LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininefirst declension

arcuballista

arcuballista f (genitive arcuballistae)

Meaning

  1. Late Latinfemininecrossbow or possibly some torsion-powered hand weapon
    Erant tragularii, qui ad manuballistas vel arcuballistas dirigebant sagittas.c. 360 CE – 400 CE, Vegetius, De re militari

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativearcuballistaarcuballistae
genitivearcuballistaearcuballistārum
dativearcuballistaearcuballistīs
accusativearcuballistamarcuballistās
ablativearcuballistāarcuballistīs
vocativearcuballistaarcuballistae

arcŭ-ballista (better than balista), ae, f. arcus,
I. a ballista furnished with a bow; only Veg. Mil. 2, 15; 4, 22.

Origins

From arcus + ballista. Attested in Vegetius. Some scholars believe that arcuballistae were distinguished from manuballistae, with the latter being torsion-powered and arcuballistae being crossbows. In modern Spanish and Italian a crossbow is called ballesta and balestra respectively, while French and German have arbalète and Armbrust.

Descendants
  • Occitanarcbalèsta
  • Occitanarcabalèsta
  • Occitanaubalèsta
  • Occitanaubalestra
  • Occitanaubarèsta
  • Occitanarbarèsta
  • Occitanarbalèsta
  • Occitanarbaleste
  • Italianarcobalestro
  • Franco-Provençalarbouéto

In English words that came into English from arcuballista

  • arbalestarcuballista

In the Academy Smith's classical dictionaries

AntiquitiesArcuballistaArcuballista a crossbow, occurs first in Vegetius (de Re Mil. 2.15), but is probably identical with the scorpiones minores of Livy (26.47, 49), and th…

Quick answers

What does arcuballista mean in Latin?
arcuballista, a noun, means “crossbow or possibly some torsion-powered hand weapon”.
What is the genitive of arcuballista?
The genitive singular is arcuballistae. arcuballista is feminine, first declension.