shrapnel
pronunciation
How to pronounce shrapnel in British English:
UK [ˈʃræpnəl]
How to pronounce shrapnel in American English:
US [ˈʃræpnəl]
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- Noun:
- shell containing lead pellets that explodes in flight
Word Origin
- shrapnel
- shrapnel: The term shrapnel commemorates the name of General Henry Shrapnel (1761–1842), a British artillery officer who in the course of the Peninsular War, at the beginning of the 19th century, invented an exploding shell that sent bullets flying in all directions
- 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 diminutive form of Old French charbon "charcoal," in reference to complexion, hair color, or some other quality.
Example
- 1. Shrapnel left many with gaping wounds ; many died in their beds .
- 2. My body was full of shrapnel and my hands had been badly burned .
- 3. Luckily , mr craig seems just as comfortable delivering puns as he is digging shrapnel from his chest .
- 4. The explosion creates a burst of shrapnel that is lethal within a radius of several metres ( exact details are classified ) .
- 5. Thousands more wounded who dare not seek help at home because their bullet and shrapnel wounds would betray them to the police as protesters or insurgents .