shrapnel - Wiktionary, the free dictionary (original) (raw)

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

From Shrapnel. Named after British army officer Henry Shrapnel (1761–1842) who invented an anti-personnel shell that transported a large number of bullets to the target before releasing them, at a far greater distance than rifles could fire the bullets individually. The surname is likely a metathesized form of Charbonnel, a diminutive of Old French charbon (“charcoal”) in reference to hair color, complexion, or the like.

shrapnel (usually uncountable, plural shrapnels)

  1. (military, historical) An anti-personnel artillery shell used in World War I which carries a large number of individual bullets or balls close to the target and then ejects them to allow them to continue along the shell's trajectory and strike the target individually.
    Hypernyms: shell, cartridge
    Coordinate term: canister shot
  2. (military, historical) The bullets or balls from the aforementioned type of artillery shell.
    Hypernym: shot
    Coordinate term: canister shot
  3. (military) Any shot, fragments, or debris thrown out by an exploding shell, bomb, or landmine.
  4. (by extension, figurative) Debris.
    The dog ate my sandwich, and there was shrapnel all over the place from him tearing open the bag.
  5. (slang, figurative) Loose change.

artillery shell

fragments and debris thrown out by an exploding device

shrapnel m (plural shrapnels)

  1. shrapnel