Emily Dickinson Lexicon

SLING, n.¹ [D. slinger.]

1. An instrument for throwing stones, consisting of a strap two strings; the stone being lodged in the strap, is thrown by loosing one of the strings. With a sling and a stone David killed Goliath.
2. A throw; a stroke. – Milton.
3. A kind of hanging bandage put round the neck, in which a wounded limb is sustained.
4. A rope by which a cask or bale is suspended and swung in or out of a ship.