GUNPOWDERS

Noun

gunpowders

plural of gunpowder

Usage notes

• Gunpowders usually refers to multiple formulations of gunpowder, which is otherise an uncountable noun.

Source: Wiktionary


GUNPOWDER

Gun"pow`der, n. (Chem.)

Definition: A black, granular, explosive substance, consisting of an intimate mechanical mixture of niter, charcoal, and sulphur. It is used in gunnery and blasting.

Note: Gunpowder consists of from 70 to 80 per cent of niter, with 10 to 15 per cent of each of the other ingredients. Its explosive energy is due to the fact that it contains the necessary amount of oxygen for its own combustion, and liberates gases (chiefly nitrogen and carbon dioxide), which occupy a thousand or fifteen hundred times more space than the powder which generated them. Gunpowder pile driver, a pile driver, the hammer of which is thrown up by the explosion of gunpowder.

– Gunpowder plot (Eng. Hist.), a plot to destroy the King, Lords, and Commons, in revenge for the penal laws against Catholics. As Guy Fawkes, the agent of the conspirators, was about to fire the mine, which was placed under the House of Lords, he was seized, Nov. 5, 1605. Hence, Nov. 5 is known in England as Guy Fawkes Day.

– Gunpowder tea, a species of fine green tea, each leaf of which is rolled into a small ball or pellet.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



RESET



Word of the Day

19 November 2024

SALTWORT

(noun) bushy plant of Old World salt marshes and sea beaches having prickly leaves; burned to produce a crude soda ash


Do you know this game?

Wordscapes

Wordscapes is a popular word game consistently in the top charts of both Google Play Store and Apple App Store. The Android version has more than 10 million installs. This guide will help you get more coins in less than two minutes of playing the game. Continue reading Wordscapes: Get More Coins