ballista

UK:**UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/bəˈlɪstə/US:USA pronunciation: respellingUSA pronunciation: respelling(bə lis′tə)

Inflections of 'ballista' (n): npl: ballistae

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
bal•lis•ta  (bə lis′tə),USA pronunciation n., pl. -tae (-tē).USA pronunciation 
  1. Militaryan ancient military engine for throwing stones or other missiles.
  • Greek *ballistá̄s, dialect, dialectal variant of *ballisté̄s, equivalent. to báll(ein) to throw + -istēs -ist
  • Latin, probably
  • 1590–1600

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
ballista /bəˈlɪstə/ n ( pl -tae /-tiː/)
  1. an ancient catapult for hurling stones, etc
Etymology: 16th Century: from Latin, ultimately from Greek ballein to throw
'ballista' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
arbalest - bolide - balestra - balistraria

Forum discussions with the word(s) "ballista" in the title:


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