onager
Also called A·si·at·ic wild ass . a near threatened wild ass, Equus hemionus, inhabiting southwestern Asia and formerly distributed also through the Middle East and eastern Asia: the onager is one of the fastest mammals, able to run, and sometimes exceed, 40 miles (64 km) per hour, and, unlike most donkeys and horses, it has never been domesticated.
an ancient and medieval military catapult for throwing stones.
Origin of onager
1Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use onager in a sentence
Again the ungainly slings groaned, and the pulleys of scorpions and onagers, or frames for flinging stones.
The Death of the Gods | Dmitri MrejkowskiAs to the wall and buildings of the poultry-yard and the onagers stable, the fire had destroyed all.
The Mysterious Island | Jules VerneThe cart might then be driven there, and towards the end of December they tried the onagers for the first time.
The Mysterious Island | Jules VerneThe onagers, already well trained, were ridden by Spilett and Herbert, and were of great use.
The Mysterious Island | Jules VerneBut grass abounded in other parts of the island, and there was no fear of the onagers being obliged to go on short allowance.
The Mysterious Island | Jules Verne
British Dictionary definitions for onager
/ (ˈɒnədʒə) /
a Persian variety of the wild ass, Equus hemionus: Compare kiang
an ancient war engine for hurling stones
Origin of onager
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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