spear grass

Spear \Spear\, n. [OE. spere, AS. spere; akin to D. & G. speer,
   OS. & OHS. sper, Icel. spj["o]r, pl., Dan. spaer, L. sparus.]
   1. A long, pointed weapon, used in war and hunting, by
      thrusting or throwing; a weapon with a long shaft and a
      sharp head or blade; a lance.

   Note: [See Illust. of {Spearhead}.] "A sharp ground spear."
         --Chaucer.
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               They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and
               their spears into pruning hooks.   --Micah iv. 3.
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   2. Fig.: A spearman. --Sir W. Scott.
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   3. A sharp-pointed instrument with barbs, used for stabbing
      fish and other animals.
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   4. A shoot, as of grass; a spire.
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   5. The feather of a horse. See {Feather}, n., 4.
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   6. The rod to which the bucket, or plunger, of a pump is
      attached; a pump rod.
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   {Spear foot}, the off hind foot of a horse.

   {Spear grass}. (Bot.)
      (a) The common reed. See {Reed}, n., 1.
      (b) meadow grass. See under {Meadow}.

   {Spear hand}, the hand in which a horseman holds a spear; the
      right hand. --Crabb.

   {Spear side}, the male line of a family. --Lowell.

   {Spear thistle} (Bot.), the common thistle ({Cnicus
      lanceolatus}).
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Poa \Po"a\, n. [NL., fr. Gr. ? grass.] (Bot.)
   A genus of grasses, including a great number of species, as
   the kinds called {meadow grass}, {Kentucky blue grass}, {June
   grass}, and {spear grass} (which see).
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