ballistarius

English

Etymology

From Latin ballistārius.

Noun

ballistarius (plural ballistarii)

1. (obsolete) A crossbowman.

Alternative forms

• balistarius

Latin

Alternative forms

• balistārius, ballistrārius

Etymology

ballista +‎ -ārius (suffix forming agent nouns of use)

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /bal.lisˈtaː.ri.us/, [bälːʲɪs̠ˈt̪äːriʊs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /bal.lisˈta.ri.us/, [bälːisˈt̪äːrius]

Noun

ballistārius m (genitive ballistāriī or ballistārī); second declension

1. One who makes ballistae
2. One who operates a ballista, a slinger
3. (medieval) bowman

Declension

Second-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	ballistārius	ballistāriī
Genitive	ballistāriī ballistārī1	ballistāriōrum
Dative	ballistāriō	ballistāriīs
Accusative	ballistārium	ballistāriōs
Ablative	ballistāriō	ballistāriīs
Vocative	ballistārie	ballistāriī

¹Found in older Latin (until the Augustan Age).

Derived terms

• ballistārius arcūs

Descendants

• Old Galician-Portuguese: baesteiro
  • Galician: besteiro
  • Portuguese: besteiro
• Spanish: ballestero

References

• “ballistārĭus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• ballistarius in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• ballistarius in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.