shrapnel
/ˈʃɹæpnəl/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.15 in modern English
13
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
2
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
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.
Uncountable
noun
Any shot, fragments, or debris thrown out by an exploding shell, bomb, or landmine.
Uncountable
name
A surname
Example Sentences
Etymology
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.
Origin
- Source language: French
Word Breakdown
- Root: Charbonnel