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Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: B1 — Intermediate

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun a mark to indicate a direction or relation
  2. noun a projectile with a straight thin shaft and an arrowhead on one end and stabilizing vanes on the other; intended to be shot from a bow

Etymology

From Middle English arwe, from Old English earh (“arrow”) (oblique form ēarw-), from Proto-West Germanic *arhu (“arrow”), from Proto-Germanic *arhwō (“arrow”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂érkʷo- (“bow, arrow”). Cognate with Faroese ørv, ørvur (“arrow”), Icelandic ör (“arrow”), örvar (“arrows”), Gothic 𐌰𐍂𐍈𐌰𐌶𐌽𐌰 (arƕazna, “dart”), Asturian and Leonese arcu (“arrow”), Aragonese, Galician, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish arco (“arrow”), Catalan, French, and Romanian arc (“arrow”), Latin arcus (“bow”). Doublet of arch, arc, arco, and arcus.

In classic literature

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