From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Catapult \Cat"a*pult\, noun [L. catapulta, Gr. ?, prob. from kata' down + ? to shake, hurl.]
1. (Mil. Antiq.) An engine somewhat resembling a massive crossbow, used by the ancient Greeks and Romans for throwing stones, arrows, spears, etc.
2. A forked stick with elastic band for throwing small stones, etc.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
noun
1: a plaything consisting of a Y-shaped stick with elastic between the arms; used to propel small stones [syn: {slingshot}, {sling}]
2: a device that launches aircraft from a warship [syn: {launcher}]
3: medieval artillery used during sieges; a heavy war engine for hurling large stones and other missiles [syn: {arbalest}, {arbalist}, {ballista}, {bricole}, {mangonel}, {onager}, {trebuchet}, {trebucket}]
verb
1: shoot forth or launch, as if from a catapult; "the enemy catapulted rocks towards the fort"
2: hurl as if with a sling [syn: {sling}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
44 Moby Thesaurus words for "catapult": arbalest, ballista, booster rocket, bowl, cast, chuck, chunk, dart, dash, fire, fling, flip, fork, ground loop, heave, hopoff, hurl, hurtle, jerk, lance, launch, let fly, lob, pass, peg, pelt, pitch, pitchfork, put, put the shot, rotation, serve, shy, sling, slingshot, snap, takeoff, throw, throw stick, throwing-stick, tilt, toss, trebuchet, wommera
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