onager

onager, in weaponry, ancient Roman torsion-powered weapon, similar to a catapult. It consisted of a single vertical beam thrust through a thick horizontal skein of twisted cords. The skein was twisted tight by geared winches, and the beam was then pulled down to a horizontal position, further increasing the twist (and thus the torsion) of the skein. A stone mounted on the cup-shaped tip of beam or on a sling was thrown a great distance when the beam was freed of its restraint and bounded violently back to the vertical. The name onager, meaning “wild ass,” derived from the tendency of its rear end to kick up when it was discharged. In later times it was variously known as a mangonel, a nag, and a gonne.