onager

Etymology

Comes from Middle English onager, onagir ('wild ass; military catapult'), via Anglo-Norman onager, Middle French onager, onagre, and Old French onager, onagre ('wild ass; military catapult') (modern French onagre), from Late Latin onager ('large siege engine') and Latin onager ('wild ass'), from Hellenistic Ancient Greek ὄναγρος (ónagros, 'wild ass') and Byzantine Ancient Greek ὄναγρος (ónagros, 'large siege engine'), from ὄνος (ónos, 'ass') and ἄγριος (ágrios, 'wild') (from ᾰ̓γρός (ăgrós, 'countryside; field') (possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ- ('to drive')) and -ῐος (-ĭos, a suffix forming adjectives)). The 'military engine' sense alludes to the machine's strong recoil, likened to an onager's kick; see the 2007 quotation.