ballistas
Bolt-throwing siege engines
Ballistas are ancient military siege weapons resembling giant crossbows, designed to hurl large bolts or stones at enemy fortifications and troops.
The Romans used them extensively in warfare.
The singular is ballista.
The word occasionally appears in fantasy games and historical fiction: The defenders mounted ballistas on the castle walls.
Siege engine for launching
- scorpionStinging arachnid with pincers
- onagerAsiatic wild ass
- trebuchetCounterweight-powered projectile launcher
- mangonelTorsion-powered medieval catapult
Hellenistic · Roman · Greek · Carthaginian · siegecraft · legionaries · hoplites · trireme
Rotational strain force
- tensionStretched or strained state
- skeinsCoiled lengths of yarn
- sinewTough connective tissue
- ropeThick twisted fibers
windlass · ratchet · lever · counterweight · trajectory · accuracy · range · calibration
Threaded rod for nuts
- quarrelAngry verbal dispute
- stoneSolid earth fragment
- missileSelf-guided airborne weapon
- dartHandheld pointed projectile
javelin · ammunition · shaft · fletching · trajectory · velocity · penetration · kinetic
Defensive barriers against attack
- battlementsNotched defensive wall top
- rampartsProtective fortress walls
- wallsVertical enclosing structures
- towersTall vertical structures
breaching · bombardment · assault · blockade · encirclement · trenches · palisades · moats
catapult
Siege engine for launching
- scorpionStinging arachnid with pincers
- onagerAsiatic wild ass
- trebuchetCounterweight-powered projectile launcher
mangonel · Hellenistic · Roman · Greek · Carthaginian · siegecraft · legionaries · hoplites · trireme · antiquity
torsion
Rotational strain force
rope · windlass · ratchet · lever · counterweight · trajectory · accuracy · range · calibration · construction
bolt
Threaded rod for nuts
dart · javelin · ammunition · shaft · fletching · trajectory · velocity · penetration · kinetic · range
fortifications
Defensive barriers against attack
- battlementsNotched defensive wall top
- rampartsProtective fortress walls
- wallsVertical enclosing structures
towers · breaching · bombardment · assault · blockade · encirclement · trenches · palisades · moats · garrison
- arms and armorswords, shields, helmets, daggers, axes
- ancient weaponssword, swords, shield, shields, bow
- ancient warfarephalanx, warriors, army, legion, battle
- castle defensemoat, drawbridge, portcullis, arrow slits, battlements
ballistastrebuchets
Counterweight-powered projectile launchers
catapults · crossbows · battering rams · longbows · siege towers
ballistasshields
Protective barriers for defense
fortifications · defensive walls · armor · ramparts · bastions
- go ballisticLose temper violently
- going ballisticBecoming extremely angry suddenly
- goes ballisticLoses control explosively
- ballistic missilesSelf-propelled guided munitions
- ballistic vestsGarments deflecting ammunition
- ballistic trajectoryCurve of unpowered projectile