arbalest

or ar·ba·list

[ ahr-buh-list ]

/ ˈɑr bə lɪst /

noun

a powerful medieval crossbow with a steel bow, used to shoot stones, metal balls, arrows, etc.

Nearby words

Origin of arbalest

before 1100; < Old French arbaleste < Old Provençal < Late Latin arcuballista (see arc, ballista); replacing Middle English, late Old English arblast < Old French

Related formsar·ba·lest·er, ar·ba·list·er

[ahr-buh-lis-ter] /ˈɑr bəˌlɪs tər/, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for arbalist

In the meantime here is Wat with his arbalist and a bolt in his girdle.
Sir Nigel|Arthur Conan Doyle
Another name for the crossbow was 'arbalist,' and its arrows were called quarils, or bolts.
Chatterbox, 1906|Various
An arbalist or cross-bow man; also the corruption of alabaster.
The Sailor's Word-Book|William Henry Smyth
The cross-bow, or arbalist, was a popular weapon with the Etolians, and was introduced into England in the thirteenth century.
Every Boy's Book: A Complete Encyclopdia of Sports and Amusements|Various

Then may come the English long-bow (far more rapid in its fire191 than the arbalist), and the day of the infantry will return.
Life on a Mediaeval Barony|William Stearns Davis

British Dictionary definitions for arbalist

arbalest

arbalist

/ (ˈɑːbəlɪst) /

noun

a large medieval crossbow, usually cocked by mechanical means

Word Origin for arbalest

C11: from Old French arbaleste, from Late Latin arcuballista, from Latin arcus bow + ballista

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for arbalist

arbalest

"crossbow," c.1300, from Old French arbaleste "large crossbow with a crank" (12c., Modern French arbalète), from Vulgar Latin arbalista, from Late Latin arcuballista "catapult," from Latin arcus "bow" (see arc (n.)) + ballista "machine for throwing projectiles" (see ballistic). German armbrust is from the same French word but mangled by folk etymology.