Definitions for spear carrier
spear car·ri·er

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. supernumerary, spear carrier, extranoun

   a minor actor in crowd scenes

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. spear carrier

   A spear carrier is a term originally from opera and theater, used to describe a minor character who appears on stage only to provide some immediate support or context to the main actors or plot, without any significant contribution to the story. The term derives from characters who would literally carry spears in historical or martial plays. The term has since extended to film, television, and literature. It is often synonymous with "background character,'' ''extra'' or "bit player."

WikidataRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Spear carrier

   A spear carrier is a nickname for a minor acting part. It generally pertains to a character that appears in several scenes, but mostly in the background. In the world of Opera, the term is sometimes used literally: When a male chorus is required, as in Aida, for example, the onstage "army", armed with spears or swords, usually consists of several singers and as many who remain silent, filling out the group. The silent ones are known as spear carriers, to differentiate them from the male chorus members. The Ancient Greek term for spear carrier originally meant a soldier armed with a spear acting as a bodyguard or ceremonial guard to noblemen. The modern meaning has its roots in classical Greek tragedy; as plays such as Antigone and Oedipus the King concerned the tragic fate of nobles, several nondescript soldiers or guards were required to appear in the background, and the term was used to describe the guards who just escorted the main characters. The 1968 Nebula Award-winning novel Rite of Passage, by Alexei Panshin, mentions the protagonist's observations of the role of spear carriers in real life: "A spear carrier is somebody who stands in the hall when Caesar passes, comes to attention and thumps his spear. A spear carrier is the anonymous character cut down by the hero as he advances to save the menaced heroine. A spear carrier is a character put in a story to be used like a piece of disposable tissue. In a story, spear carriers never suddenly assert themselves by throwing their spears aside and saying, ‘I resign. I don’t want to be used.’ They are there to be used, either for atmosphere or as minor obstacles in the path of the hero. The trouble is that each of us is his own hero, existing in a world of spear carriers. We take no joy in being used and discarded. I was finding then, that wet, chilly, unhappy night, that I took no joy in seeing other people used and discarded."

Matched Categories

1. • Actor

How to pronounce spear carrier?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say spear carrier in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of spear carrier in Chaldean Numerology is: 8

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of spear carrier in Pythagorean Numerology is: 5

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=spear carrier
2. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
3. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=spear carrier