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B1 Topic:General Vocabulary

US /ˈæɹoʊ/ UK /ˈæɹəʊ/ See IPA manual

Freq #4626

Meanings

1

noun
A thin, pointed stick that is shot from a bow.

The archer aimed the arrow at the target.
2

noun
A sign shaped like an arrow that shows a direction.

Follow the arrows to find the exit.
3

verb
To move swiftly and directly, like a flying arrow.

The startled bird arrowed up into the sky.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Word family

Forms arrows

Derived forms arrow-fingerarrow-headarrow-holearrow-rootarrow-straightarrow-woodarrowbackarrowgrassarrowheadarrowheadedarrowleafarrowless

Appears in

Phrases (1)

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broad arrow
an arrowhead-shaped mark traditionally used to identify British government property

Adjective + noun

Proverbs (2)

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Simplified etymology

Arrow is an Old English word borrowed from Old Norse. It is only indirectly involved in arrowroot, whose name may instead be a reshaping of Arawak haru, “starch,” under the influence of the familiar words arrow and root.

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.

arwe Middle English earh Old English *arhu Proto-West Germanic *arhwō Proto-Germanic *h₂érkʷo- Proto-Indo-European

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Topics

General Vocabulary

External links

# arrow

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈæɹoʊ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈæɹəʊ/
**Frequency rank:** 4626

## Meanings
1. A thin, pointed stick that is shot from a bow.
2. A sign shaped like an arrow that shows a direction.
3. To move swiftly and directly, like a flying arrow.

## Examples
- The archer aimed the arrow at the target.
- Follow the arrows to find the exit.
- The startled bird arrowed up into the sky.

## Derived Forms
- arrow-finger
- arrow-head
- arrow-hole
- arrow-root
- arrow-straight
- arrow-wood
- arrowback
- arrowgrass
- arrowhead
- arrowheaded
- arrowleaf
- arrowless

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: arwe
- Root: earh
- Root: *arhu
- Root: *arhwō
- Root: *h₂érkʷo-

## 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.

## AI Etymology
Arrow comes 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.

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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