onager

American  

[on-uh-jer] / ˈɒn ə dʒər /

noun

plural

onagers, onagri

1. Also called Asiatic wild ass.  a near threatened wild ass, Equus hemionus, inhabiting southwestern Asia and formerly distributed also through the Middle East and eastern Asia: the onager is one of the fastest mammals, able to run, and sometimes exceed, 40 miles (64 km) per hour, and, unlike most donkeys and horses, it has never been domesticated.

2. an ancient and medieval military catapult for throwing stones.

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onager British  

/ ˈɒnədʒə /

noun

1. a Persian variety of the wild ass, Equus hemionus Compare kiang

2. an ancient war engine for hurling stones

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Etymology

Origin of onager

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from Latin onager, onagrus “wild ass,” Late Latin also “catapult, siege machine for throwing projectiles,” from Greek ónagros “wild ass,” Late Greek also “catapult, siege engine,” alteration of ónos ágrios “ass of the fields, wild ass”; acre

Example Sentences

The Cheshire attraction said the Persian onager was born to mum Azita after a year-long pregnancy.

From BBC • Aug. 2, 2024

Is it any wonder Roman soldiers applied the name onager to the mechanical catapult they used for besieging walled compounds?

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 13, 2016

Aware that Newton Minow got a lot of acreage simply by calling TV a "vast wasteland," Goldwater rared back his onager at a Greek-American dinner in Chicago and let the rocks fly at U.S. television.

From Time Magazine Archive

‘You build machines. How can you not know what an onager is? It’s just the biggest, baddest catapult ever used by the Roman army.’

From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan

Cecil waved at them from the onager, signalling that his job was done.

From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan