bésta

See also: besta and běsta

Galician

Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese baesta (crossbow) (13th century, Cantigas de Santa Maria), from Latin ballista, from Ancient Greek βαλλίστρα (ballístra). Cognate with Portuguese besta and Spanish ballesta.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈbɛsta/ [ˈbɛs̺.t̪ɐ]
  • Rhymes: -ɛsta
  • Hyphenation: bes‧ta

Noun

bésta f (plural béstas)

  1. crossbow
  2. hock (the tarsal joint of a digitigrade quadruped)

Derived terms

References