The term bombard refers to a medieval form of cannon, 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
