Ram, The, English name for Aries, a constellation.

Ram, in the Bible. 1 Ancestor of David. In the New Testament he is called Aram. 2 Son of Jerahmeel. 3 Ancestor of Elihu.

Projection fixed to the front end of a fighting vessel and designed to damage enemy ships struck by it. It may have been developed by the Egyptians as early as 1200 BC, but it was most commonly used on Phoenician, Greek, and Roman galleys. It was briefly revived in the mid-19th century, notably in the American Civil War, when rams mounted on armored, steam-driven warships were used effectively against wooden sailing ships. Improvements in naval weaponry and the spread of metal-hulled ships soon made it obsolete again. Seealso battering ram.

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Medieval weapon consisting of a heavy timber with a metal knob or point at the front. Rams were used to beat down the gates or walls of a besieged city or castle. Usually suspended by ropes from the roof of a movable shed, the timber was swung back and forth by its operators so that it banged against the structure under siege. The shed's roof was covered with animal skins to protect the operators inside it from bombardment with stones or fiery materials.

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