268 What honest-to-goodness he-soldier of these he-United States of ours would condescend to play darts?
1947 M. Gilbert Close Quarters xii. 175 You can play darts and engage the local talent in gossip.
1958 Times 29 Apr. p. x/4 In the past 30 years darts has become the most important of all public house games.
1988 Darts Player 89 Dec. 7/4 Did they see darts as a ‘mickey-take’ of the upper classes' game of archery?
2015 Radio Times 28 Feb. (South/West ed.) 27/2 Darts also has the best finish of any sport ever invented. Every time you want to win a leg or a set you must finish on a ‘double,’ the hardest shot of all.
Draft additions September 2020
colloquial (chiefly Canadian and Australian). A cigarette. Cf. lung dart n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > tobacco > smoking > articles or materials used in smoking > [noun] > thing which may be smoked > cigarette
cigarito1832
paper cigar1833
cigarette1842
papelito1845
coffin-nailc1865
fag1885
butt1893
pill1901
scag1915
nail1925
quirly1932
tab1934
burn1941
draw1946
tube1946
snout1950
cancer stick1958
straight1959
ciggy1962
square1970
bifter1989
lung dart1990
dart2000
2000 Daily Tel. (Sydney) 9 Nov. (7 Days section) 11/1 Oprah Winfrey..takes us on a meander down memory lane, featuring snippets of chats she has had with some of Tinseltown's stars... There's..Mel Gibson with a shaggy type of mullet cut puffing away on a dart.
2017 M. Munro Hockey Sucks (e-book, accessed 26 May 2020) I grew up in a place where you could watch Ronald's mom warm the station wagon up for 5 minutes while she smoked a dart.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1894; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
dartv.
/dɑːt/, U.S. /dɑrt/ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > injury > injure [verb (transitive)] > wound > pierce
asnesec880
prickOE
stickOE
through-stitchc1230
threstc1275
rivec1330
dartc1374
gridea1400
tanga1400
prochea1425
launch1460
accloy1543
gag1570
pole1728
spigota1798
assegai1834
the world > food and drink > hunting > fishing > type or method of fishing > [verb (transitive)] > catch fish with spear
poach1602
dart1624
peg1735
spear1755
harpoon1774
gig1816
spritsail-yard1833
gaff1844
grain1892
spear-fish1962
c1374 G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde iv. 212 As the wilde bole..ydarted to the herte.
1557 Earl of Surrey et al. Songes & Sonettes (new ed.) f. 91v Till death shall darte him for to dye.
1624 J. Smith Gen. Hist. Virginia ii. 32 Staues like vnto Iauelins headed with bone. With these they dart fish swimming in the water.
1632 W. Lithgow Totall Disc. Trav. x. 489 When death..had darted King Iames of matchlesse memory.
1751 S. Richardson Clarissa (ed. 3) IV. xxxvi. 224 She..darts dead at once even the embryo hopes of an encroaching Lover.
1753 J. Bond in Philos. Trans. 1751–2 (Royal Soc.) 47 431 [They] are never sure of darting a whale, till they are within a yard.
2. To throw, cast, shoot (a dart or other missile).
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > operation and use of weapons > action of propelling missile > assail with missiles [verb (transitive)] > cast (spear or dart)
shoota1100
dart1580
1580 T. North tr. Plutarch Lives (1676) 770 Such other Iauelins as the Romans darted at them.
1662 J. Davies tr. A. Olearius Voy. & Trav. J. Albert de Mandelslo 51 in Voy. & Trav. Ambassadors A kind of long headed Pike, which they dart with great exactness.
1770 J. Langhorne & W. Langhorne tr. Plutarch Lives (1879) I. 426/1 He bound it fast to a javelin, and darted it over.
1839 T. Beale Nat. Hist. Sperm Whale 161 They..sometimes get near enough to dart the harpoon.
3. transferred and figurative. To send forth, or emit, suddenly and sharply; to shoot out; to cast (a glance) quickly and keenly.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > seeing or looking > see [verb (transitive)] > direct (a look)
warpc1175
send1592
dart1593
look1599
squint1631
fling1654
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > going or coming out > letting or sending out > let or send out [verb (transitive)] > emit > suddenly or swiftly
shootc1480
dart1593
dartle1855
1593 W. Shakespeare Venus & Adonis sig. C Thine eye darts forth the fire that burneth me. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Taming of Shrew (1623) v. ii. 142 Dart not scornefull glances from those eies. View more context for this quotation
1638 T. Herbert Some Yeares Trav. (rev. ed.) 171 The Sunne darted his outragious beames so full upon us.
1676 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 11 680 (Fire engine) The water issuing out of the tube that darts it.
1705 tr. W. Bosman New Descr. Coast of Guinea xiv. 258 The Camelion..when a fly comes in his way..darts out his Tongue with utmost swiftness.
1785 W. Cowper Task ii. 720 His gentle eye Grew stern, and darted a severe rebuke.
1835–6 Todd's Cycl. Anat. & Physiol. I. 272/1 Darting the bill with sudden velocity into the water.
1852 W. M. Thackeray Henry Esmond I. viii. 174 Her eyes..darted flashes of anger as she spoke.
4. intransitive. To throw a dart or other missile.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > operation and use of weapons > action of propelling missile > discharge missile [verb (intransitive)] > cast dart or spear
dart1530
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 506/2 These Yrisshe men darte best, or throwe a darte best of all men.
1614 W. Raleigh Hist. World i. ii. xiii. §7. 437 One Laodocus in darting.
1662 J. Davies tr. A. Olearius Voy. & Trav. Ambassadors 72 They pursue her [the whale] and dart two or three times more at her.
5. To move like a dart; to spring or start with a sudden rapid motion; to shoot. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > rate of motion > swiftness > swift movement in specific manner > move swiftly in specific manner [verb (intransitive)] > move swiftly and suddenly
windc897
shootc1000
smite?c1225
flatc1300
lash13..
girda1400
shock?a1400
spara1400
spritc1400
whipc1440
skrim1487
glance1489
spang1513
whip1540
squirt1570
flirt1582
fly1590
sprunt1601
flame1633
darta1640
strike1639
jump1720
skite1721
scoot1758
jink1789
arrow1827
twitch1836
skive1854
sprint1899
skyhoot1901
catapult1928
slingshot1969
book1977
a1640 J. Fletcher & P. Massinger False One ii. i, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Qq3/2 Destructions darting from their lookes.
1781 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall III. I. 119 They dart away with the swiftness of the wind.
1794 A. Radcliffe Myst. of Udolpho III. i. 2 A thousand vague fears darted athwart her mind.
1852 H. B. Stowe Uncle Tom's Cabin I. xiii. 202 ‘No, no’, said little Ruth, darting up.
1885 Spectator 18 July 950/1 A deer darts out of the copse.
1886 J. Ruskin Præterita I. ix. 296 The road got level again as it darted away towards Geneva.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1894; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
<
n.c1330v.c1374