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Webster 1913 Edition

Shrapnel

Shrap′nel

,
Adj.
Applied as an appellation to a kind of shell invented by Gen. H. Shrapnel of the British army.
–
Noun.
A shrapnel shell; shrapnel shells, collectively.
Shrapnel shell
(Gunnery)
,
a projectile for a cannon, consisting of a shell filled with bullets and a small bursting charge to scatter them at any given point while in flight. See the Note under
Case shot
.

Definition 2024

shrapnel

shrapnel

English

Noun

shrapnel ‎(usually uncountable, plural shrapnels)

  1. (historical) An anti-personnel artillery shell used in WWI which carries a large number of individual bullets close to the target and then ejects them to allow them to continue along the shell's trajectory and strike the target individually.
  2. A collective term for shot, fragments, or debris thrown out by an exploding shell or landmine.
  3. (slang) Loose change.
  4. Debris.
    The dog did not eat my sandwich. It was in a bag. If he had eaten my sandwich, there'd be shrapnel all over the place from him tearing open the bag.

Translations

French

Noun

shrapnel m ‎(plural shrapnels)

  1. shrapnel

Etymology

From Henry Shrapnel, British army officer 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.

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