onager

See also: onagër

English

WOTD – 28 June 2019

Etymology

A Persian onager (Equus hemionus onager), a subspecies of onager (type of wild ass), in Rostov-on-Don Zoo, Rostov Oblast, Russia

An onager (type of catapult) at Neurathen Castle in Saxony, Germany

From Middle English onager, onagir (“wild ass; military catapult”), from Anglo-Norman onager, Middle French onager, onagre, Old French onager, onagre (“wild ass; military catapult”) (modern French onagre), from Late Latin onager (“large siege engine”), Latin onager (“wild ass”), from Hellenistic Ancient Greek ὄναγρος (ónagros, “wild ass”), Byzantine Ancient Greek ὄναγρος (ónagros, “large siege engine”), from ὄνος (ónos, “ass”) + ἄγριος (ágrios, “wild”) (from ᾰ̓γρός (agrós, “countryside; field”) (possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ- (“to drive”)) + -ῐος (-ios, suffix forming adjectives)).

The “military engine” sense alludes to the strong recoil of the engine, likened to an onager’s kick; see the 2007 quotation.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈɒnəd͡ʒə/, /-ɡə/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈɑnəd͡ʒɚ/, /ˈɔː-/
• Hyphenation: ona‧ger

Noun

onager (plural onagers or onagri)

2. The Asiatic wild ass or hemione (Equus hemionus), an animal of the horse family native to Asia; specifically, the Persian onager, Persian wild ass, or Persian zebra (Equus hemionus onager).

   Synonym: (obsolete) hemionus

   • 1785, Count de Buffon [i.e., Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon], “The Zebra. [Supplement.]”, in William Smellie, transl., Natural History, General and Particular, [...] Translated into English. […], 2nd edition, volume VI, London: Printed for W[illiam] Strahan and T[homas] Cadell, […], →OCLC, page 275:

     [I]f the czigithai is not the ſame with the zebra, it may be the Aſiatic animal called onager or wild aſs. The onager ſhould not be confounded with the zebra; but I am uncertain whether the ſame remark is applicable to the onager and czigithai; for, from comparing the relations of travellers, it appears, that there are different kinds of wild aſſes, of which the onager is the moſt remarkable. […] The ſwiftneſs of the onager is mentioned by travellers, who remark, that he runs with ſuch rapidity as to eſcape the hunters, though mounted on horſes; […]

   • 1791, Oliver Goldsmith, “Of the Ass”, in An History of the Earth, and Animated Nature. […], new edition, volume II, London: […] F[rancis] Wingrave, successor to Mr. [John] Nourse, […], →OCLC, page 345:

     The onager, or wild aſs, is ſeen in ſtill greater abundance than the wild horſe; and the peculiarities of its kind are more diſtinctly marked than in thoſe of the tame one.

   • 1875, Jules Verne, chapter VI, in W[illiam] H[enry] G[iles] Kingston [actually Agnes Kinloch Kingston], transl., The Mysterious Island: The Secret of the Island: Translated from the French, volume III, London: Sampson Low, Marston, Low, & Searle […], →OCLC, pages 82–83:

     One of the onagers, however, having hurt its leg, could not be harnessed at present, and a few days' rest was necessary.

4. (military, historical) A military engine acting like a sling which threw stones from a bag or wooden bucket powered by the torsion from a bundle of ropes or sinews operated by machinery; a torsion catapult.

   Hypernym: catapult

   Coordinate terms: mangonel, trebuchet

   • 2007, Jeff Kinard, “Ancient and Medieval Artillery”, in Artillery: An Illustrated History of Its Impact (Weapons and Warfare Series), Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, →ISBN, page 17:

     The onager, meaning "wild ass," derived its name from its powerful recoil, or kick, upon discharge; […] In addition, although Josephus described an onager in action hurling a 100-pound stone over 400 yards, most onagri achieved a shorter range than the ballista, thus exposing their crews to enemy archers.

Hyponyms

• (wild ass):
  • khulan, koulan, kulan (Equus hemionus kulan)
  • khur, Indian wild ass (Equus hemionus khur)
  • chigetai, dziggetai, Mongolian wild ass (Equus hemionus hemionus)
  • hemippe, achdari, Syrian wild ass, Mesopotamian onager, Syrian onager (†Equus hemionus hemippus)

Related terms

• onagga (“dauw or striped quagga”)

Translations

Asiatic wild ass or hemione

• Albanian:

  Arvanitika: onagër

• Arabic: أَخْدَر m (ʔaḵdar), عَيْر m (ʕayr), فَرَأ m (faraʔ), فَرَاء m (farāʔ), عِلْج m (ʕilj)
• Aramaic:

