Etymology From Middle English darten, from the noun (see above).
1
To throw with a sudden effort or thrust; to hurl or launch.
2
To send forth suddenly or rapidly; to emit; to shoot.
As the sun darted forth his beams, she darted a meaningful glance at me.
Pan came, and ask'd, what magic caus'd my ſmart, / Or what ill eyes malignant glances dart?1717, Alexander Pope, “Autumn. The Third Pastoral. […]”, in The Works of Mr. Alexander Pope, volume I, London: […] W[illiam] Bowyer, for Bernard Lintot, […], →OCLC, page 28:
1 more example
Yossarian responded to the thought by slipping away stealthily from the police and almost tripped over the feet of a burly woman of forty hastening across the intersection guiltily, darting furtive, vindictive glances behind her toward a woman of eighty with thick, bandaged ankles doddering after her in a losing pursuit.1961 November 10, Joseph Heller, “The Eternal City”, in Catch-22 […], New York, N.Y.: Simon and Schuster, →OCLC, page 432:
3
To shoot with a dart, especially a tranquilizer dart.
They had to dart the animal to get close enough to help
4
To fly or pass swiftly, like a dart; to move rapidly in one direction; to shoot out quickly.
The flying man darted eastward.
5
To start and run with speed; to shoot rapidly along.
The deer darted from the thicket.
The fish darted under a stone.
2 more examples
By half-time, it was almost a surprise that the away side had restricted themselves to only one more goal. Messi, again, was prominently involved, darting past Fernando and then Zabaleta.2015 February 24, Daniel Taylor, “Luis Suárez strikes twice as Barcelona teach Manchester City a lesson”, in The Guardian (London):
The impressive Frenchman drove forward with purpose down the right before cutting infield and darting in between Vassiriki Diaby and Koscielny.2010 December 29, Mark Vesty, “Wigan 2 - 2 Arsenal”, in BBC:
Abbreviation, Acronym Acronym of disaster assistance response team.
2
Disaster animal response team.
3
Disaster area response team.
4
Abbreviation Abbreviation of disaster assistance and rescue team.
5
Disaster response team.
dart
noun
Etymology From Middle English dart, from Old French dart, dard (“dart”), from Medieval Latin dardus, from Frankish *darōþu (“dart, spear”), from Proto-Germanic *darōþuz (“dart, spear”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰerh₃- (“to leap, spring”). Compare Old High German tart (“javelin, dart”), Old English daroþ, dearod (“javelin, spear, dart”), Swedish dart (“dart, dagger”), Icelandic darraður, darr, dör (“dart, spear”).
A pointed missile weapon, intended to be thrown by the hand; for example, a short lance or javelin.
Then said Joab, I may not tarry thus with thee. And he took three darts in his hand, and thrust them through the heart of Absalom, while he was yet alive in the midst of the oak.1769, Oxford Standard Text, “King James Bible”, in 2 Samuel, xviii, 14:
2
Any sharp-pointed missile weapon, such as an arrow.
3
Figuratively, Sometimes Anything resembling such a missile; something that pierces or wounds like such a weapon.
The artful inquiry, whose venom′d dart / Scarce wounds the hearing while it stabs the heart.1830, Hannah More, Sensibility: The Works of Hannah More, volume 1, page 38:
4
A small object with a pointed tip at one end and feathers at the other, which is thrown at a target in the game of darts.
5
Geometry, Mathematics, Sciences A concave quadrilateral similar in shape to a chevron or arrowhead.
2017, April 18, Craig Little, The Guardian, Hawthorn are not the only ones finding that things can get worse The Tigers will also face Jesse Hogan, still smarting from missing a couple of games but not life inside the AFL bubble, where you can’t even light up a dart at a music festival without someone filming it and sending it to the six o’clock news.
Fighter aircraft also use restricted areas for target shooting at darts towed 1500 feet behind another aircraft.1988, Michigan Aviation, volumes 21-25, page 62:
Trucking′s my dart too.1947, Norman Lindsay, Halfway to Anywhere, published 1970, page 79:
9
A sudden or fast movement.
Soon as I felt the floor tremor I made a dart for the door.
Six minutes later Cueto went over for his second try after the recalled Mike Tindall found him with a perfectly-timed pass, before Ashton went on another dart, this time down his opposite wing, only for his speculative pass inside to be ruled forward.2011 September 24, Ben Dirs, “Rugby World Cup 2011: England 67-3 Romania”, in BBC Sport: