A small, thin dart-shaped projectile, originally dropped from aircraft or fired from weapons, that looks like a tiny arrow.
French diminutive of flèche (arrow), formed by adding -ette. First used militarily in WWI when aircraft dropped clusters of these small steel darts on enemy troops below.
Fléchettes were terrifying WWI weapons—planes would rain thousands of these dart-like projectiles onto trenches, creating a horrifying new form of aerial bombardment that shocked the world.
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