Blowguns

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of tube used for shooting darts or projectiles by blowing air through it; typically associated with certain indigenous cultures for hunting or sport; functioning as a silent weapon for delivering small, pointed items at a target
2. A long cylindrical device designed to propel darts using breath power; often made of wood or bamboo and utilized historically by various peoples for capturing prey; serves as an efficient means of stealthy projectile delivery
3. An air-powered weapon crafted for launching slender, commonly sharpened darts by manual air pressure; traditionally employed in hunting by indigenous populations; represents a low-noise, distance-projecting tool

Etymology: "Blowguns" is the plural of "blowgun," so it is the plural of a compound formed from "blow" and "gun." Both parts are old English words: "blow" in the sense of forcing air out of the mouth, and "gun" in its broad early sense of a tube or piece of ordnance. Put together, a blowgun is simply a gun powered by breath rather than by gunpowder. The idea behind the weapon is older than the English compound. Indigenous peoples of South America, Southeast Asia and elsewhere developed blowguns independently, using a long tube to launch slender darts, often tipped with poison, with a force generated entirely by the lungs. The English name describes that mechanism directly, with no borrowed term involved.

Synonyms: blowpipes