onager
[on-uh-jer]
- a wild ass, Equus hemionus, of southwestern Asia.
- an ancient and medieval military catapult for throwing stones.
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Origin of onager
1300–50; Middle English < Late Latin: machine for throwing projectiles, Latin onager, onagrus wild ass < Greek ónagros (in both senses), alteration of ónos ágrios ass of the fields, wild ass (see acre)
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for onager
Historical Examples
It has sometimes occurred to me that perhaps the skin was that of Job's onager.
A History of the French Novel, Vol. 2George Saintsbury
This is supposed to be of the same pattern which is called an "Onager" in the Latin books.
Stories of InventionEdward E. Hale
We then loaded the onager with the acorns, and moved homeward.
The Swiss Family RobinsonJohann David Wyss
The skin that you have laid before me is the skin of an onager.
The Magic SkinHonore de Balzac
The wild ass and onager roamed in small herds between the Balikh and the Tigris.
onager
- a Persian variety of the wild ass, Equus hemionusCompare kiang
- an ancient war engine for hurling stones
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Word Origin
C14: from Late Latin: military engine for stone throwing, from Latin: wild ass, from Greek onagros, from onos ass + agros field
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 onager
n.
Asiatic wild ass, mid-14c., from Latin onager, from Greek onagros, from onos "ass" (related to Latin asinus, but the ultimate source is unknown) + agrios "wild," literally "living in the fields," from agros "field" (see acre).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper