'dart-thrower' originates from English, specifically formed from the noun 'dart' + the agentive noun 'thrower', where 'dart' referred to a small pointed missile (from a verb meaning 'to thrust') and 'thrower' is 'one who throws' (from the verb 'throw').

'dart' entered Middle English from Old French 'darder' (to thrust), ultimately from a Germanic source (compare Frankish *dard-), and 'throw' comes from Old English 'þrawan' (originally meaning to twist) which developed into Middle English 'throwen' and modern English 'throw'; the compound 'dart-thrower' is a straightforward modern English compound combining these elements.

Initially the components referred to 'a person who thrusts or hurls a dart'; over time the compound has been used simply to denote 'a person who throws darts', often in the sporting sense of someone who plays darts.