Reddit reviews The Art of the Catapult: Build Greek Ballistae, Roman Onagers, English Trebuchets, and More Ancient Artillery

The current definition only has one citation: The art of the catapult: build Greek ballista, Roman onagers, English trebuchets, and more ancient artillery by William Gurstelle (2004). If you find a different definition from another reliable source, I would strongly suggest that you go on the article's talk page and start a new discussion. Consensus can change, especially when backed by good references.

I had a quick look at various online dictionaries and found many different definitions, some of which are mentioning tension/torsion, others only talking about throwing stuff. The book cited also doesn't appear to be terribly authoritative to me, so I don't think it would require extraordinary efforts to change the definition.

You can of course be bold and edit the Catapult article directly, change the definition and include your (reliable) references. However, you'll need an account that is at least 4 days old and has more than 10 edits. Both the catapult and trebuchet articles are currently semi-protected because of frequent vandalism.

I would however recommend against this kind of unilateral change since this definition has been in use in the article for about 10 years. It doesn't mean that it is correct, but you will face resistance.

You should never hesitate to use an article's talk page to ask questions or propose changes, as long as you remember that they are not forums and should only be used to discuss the article's content.

I'd recommend two books, The art of the Catapult and The Big Book of Catapult and Trebuchet Plans.

That should at least get you started.

Dude, I own this book. A catapult is nothing more than a ballistic device that is able to launch projectiles a long distance without the use of explosives. Hence why a trebuchet is a type of catapult. Just look at the title: "The Art of the Catapult: Build Greek Ballistae, Roman Onagers, English Trebuchets, and More Ancient Artillery"

So when people say "a trebuchet is better than a catapult" you're effectively saying "a catapult is better than a catapult," which... is odd.