A Sling Supports an Arm and Also Threw Down Goliath
A sling is a loop of material for supporting or throwing. The weapon version was a serious military tool for millennia.
A sling is a loop of material used to support an injured arm, or a strap for hurling stones. The weapon was not a toy: Roman armies employed specialist slingers, lead sling bullets have been excavated across the empire, and a skilled slinger could out-range an archer. The David and Goliath story describes standard military practice of its time, not an improbable trick. A *sling* is also a cocktail, as in the Singapore Sling, and to *sling* means to throw casually.
- An arm support. *His arm was in a sling.*
- A throwing weapon. *A shepherd's sling.*
- To throw casually. *Sling it over.*
- A cocktail. *A Singapore Sling.*
- Old Norse — *slyngva*, to hurl. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | sling | A sling. |
| Plural | slings | Slings. |
| Verb | sling | Sling it. |
| Past | slung | Slung. |
| Agent | slinger | A slinger. |
- His arm was in a sling for weeks.Medical.
- Roman armies used specialist slingers.History.
- Sling me the keys.Informal.
The sling as a weapon
- Range could exceed that of an early bow
- Lead bullets were cast specially, often inscribed with taunts
- Balearic slingers were prized mercenaries in Carthaginian and Roman armies
- Training took years, which is why specialists were employed
- Ammunition was free wherever there were stones
Probably from Old Norse *slyngva*, to hurl, or Middle Low German *slinge*, a sling.
Was the sling a real weapon?
Very much so. Roman and Carthaginian armies employed specialist slingers, and inscribed lead bullets survive across the ancient world.
Why is a cocktail called a sling?
An American term from the 1700s for a drink of spirits, water and sugar, of uncertain connection to the other senses.