CATAPULT

I. noun Etymology: Middle French or Latin; Middle French ~e, from Latin ~a, from Greek katapaltēs, from kata- + pallein to hurl Date: 1577 an ancient military device for hurling missiles, a device for launching an airplane at flying speed (as from an aircraft carrier), II. verb Date: 1848 transitive verb to throw or launch by or as if by a ~, intransitive verb to become ~ed