Meanings
plural Bohemian earspoons · alternative Bohemian ear-spoon · alternative Bohemian ear spoon
- historicalA polearm with a long, broad, socketed spearhead, with a guard of two outward-protruding "ears" at the base of the head, used for hunting and in combat.
Pole arms can be roughly divided into several categories, based on the types of heads they have mounted: Thrusting weapons (awl pike, boar spear, Bohemian earspoon, chauve souris, feather staff, fork, fourche a crochet, korseke, langue, … and runca)
2014, Carl Granberg, David Perry on Game Design: A Brainstorming Toolbox, page 7551 more example
Called originally 'kùsa-scythe' and later "sudlice," it doubled as both a stabbing and cutting weapon, developing later into the "ušata sudlice" — Bohemian earspoon, more suitable for combat — thanks to side spikes (ears), acting as end stops, [as a result of which] it did not penetrate too deep.
2016, Syed Ramsey, Tools of War: History of Weapons in Medieval Times, →ISBN
Origin
The weapon originated in Bohemia, the two protruding stops or lugs at the base of the weapon's head were likened to ears, and the entire spearhead with ears was fancifully likened to an earspoon (“ear pick”).
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Czech ušatá sudlice
- ušatá sudliceweapon
German Böhmischer Ohrlöffel
- Böhmischer Ohrlöffelweapon
Cite this entry
Bohemian earspoon. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Bohemian%20earspoon
“Bohemian earspoon.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Bohemian%20earspoon. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Bohemian earspoon,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Bohemian%20earspoon.
Source: Bohemian earspoon on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.