Fletching

Fletching is the fin-shaped aerodynamic stabilization device attached on arrows, bolts, darts, or javelins, and are typically made from light semi-flexible materials such as feathers or bark. Each piece of such fin is a fletch, also known as a flight^[1] or feather. A fletcher is a person who attaches fletchings to the shaft of arrows, fletchers were traditionally associated with the Worshipful Company of Fletchers, a guild in the City of London.

The word is related to the French word flèche, meaning 'arrow', via the ultimate root of Old Frankish fliukka.^[2]^[3]

^ The Handbook Of The SAS And Elite Forces. How The Professionals Fight And Win. Edited by Jon E. Lewis. p.497-Tactics And Techniques, Survival. Robinson Publishing Ltd 1997. ISBN 1-85487-675-9
^ Etymologeek flèche etymology
^ Du Cange, Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis, FLECHA.

[1] The Handbook Of The SAS And Elite Forces. How The Professionals Fight And Win. Edited by Jon E. Lewis. p.497-Tactics And Techniques, Survival. Robinson Publishing Ltd 1997. ISBN 1-85487-675-9

[2] Etymologeek flèche etymology

[3] Du Cange, Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis, FLECHA.

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