Obs. exc. Hist. Also 7 espringold; and see SPRINGALD. [ad. OF. espringale (mod.F. espringale), perh. f. Ger. springen SPRING v. Cf. Pr. espingala, Sp. and Pg. espingarda.] A mediæval military engine or catapult for throwing stones, bolts, or other missiles.
1605. Camden, Rem. (1657), 206. Some kind of bricol … which the English and Scots called an espringold.
1795. Southey, Joan of Arc, VIII. 250. Some the mangonels supply … or in the espringal Fix the brass-winged arrows.
1840. L. Ritchie, Windsor C., 215. The espringal, which threw darts that had brass plates instead of feathers, to render their flight steady.