  Classical Syriac: ܥܪܕܐ m, ܥܪܕܬܐ f

• Armenian:

  Old Armenian: իշավայրի (išavayri), ցիռ (cʻiṙ)

• Bulgarian: азиатско диво магаре (aziatsko divo magare)
• Catalan: onagre (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 中亞野驢／中亚野驴 (Zhōngyàyělǘ)

• Dutch: onager (nl) m
• Finnish: onageri (fi), puoliaasi (obsolete)
• French: onagre (fr) m, hémione (fr) m
• German: Onager (de) m
• Greek:

  Ancient: ὄναγρος m (ónagros), ἡμίονος ἀγροτέρα f (hēmíonos agrotéra) (Equus hemionus onager)

• Hebrew: פֶּרֶא (he) m (pére)
• Indonesian: keledai asia
• Italian: onagro (it) m
• Latin: onager m
• Middle Persian: gwl
• Old English: wilde assa m
• Ottoman Turkish: یابان اشكی (yaban eşeği)
• Polish: onager (pl) m
• Portuguese: onagro m
• Russian: она́гр (ru) m (onágr)
• Serbo-Croatian: divlji magarac m, onager (sh) m
• Spanish: onagro (es) m
• Ugaritic: 𐎔𐎈𐎍 (pḥl)

military engine

• Aramaic:

  Classical Syriac: ܥܪܕܐ m

• Catalan: onagre (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 野驢炮／野驴炮 (yělǘpào)

• Dutch: onager (nl) m
• Finnish: onageri (fi)
• French: onagre (fr) m
• German: Onager (de) m
• Latin: onager m
• Ottoman Turkish: منجنیق (mencenik, mancınık)
• Polish: onager (pl) m
• Portuguese: onagro m
• Spanish: onagro (es) m

Further reading

• “onager”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Anagrams

• Gerona, Gorean, Orange, Ragone, groane, orange

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin onager, from Ancient Greek ὄναγρος (ónagros).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /oːˈnaː.ɣər/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: ona‧ger
• Rhymes: -aːɣər

Noun

onager m (plural onagers)

1. onager, Asiatic wild ass, Equus hemionus

   Synonyms: halfezel, woudezel

2. (historical) onager (Roman torsion catapult)

Latin

Alternative forms

• onagrus

Etymology

From Hellenistic Ancient Greek ὄναγρος (ónagros, “wild ass”), from ὄνος (ónos, “ass”) + ἄγριος (ágrios, “wild”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈo.na.ɡer/, [ˈɔnäɡɛr]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈo.na.d͡ʒer/, [ˈɔːnäd͡ʒer]

Noun

onager m (genitive onagrī); second declension

1. wild ass; onager
2. onager (type of military engine)

Declension

Second-declension noun (nominative singular in -er).

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	onager	onagrī
Genitive	onagrī	onagrōrum
Dative	onagrō	onagrīs
Accusative	onagrum	onagrōs
Ablative	onagrō	onagrīs
Vocative	onager	onagrī

Descendants

• French: onagre
• Italian: onagro
• Portuguese: onagro
• Spanish: onagro
• → English: onager

See also

• ballista
• catapulta

Further reading

• “onager”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “onager”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• onager in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• “onager”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers

Old French

Etymology

From Latin onager.

Noun

onager oblique singular, m (oblique plural onagers, nominative singular onagers, nominative plural onager)

1. (clarification of this definition is needed)onager

Polish

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek ὄναγρος (ónagros).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɔˈna.ɡɛr/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɡɛr
• Syllabification: o‧na‧ger

Noun

onager m animal

1. onager (the Asiatic wild ass or hemione (Equus hemionus), an animal of the horse family native to Asia; specifically, the Persian onager, Persian wild ass, or Persian zebra (Equus hemionus onager))

   Synonyms: dżigitaj, kułan, kułan azjatycki, osioł azjatycki

Declension

Declension of onager

	singular	plural
nominative	onager	onagery
genitive	onagera	onagerów
dative	onagerowi	onagerom
accusative	onagera	onagery
instrumental	onagerem	onagerami
locative	onagerze	onagerach
vocative	onagerze	onagery

Noun

onager m inan

1. (military, historical) onager (a military engine acting like a sling which threw stones from a bag or wooden bucket powered by the torsion from a bundle of ropes or sinews operated by machinery; a torsion catapult)

Declension

Declension of onager

	singular	plural
nominative	onager	onagery
genitive	onageru	onagerów
dative	onagerowi	onagerom
accusative	onager	onagery
instrumental	onagerem	onagerami
locative	onagerze	onagerach
vocative	onagerze	onagery

Further reading

• onager in Polish dictionaries at PWN
• onager in Narodowy Fotokorpus Języka Polskiego