English
spearcaster
From spear (“long stick with a sharp tip used as a weapon”) + caster (“that which casts; one who casts”).
A compound of spear ‘long stick with a sharp tip used as a weapon’ + caster ‘that which casts’
Proto-Indo-European *sperH- ‘to kick’
Proto-Germanic *speru
Proto-West Germanic *speru
Old English spere ‘spear, lance, pike, javelin’
Middle English spere ‘a spear or lance’
English spear
Proto-Germanic *kas- ‘to throw’
Proto-Germanic *kastōną ‘to throw’
Old Norse kasta ‘to cast, to throw’
Middle English casten ‘cast’
English cast ‘to turn’
English caster
Today it means
noun A sling-like device used to impart greater impetus to a thrown spear.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “spearcaster”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / spearcaster