Bolases

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A hunting tool composed of weighted cords designed to entangle the legs of animals ; a variety of a throwing weapon used to capture prey by ensnaring limbs ; a traditional device consisting of interconnected balls used to trap or immobilize moving creatures
2. An instrument featuring multiple cords with weights at their ends, thrown to catch and bind animals ; a ranged entangling apparatus used by hunters to restrict movement ; a classic tool crafted to wrap around an animal's legs for securing it in place
3. A type of projectile weapon made of cords weighted for capturing wildlife by entanglement ; a skillfully thrown implement to ensnare limbs of targets ; a customary hunting instrument intended to immobilize creatures through wrapped cords

Etymology: The weapon is named for a ball, and the "-es" ending is the clue to its plural. "Bolas" is a borrowing from Spanish "bola," meaning "ball," with Portuguese "bola" sharing the same sense. English took it in the 1840s, when it first appeared in print, and the device it names is exactly what the word's meaning suggests: two or three cords joined at a point, each tipped with a heavy weight, swung and thrown so the cords wrap around a running animal's legs. The Spanish and Portuguese word "bola" descends from Latin "bulla," meaning a bubble or knob, and so the sense of roundness runs through the whole family. "Bolas" is the plural form, which is why English speakers say "a bola" for a single weight less often than they refer to the whole cord-and-ball set as bolas. The name follows the most visible part of the weapon, the stones or balls at the cord ends, rather than the cords themselves.

Synonyms: bolo, lasso, throwing weapon