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I hurl stones, but three caught surprisingly
Answer for the clue "I hurl stones, but three caught surprisingly ", 9 letters:
trebuchet
Alternative clues for the word trebuchet
Word definitions for trebuchet in dictionaries
Wikipedia
Word definitions in Wikipedia
A trebuchet ( French trébuchet ) is a type of siege engine most frequently used in the Middle Ages . It is sometimes called a counterweight trebuchet or counterpoise trebuchet , to distinguish it from an earlier weapon called the traction trebuchet , where ...
Wiktionary
Word definitions in Wiktionary
n. 1 A medieval siege engine consisting of a large pivoting arm heavily weighted on one end. Considered to be the technological successor to the catapult. 2 A torture device for dunking suspected witches by means of a chair attached to the end of a long ...
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
Word definitions in Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
"medieval stone-throwing engine of war," c.1300 (in Anglo-Latin from early 13c.), from Old French trebuchet (12c.) "stone-throwing siege engine," from trabuchier "to overturn, fall to the ground, overthrow" (11c.), from tra- (from Latin trans- , here expressing ...
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Word definitions in The Collaborative International Dictionary
Cucking stool \Cuck"ing stool`\ (k?k"?ng st??l`). [Cf. AS. scealfingst[=o]l, a word of similar meaning, allied to scealfor a diver, mergus avis; or possibly from F. coquine a hussy, slut, jade, f. of coquin, OE. cokin, a rascal; or cf. Icel. k?ka to dung, ...
WordNet
Word definitions in WordNet
n. medieval artillery used during sieges; a heavy war engine for hurling large stones and other missiles [syn: catapult , arbalest , arbalist , ballista , bricole , mangonel , onager , trebucket ]
Usage examples of trebuchet.
The giant trebuchet was slowly being dragged up the mountain road, a collection of slaves captured from Kes toiling to bring the weapon aloft.
Praxtin-Tar as a javelin shot across the field, homing for the trebuchet and slicing through the unarmored flesh of his men.
More arrows slammed into the shields around him as the defenders realized the trebuchet was about to fire.
With the trebuchet destroyed and Crinion wounded, Praxtin-Tar would have to devise a new way of taking the citadel.
He had a tool in his mouth and a length of rope in his hands, and what little of the new trebuchet he had so far constructed stood in a malformed pile next to him.
The skeleton of a trebuchet rested by a far wall, near myriad ropes of block and tackle that hung from posts along the wide parapet.
Because the trebuchet would use missiles of different weights, because it would settle with each shot, because wood could crack and ropes fray, the chances of hitting the same spot over and over again were minimal.
The trebuchet continued to loft stones, battering a section of wall in hopes of cutting off defenders.
This is exactly the same principle the trebuchet uses, through the trebuchet uses a counterweight in place of muscle power.
It is an extremely efficient design, and from an engineering standpoint there is no limit to the size and power of a trebuchet but the strength of the timbers, particularly the throwing arm.
The counterweight trebuchet appears in the historical record quite suddenly around 1150, and seems to have been adopted rapidly throughout Europe and the Middle East.
There are reports of masonry towers being brought down by a single shot from a trebuchet, and the psychological effect of huge stones raining down must have been enormous.
In some cases, the very appearance of a large trebuchet on the field was enough to cause castle defenders to surrender.
The threat of the trebuchet even led some castle-builders to situate their fortifications behind large ponds to keep trebuchets out of range.
Ballistae, mangonels and perriers could be effective against garrisons, but the trebuchet, which came into use in the eleventh century, was the first engine that could do significant structural damage to stone fortifications from a distance.