Other forms: arrows
An arrow is a pointed sign that shows you which way to go. Follow the arrows, an arrow on the sign, a red arrow.
It is the most universally understood symbol there is, needing no language at all, which is why airports and hospitals lean on it so heavily. The original is the shaft shot from a bow, and the sign is named after it. Note the arrow keys, and the phrase straight as an arrow.
1nounarrowA pointed sign showing direction.
“Follow the arrows on the floor to find the way out.”
2nounshaftA pointed shaft shot from a bow.
“The archer pulled back the string and let the arrow fly.”
arrow is a symbol, or a missile.
Old English earh comes from a Proto-Indo-European word for a bow or arrow. The Latin arcus, a bow, is a relative.
Proto-Indo-European
*h₂érkʷo- — bow, arrow
Proto-Germanic
*arhwō — arrow
Proto-West Germanic
*arhu — arrow
Old English
earh — arrow
Middle English
arwe
English, today
arrow
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 (“dart”), Asturian - and roa-leo arcu (“bow”), an -, Galician -, Italian -, Portuguese -, and Spanish arco (“bow”), Catalan -, French -, and Romanian arc (“bow”), Latin arcus (“bow”). a doublet of arch and arc and arco and arcus.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA
Practised in Colors, Shapes & Numbers