ballista

Trebuchet, treb′ū-shet, n. a military engine like the ballista.

Like a modern field gun, the ballista shot low and directly toward the enemy.

No ballista, however, is made without regard to the given amount of weight of the stone which the engine is intended to throw.

The ballista (Fig. 229) was in reality a large cross-bow, built to shoot long, heavy bolts or arrows.

Various names were applied to these weapons, the chief of which were the ballista and the catapult.