springal

plural springals

1. alternativearchaicAlternative form of springald (“a youth”).

   For, but for that, and the loose-bodied gown, / I should have discover’d apparently / The young springal cutting a caper in her belly.

   1623, John Webster, The Duchess of Malfi, act II, scene i

2. obsoleteObsolete form of springald (“military engine for launching stones and arrows”).

   Various ‘artillery’ machines were employed. These were similar to machines known in antiquity to Rome and Byzantium. One such machine, particularly useful against wooden castles and on ships, was the springal.

   1980, Chris Cook, John Stevenson, Weapons of War