shrapnel

shrapnel
shrapnel (n.) 1806, from Gen. Henry Shrapnel (1761-1842), who invented a type of exploding, fragmenting shell when he was a lieutenant in the Royal Artillery during the Peninsular War. The invention consisted of a hollow cannon ball, filled with shot, which burst in mid-air; his name for it was spherical case ammunition. Sense of "shell fragments" is first recorded 1940. The surname is attested from 13c., and is believed to be a metathesized form of Charbonnel, a dim. form of O.Fr. charbon "charcoal," in ref. to complexion, hair color, or some other quality.

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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  • Shrapnel — is the term originally applied to an anti personnel artillery shell which carried a large number of individual bullets to the target and then ejected them forwards, relying almost entirely on the shell s velocity for their lethality. Today the… …   Wikipedia

  • shrapnel — ou shrapnell [ ʃrapnɛl ] n. m. • 1827; mot angl., du nom de l inventeur ♦ Obus rempli de balles, qu il projette en éclatant. ● shrapnell ou shrapnel nom masculin (de H. Shrapnel, nom propre) Obus rempli de balles. ● shrapnell ou shrapnel… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Shrapnel — Shrap nel, a. Applied as an appellation to a kind of shell invented by Gen. H. Shrapnel of the British army. n. A shrapnel shell; shrapnel shells, collectively. [1913 Webster] {Shrapnel shell} (Gunnery), a projectile for a cannon, consisting of a …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • shrapnel — ► NOUN 1) small metal fragments thrown out by the explosion of a shell, bomb, etc. 2) shells designed to burst short of the target and shower it with shrapnel. ORIGIN named after the British soldier General Henry Shrapnel (1761 1842), inventor of …   English terms dictionary

  • Shrapnel — ist der Name folgender Personen: Henry Shrapnel (1761–1842), britischer Offizier und Erfinder John Shrapnel (* 1942), britischer Schauspieler Diese Seite ist eine Begriffsklärung zur Unterscheidung mehrerer mit demselben Wo …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • shrapnel — /ˈʃrapnel, ingl. ˈʃræpnæl/ [vc. ingl., dal n. del generale H. Shrapnel, che la inventò] s. m. inv. granata, bomba …   Sinonimi e Contrari. Terza edizione

  • shrapnel — [shrap′nəl] n. [after H. Shrapnel (1761 1842), Brit general who invented it] 1. an artillery shell filled with an explosive charge and many small metal balls, designed to explode in the air over the objective 2. the balls scattered by such an… …   English World dictionary

  • Shrapnel — (engl., spr. schräppnel), s. Schrapnells …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Shrapnel — (Shrapnell), ein Geschoß mit dünner Wandung, welches mit Kugeln und Sprengstücken gefüllt ist. S. Munition …   Lexikon der gesamten Technik

  • Shrapnel — Shrapnel, s. Schrapnell …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

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