Etymograph

English

ballister

Ballister comes from Latin ballista, from Ancient Greek βαλλίστρα ‘catapult, engine of war’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷelH- ‘to hit by throwing’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷelH-1‘to hit by throwing’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷl̥-ne-h₁-1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*gʷəlnō1reconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEβάλλω2bállō‘to throw’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEβαλλίστρα2‘catapult, engine of war’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEballista3
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1756ballister3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek βάλλω
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin ballista
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English ballister
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1756, Thomas Nugent, The grand tour: “The choir, which is separated from the body of…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷelH-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek βάλλω‘to hit by throwing’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷl̥-ne-h₁-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek βάλλωreconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*gʷəlnōWiktionary, Ancient Greek βάλλωreconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEβάλλωWiktionary, Latin ballistabállō‘to throw’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEβαλλίστραWiktionary, Latin ballista‘catapult, engine of war’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEballistaWiktionary, English ballister
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1756ballisterWiktionary, English ballister. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1756, Thomas Nugent, The grand tour: “The choir, which is separated from the body of…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *gʷelH- ‘to hit by throwing’

ballet, quail, quill, ballad, quell, obelisk, pul, 64 more

through Proto-Hellenic *gʷəlnō

symbolic, symbolist, 36 more

through Ancient Greek βάλλω ‘to throw’

problem, symbol, devil, emblem, metabolic, parable, hyperbolic, parabolic, anabolic, embolism, metabolize, hyperbola, 33 more

Today it means

noun A crossbow or ballista.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “ballister”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek βάλλω, Latin ballista. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *gʷelH- / ballister

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