flone

Etymology

From Middle English flon, flone, flan, from Old English flān (“barb, arrow, javelin, dart”), from Proto-Germanic *flainaz (“fork-point, prong, hook, spear-tip”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)plei- (“to divide, split, splice”). Cognate with Icelandic fleinn (“thorn, arrow, dart, pike, fluke”).

flone means an arrow. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.

Why “flone” is a great word

FLONE — [Noun] A barbed arrow or projectile with a forked, pronged head. From Middle English flon, flone, flan, from Old English flān ("barb, arrow, javelin, dart"), from Proto-Germanic *flainaz ("fork-point, prong, hook, spear-tip"), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)plei- ("to divide, split, splice"). Unlike a bolt—a short, heavy quarrel for a crossbow—or a dart—a light, hand-thrown missile—a flone is defined by its cruelly divisive point, forged from the very concept of splitting. It is the iron hook leaving the yew bow, the splitter of air and then flesh, the embedded barb that cannot be withdrawn without widening the wound—a splinter of intention sent irrevocably from one state to another.

noun

An arrow.