ballister

plural ballisters

1. obsoleteA crossbow or ballista.

   Their ramparts were armed with 3,000 ballisters to shoot javelins with and 500 catapults.

   1872 June, H. H. Howorth, “Jingis Khan”, in The Phœnix, volume 2, number 24, page 198

   2 more examples

   On their E. side are four round solid towers, at the top of wach of which is a slight depression, supposed to have contained a watch turret or some implement of warfare, such as a ballister.

   1911, William Alfred Dutt, Norfolk, page 83

   He orderd that the crippled should be flung by a ballister and the blind should be dragged from Delhi to Daulatabad, a distance of 40 days .

   1990, Abhai Maurya, India and World Literature, page 214

2. alternativeAlternative form of baluster; a short pillar.

   It's a ballister shape with handles made of boxwood.

   2024, Jenny Jina, Altaf Jina, Family, Entrepreneurship and Service, page 178

   3 more examples

   The choir, which is separated from the body of the church by a ballister, is darkned by the great number of escutcheons affixed to it .

   1756, Thomas Nugent, The grand tour, page 116

   In the fourth cavity, which is much the largest, and is in the centre of this upper surace, a ballister was in all likelihood inserted; its use was to support the tripod, and to give it that stability which its situation required .

   1849, Minard Lafever, The Modern Builder's Guide, page 80

   Hooker billed Van Rensselaer $6.25 on 17 August 1820 for timber, dressing turning, carting, setting [and] painting a ballister for & setting a sun dial.

   1993, Mary Raddant Tomlan, A Neat Plain Modern Stile, page 193

3. A brace on a brass instrument that helps hold the valves in place.

   Solid nickel silver ballisters and mouthpipe for longer wear, better tone, ease of blowing.

   1940, Montgomery Ward Catalog, page 550

   2 more examples

   Drills connecting tube holes in valve, taps internal and external threads in valve and ballisters, and cuts recess in top of valve or ballisters, using drill press. Fits ballisters onto valve and solders them into place with soft solder.

   1991, Dictionary of Occupational Titles - Volume 2, page 747

   Typically, the location of ballister braces alternate so that the first and third valves have braces on one side of the trumpet, while the second valve has the ballister brace on the other side of the trumpet.

   2009, Mark C. Ely, Amy E. Van Deuren, Wind Talk for Brass, pages 1-89