arbalest
or ar·ba·list
[ahr-buh-list]
- a powerful medieval crossbow with a steel bow, used to shoot stones, metal balls, arrows, etc.
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Origin of arbalest
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for arbalist
Historical Examples
An arbalist or cross-bow man; also the corruption of alabaster.
The Sailor's Word-BookWilliam Henry Smyth
In the meantime here is Wat with his arbalist and a bolt in his girdle.
Sir NigelArthur Conan Doyle
Shoots excellently with the bow or arbalist, rides, swims, is a master of fence with the small sword.
The Romance of Leonardo da VinciDmitry Sergeyevich Merezhkovsky
He had brought his arbalist to his shoulder, when a commotion arose among the onlookers.
The Romance of Leonardo da VinciDmitry Sergeyevich Merezhkovsky
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 BaronyWilliam Stearns Davis
arbalest
arbalist
- a large medieval crossbow, usually cocked by mechanical means
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Word Origin
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
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Word Origin and History for arbalist
arbalest
n.
"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.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper