Bombard
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A bombard is a type of medieval cannon or mortar, used chiefly in sieges for throwing heavy stone balls. The modern term bombardment derives from this.
The name derives through Medieval Latin and French forms from a Greek word expressing the making of a humming noise.
The name bombard, in various forms, was also given to a medieval musical instrument (bumhart, pumhart, pommer), the forerunner of the bass oboe or schalmey.
At the present day Breton peasants use a small primitive oboe called the bombarde, with eight holes but no keys.
Original text from the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica