sling

Etymology 1

From Middle English slynge (noun), slyngen (verb), probably from Old Norse slyngja, slyngva (“to hurl”), from Proto-Germanic *slingwaną (“to worm, twist”) or compare Old English slingan (“to wind, twist”), from the same source. Compare German schlingen (“to swing, wind, twist”), Danish and Norwegian slynge), from Proto-Indo-European *slenk (“to turn, twist”) (compare Welsh llyngyr (“worms, maggots”), Lithuanian sliñkti (“to crawl like a snake”), Latvian slìkt (“to sink”)).

verb

1. To throw with a circular or arcing motion.
   Everyone could sling stones at an hairbreadth, and not miss. 2000, Bible (World English), Judges xx. 16
   slings a broken rock aloft in air a. 1720, Joseph Addison, “Milton’s Style Imitated, in a Translation of a Story out of the Third Æneid”, in The Dramatick Works of Joseph Addison. With the Authour’s Poems, on Several Occasions
2. To throw with a sling.
3. (nautical) To pass a rope around (a cask, gun, etc.) preparatory to attaching a hoisting or lowering tackle.
4. (slang) To sell, peddle, or distribute (often illicitly, e.g. drugs, sex, etc.).
   You may know a lot about chemistry, man, but you don't know jack about slinging dope. 2008, Breaking Bad, Season 1, Episode 6

noun

1. (weapon) An instrument for throwing stones or other missiles, consisting of a short strap with two strings fastened to its ends, or with a string fastened to one end and a light stick to the other.
   The Sling is also a weapon of great antiquity, formerly in high estimation among the ancients. 1786, Francis Grose, A Treatise on Ancient Armour and Weapons, page 43
2. A kind of hanging bandage put around the neck, in which a wounded arm or hand is supported.
3. A loop of cloth, worn around the neck, for supporting a baby or other such load.
4. A loop of rope, or a rope or chain with hooks, for suspending a barrel, bale, or other heavy object, in hoisting or lowering.
5. A strap attached to a firearm, for suspending it from the shoulder.
6. (nautical, chiefly in the plural) A band of rope or iron for securing a yard to a mast.
7. The act or motion of hurling as with a sling; a throw; figuratively, a stroke.
   To be, or not to be, that is the question: Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, And by opposing, end them. 1600, William Shakespeare, Hamlet, act III, scene I, line 55
8. (climbing) A loop of rope or fabric tape used for various purposes: e.g. as part of a runner, or providing extra protection when abseiling or belaying.
9. A drink composed of a spirit (usually gin) and water sweetened.
   gin sling
   a Singapore sling

Etymology 2

From a shortening of spiderling.

noun

1. A young or infant spider, such as one raised in captivity.