the.com/weapon
any object can become one the instant intention sharpens it
means any instrument or means used to attack or defend, whether in combat, argument, or contest
from From Old English 'wǣpen,' meaning arms or instrument of fighting, with cousins across the Germanic family — Old Norse 'vápn,' Dutch 'wapen,' German 'Waffe.' The deeper roots fade into prehistory, leaving the word with no clear ancestor beyond the Germanic tongues themselves, as if the concept were too old and too universal to need explaining.
- first weapon
- sharpened sticks predate humans by millions of years
- deadliest tool
- mosquitoes kill more people than all weapons combined
- word origin
- from Old English wǣpen, meaning tool or instrument
- banned class
- chemical weapons outlawed worldwide since 1997 treaty
- oldest spear
- 400,000-year-old wooden spears found in Germany
ak-47 — mikhail kalashnikov's 1947 design, ~100 million produced, most widely used assault rifle globally
nuclear warhead — first used august 1945 on hiroshima, japan; ~13,000 currently deployed globally
javelin missile — us anti-tank weapon, $200,000+ per unit, deployed extensively in ukraine 2022-present
m16 rifle — us military standard rifle 1964-2015, ~8 million produced, iconic vietnam war weapon