Archery competition in June 1983 at Mönchengladbach, West GermanyA Rikbaktsa archer competes at Brazil's Indigenous GamesTibetan archer, 1938Master Heon Kim demonstrating Gungdo, traditional Korean archery (Kuk Kung), 2009Archers in East TimorJapanese archerArchery in BhutanArcher in Benin
Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shootarrows.[1] The word comes from the Latinarcus, meaning bow.[2] Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In modern times, it is mainly a competitive sport and recreational activity. A person who practices archery is typically called an archer, bowman, or toxophilite.[3]
^The noun "toxophilite", meaning "a lover or devotee of archery, an archer" derives from Toxophilus by Roger Ascham —"imaginary proper name invented by Ascham, and hence title of his book (1545), intended to mean 'lover of the bow'." "toxophilite, n." Oxford English Dictionary. Second edition, 1989; online version November 2010. <http://www.oed.com:80/Entry/204131>; accessed 10 March 2011. Earlier version first published in New English Dictionary, 1913.