Dictionary

springal en · NOUN

Meanings

1. (alt-of, alternative, archaic) Alternative form of springald (“a youth”).
   alt of springald
   • 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. (alt-of, obsolete) Obsolete form of springald (“military engine for launching stones and arrows”).
   alt of springald
   • 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:

Forms