[1][2][3] According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word originally came from the Celtiberian language, also cf.
λόγχη (lonche), the Greek term for lance.
[7] Arrian equipped his army with the weapon during a battle with the Alans.
[5] This kind of javelin also had short wooden shafts and small leaf-shaped metal heads.
[11][12][13] Sometimes the heads had elongated points which may have been used to increase the penetration of the spear.