TORPEDOS
Noun
torpedos
plural of torpedo
Anagrams
• doorstep, droopest, optrodes, pet doors
Source: Wiktionary
TORPEDO
Tor*pe"do, n.; pl. Torpedoes. Etym: [L. torpedo, -inis, from torpere
to be stiff, numb, or torpid. See Torpid.]
1. (Zoöl.)
Definition: Any one of numerous species of elasmobranch fishes belonging to
Torpedo and allied genera. They are related to the rays, but have the
power of giving electrical shocks. Called also crampfish, and
numbfish. See Electrical fish, under Electrical.
Note: The common European torpedo (T. vulgaris) and the American
species (T. occidentalis) are the best known.
2. An engine or machine for destroying ships by blowing them up.
Specifically: --
(a) A quantity of explosives anchored in a channel, beneath the
water, or set adrift in a current, and so arranged that they will be
exploded when touched by a vessel, or when an electric circuit is
closed by an operator on shore.
(b) A kind of small submarine boat carrying an explosive charge, and
projected from a ship against another ship at a distance, or made
self-propelling, and otherwise automatic in its action against a
distant ship.
3. (Mil.)
Definition: A kind of shell or cartridge buried in earth, to be exploded by
electricity or by stepping on it.
4. (Railroad)
Definition: A kind of detonating cartridge or shell placed on a rail, and
exploded when crushed under the locomotive wheels, -- used as an
alarm signal.
5. An explosive cartridge or shell lowered or dropped into a bored
oil well, and there exploded, to clear the well of obstructions or to
open communication with a source of supply of oil.
6. A kind of firework in the form of a small ball, or pellet, which
explodes when thrown upon a hard object. Fish torpedo, a spindle-
shaped, or fish-shaped, self-propelling submarine torpedo.
– Spar torpedo, a canister or other vessel containing an explosive
charge, and attached to the end of a long spar which projects from a
ship or boat and is thrust against an enemy's ship, exploding the
torpedo.
– Torpedo boat, a vessel adapted for carrying, launching,
operating, or otherwise making use of, torpedoes against an enemy's
ship.
– Torpedo nettings, nettings made of chains or bars, which can be
suspended around a vessel and allowed to sink beneath the surface of
the water, as a protection against torpedoes.
Tor*pe"do, v. t.
Definition: to destroy by, or subject to the action of, a torpedo. London
Spectator.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition