Please help me figure out the meaning of "notch your arrows" mentioned here.
I found the lexical meanings of the word notch here, but they don't seem to fit in the given context.
Thank you for your time.
Learn English – What does the phrase “notch your arrows” mean here
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Best Answer
In the text you refer to from the book, Druids of the Faerie, the command to the bowmen is for them to take an arrow (presumably from their quivers) and to fit the notch (the cut at the feathered end of the arrow) to the bowstring in readiness to fire.
Modern archery books refer to this as nocking.
According to the book sourced below:
Nocking the arrow is the process of holding the arrow so you can snap the nock onto the bowstring. It also means checking that the arrow's index vanes or fletching are orientated on the bowstring for proper clearance as the arrow passes the riser.
Other articles refer to nocking as actually fitting the notch to the bowstring.
Thus both to nock (and in your text to notch your arrows) means preparing to fire the arrow.
http://www.learn-archery.com/nocking-the-arrow.html
https://wikidiff.com/notch/nock