noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   A military engine formerly used for throwing stones and burning objects.; A traction trebuchet (trebuchet operated by manpower). historical

   "The cavalry were on the wings and the siege-engines, mangonels and catapults, planted on sand-dunes."

2. 2
   catapult operated by manpower pulling cords attached to a lever and sling to launch projectiles wordnet
3. 3
   A military engine formerly used for throwing stones and burning objects.; An onager (type of catapult). historical, often, proscribed

Synonyms

All synonyms

bricolecatapulttraction trebuchet

Example

More examples

"The cavalry were on the wings and the siege-engines, mangonels and catapults, planted on sand-dunes."

Etymology

From Old French mangonel, from Latin manganellus, manganum, from Ancient Greek μάγγανον (mánganon).

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.