trebuchet

trebuchet

See also: trébuchet

English

trebuchet

Alternative forms

• trepeget (obsolete)

Etymology

From Old French trebuchet, trebuket et al. (modern trébuchet), from trebuchier (“to overthrow, topple”), from tre- + *buchier, from Old French buc (“trunk of the body”), from Old Frankish *būk (“belly, trunk, torso”), from Proto-Germanic *būkaz (“belly, abdomen, trunk”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰōw- (“to blow, swell”). Cognate with Old High German būh (“belly”), Old English būc (“belly, trunk”). More at bouk.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈtɹɛbəʃɛt/, /ˈtɹɛb.jə.ʃeɪ/, /ˈtɹɛb.ju.ʃeɪ/

• Audio (RP)

  (file)

• Audio (RP)

  (file)

• (US) enPR: trěb’yo͞o-shet, IPA^(key): /ˈtɹɛb.juˌʃɛt/, /ˈtɹɛb.jəˌʃeɪ/

Noun

trebuchet (plural trebuchets)

1. A medieval siege engine consisting of a large pivoting arm heavily weighted on one end.

   Hypernym: catapult

   Coordinate terms: onager, mangonel

   Medieval trebuchets are said to have been capable of launching 90-kg projectiles over distances of more than 300 meters.

   • 2003, Helen Nicholson, Medieval Warfare, Macmillan International Higher Education, →ISBN, page 95:

     With counterweight trebuchets at its disposal, a besieging force at last had the advantage in sieges, and it was probably the appearance of the trebuchet which prompted the changes in castle design from the mid-twelfth century onwards which were described in the previous chapter: the move from rectangular to round or multiform towers […]

2. A torture device for dunking suspected witches by means of a chair attached to the end of a long pole.

Translations

trebuchet

Arabic: منجنيق‎ (ar) m (manjanīq) Hijazi Arabic: مَنْجَنيق‎ m (manjanīq, manjanīg) Catalan: trabuquet m, trabuc (ca) m Chinese: Mandarin: 重力拋石機／重力抛石机 (zhònglì pāoshíjī), 配重拋石機／配重抛石机 (pèizhòng pāoshíjī), 回回砲／回回炮 m (huíhuípào) Danish: blide c Dutch: slingerarm (nl) m, slingerblijde Esperanto: ĵetmaŝino, trebuŝeto Finnish: vastapainokatapultti French: trébuchet (fr) m Galician: trabuco m, trabuquete m German: Bleide f, Blide (de) f, Tribock m, Tribok m Middle High German / Early New High German: plid f Hebrew: טְרֶבּוּשֶׁה‎ (trebushe) Italian: trabucco (it) m, trabocco (it) m Japanese: トレビュシェット (torebyushetto) Latin: blīda f Lithuanian: trebušetas m, trebušė f Macedonian: требуше́ n (trebušé) Norwegian: Bokmål: blide, valslynge m or f Nynorsk: blide, valslynge f Occitan: trabuc (oc) m, trabuche (oc) m, trabuquet m Persian: کشکنجیر‎ (fa) (koškanjir) Polish: trebusz (pl) m Portuguese: trabuco (pt) m Russian: требуше́т (ru) m (trebušét), требюше́ m (trebjušé) Spanish: fundíbulo (es) m, trabuquete m Swedish: blida (sv) Turkish: mancınık (tr)

Verb

trebuchet (third-person singular simple present trebuchets, present participle trebucheting, simple past and past participle trebucheted)

1. To shoot with a trebuchet.

Further reading

• trebuchet on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• Burchette

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Old French

Etymology

From the verb trebuchier.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /trebyˈtʃɛt/

Noun

trebuchet m (oblique plural trebuchez or trebuchetz, nominative singular trebuchez or trebuchetz, nominative plural trebuchet)

1. trebuchet, bird trap
2. fall (instance of falling)
3. place where a fall occurs
4. trap; ambush

Descendants

• English: trebuchet
• French: trébuchet