Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Italian term or phrase:
addetti alle armi da lancio
English translation:
artillerymen
Italian term
United Kingdom
Reliable, High Quality Translations, MA
Native in: Italian
Works in: Italian to English, English to Italian, Spanish to Italian, and 1 more.
addetti alle armi da lancio
I could only come up with "weapon throwers", which is perhaps too short and colloquial, or "thworing weapons adepts", which sounds awkward.
Thanks!
Chiara
| 3 +1 | artillerymen |
Marco Solinas
|
| 4 | bolt throwers |
Wolfgang Hager
|
| 4 | weapon throwers |
philgoddard
|
| 4 | throwing weapons squads |
Inter-Tra
|
| 2 | siege weapons operators or soldiers |
Lara Tagliapietra
|
PRO (1): Ivana UK
When entering new questions, KudoZ askers are given an opportunity* to classify the difficulty of their questions as 'easy' or 'pro'. If you feel a question marked 'easy' should actually be marked 'pro', and if you have earned more than 20 KudoZ points, you can click the "Vote PRO" button to recommend that change.
How to tell the difference between "easy" and "pro" questions:
An easy question is one that any bilingual person would be able to answer correctly. (Or in the case of monolingual questions, an easy question is one that any native speaker of the language would be able to answer correctly.)
A pro question is anything else... in other words, any question that requires knowledge or skills that are specialized (even slightly).
Another way to think of the difficulty levels is this: an easy question is one that deals with everyday conversation. A pro question is anything else.
When deciding between easy and pro, err on the side of pro. Most questions will be pro.
* Note: non-member askers are not given the option of entering 'pro' questions; the only way for their questions to be classified as 'pro' is for a ProZ.com member or members to re-classify it.
Proposed translations
Accurate, professional translations
Native in: English 
, Italian
Works in: Italian to English, French to English
artillerymen
| agree |
Fiona Grace Peterson
: The term "addetti" seems to suggest the use of some kind of machinery, however rudimentary.
39 mins
|
United States
ENIT Translator (PhD)
Native in: Italian
Works in: English to Italian, Italian to English, Italian
siege weapons operators or soldiers
| Thank you for your help! |
Italy
Comprehension and Accuracy
Native in: German 
Works in: German to English, Italian to English, English to German
bolt throwers
these were ballisterii, operating something that worked like a catapult, but was technically a giant crossbow-like mechanism.
If this is used in a modern context, it mgiht refer to the principal distinction of this branch of the Roman infantry, immunity (from prosecution for most crimes).
| Thank you for your help! |
United States
Six languages into flawless English
Native in: English
Works in: German to English, French to English, Spanish to English, and 4 more.
weapon throwers
http://www.google.com/search?q=armi da lancio&client=firefox...
| Thank you for your help! |
throwing weapons squads
pilum or balista squad (Contubernales)
| Thank you for your help! |
Discussion
Also, can you be more specific about the period of Roman history your text refers to? Roman warfare, weapons and tactics changed quite a bit from the kingdom to the republic to the empire.
During the later half of the empire, legions included large contingents of soliders from tributary "barbarian" tribes (goths, franks, etc.) who brought their own weapons and gear to battle rather than the Roman javelin, short sword and shield used by the infantry.
Anyone who has 80 or so hours to spare, I highly recommend Mike Duncan's History of Rome podcast :-)