cannon

cannon
Gun Gun (g[u^]n), n. [OE. gonne, gunne; of uncertain origin; cf. Ir., Gael., & LL. gunna, W. gum; possibly (like cannon) fr. L. canna reed, tube; or abbreviated fr. OF. mangonnel, E. mangonel, a machine for hurling stones.] 1. A weapon which throws or propels a missile to a distance; any firearm or instrument for throwing projectiles, consisting of a tube or barrel closed at one end, in which the projectile is placed, with an explosive charge (such as guncotton or gunpowder) behind, which is ignited by various means. Pistols, rifles, carbines, muskets, and fowling pieces are smaller guns, for hand use, and are called {small arms}. Larger guns are called {cannon}, {ordnance}, {fieldpieces}, {carronades}, {howitzers}, etc. See these terms in the Vocabulary. [1913 Webster]

As swift as a pellet out of a gunne When fire is in the powder runne. --Chaucer. [1913 Webster]

The word gun was in use in England for an engine to cast a thing from a man long before there was any gunpowder found out. --Selden. [1913 Webster]

2. (Mil.) A piece of heavy ordnance; in a restricted sense, a cannon. [1913 Webster]

3. pl. (Naut.) Violent blasts of wind. [1913 Webster]

Note: Guns are classified, according to their construction or manner of loading as {rifled} or {smoothbore}, {breech-loading} or {muzzle-loading}, {cast} or {built-up guns}; or according to their use, as {field}, {mountain}, {prairie}, {seacoast}, and {siege guns}. [1913 Webster]

{Armstrong gun}, a wrought iron breech-loading cannon named after its English inventor, Sir William Armstrong.

{Big gun} or {Great gun}, a piece of heavy ordnance; hence (Fig.), a person superior in any way; as, bring in the big guns to tackle the problem.

{Gun barrel}, the barrel or tube of a gun.

{Gun carriage}, the carriage on which a gun is mounted or moved.

{Gun cotton} (Chem.), a general name for a series of explosive nitric ethers of cellulose, obtained by steeping cotton in nitric and sulphuric acids. Although there are formed substances containing nitric acid radicals, yet the results exactly resemble ordinary cotton in appearance. It burns without ash, with explosion if confined, but quietly and harmlessly if free and open, and in small quantity. Specifically, the lower nitrates of cellulose which are insoluble in ether and alcohol in distinction from the highest (pyroxylin) which is soluble. See {Pyroxylin}, and cf. {Xyloidin}. The gun cottons are used for blasting and somewhat in gunnery: for making celluloid when compounded with camphor; and the soluble variety (pyroxylin) for making collodion. See {Celluloid}, and {Collodion}. Gun cotton is frequenty but improperly called {nitrocellulose}. It is not a nitro compound, but an ester of nitric acid.

{Gun deck}. See under {Deck}.

{Gun fire}, the time at which the morning or the evening gun is fired.

{Gun metal}, a bronze, ordinarily composed of nine parts of copper and one of tin, used for cannon, etc. The name is also given to certain strong mixtures of cast iron.

{Gun port} (Naut.), an opening in a ship through which a cannon's muzzle is run out for firing.

{Gun tackle} (Naut.), the blocks and pulleys affixed to the side of a ship, by which a gun carriage is run to and from the gun port.

{Gun tackle purchase} (Naut.), a tackle composed of two single blocks and a fall. --Totten.

{Krupp gun}, a wrought steel breech-loading cannon, named after its German inventor, Herr Krupp.

{Machine gun}, a breech-loading gun or a group of such guns, mounted on a carriage or other holder, and having a reservoir containing cartridges which are loaded into the gun or guns and fired in rapid succession. In earlier models, such as the {Gatling gun}, the cartridges were loaded by machinery operated by turning a crank. In modern versions the loading of cartidges is accomplished by levers operated by the recoil of the explosion driving the bullet, or by the pressure of gas within the barrel. Several hundred shots can be fired in a minute by such weapons, with accurate aim. The {Gatling gun}, {Gardner gun}, {Hotchkiss gun}, and {Nordenfelt gun}, named for their inventors, and the French {mitrailleuse}, are machine guns.

{To blow great guns} (Naut.), to blow a gale. See {Gun}, n., 3. [1913 Webster +PJC]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • Cannon — steht für: Cannon (Fernsehserie), US amerikanische Fernsehserie mit William Conrad Cannon Films, US amerikanische Filmproduktionsgesellschaft Cannon, englischer Sammelbegriff für einen Kanonentyp im 16. Jahrhundert Cannon ist der Familienname… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Cannon — Can non, n.; pl. {Cannons}, collectively {Cannon}. [F. cannon, fr. L. canna reed, pipe, tube. See {Cane}.] 1. A great gun; a piece of ordnance or artillery; a firearm for discharging heavy shot with great force. [1913 Webster] Note: Cannons are… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Cannon — Can non, n.; pl. {Cannons}, collectively {Cannon}. [F. cannon, fr. L. canna reed, pipe, tube. See {Cane}.] 1. A great gun; a piece of ordnance or artillery; a firearm for discharging heavy shot with great force. [1913 Webster] Note: Cannons are… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Cannon — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Cannon Género Policiaco Reparto William Conrad Blaine H. McKee País de origen Estados Unidos Duración 60 min. Idioma/s …   Wikipedia Español

  • cannon — [kan′ən] n. pl. cannons or cannon [ME & OFr canon < It cannone < canna: see CANE; in CANNON n. 5 & vt. 2, vi. 2, altered < CAROM] 1. a) a large, mounted piece of …   English World dictionary

  • CANNON (W. B.) — CANNON WALTER BRADFORD (1871 1945) L’un des plus grands physiologistes américains, dont le nom reste surtout attaché à la théorie de l’homéostasie. Né dans le Wisconsin à Prairie du Chien, Cannon entre à Harvard en 1896. Docteur en médecine en… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Cannon —   [ kænən],    1) Anny Jump, amerikanische Astronomin, * Dover (Delaware) 11. 12. 1863, ✝ Cambridge (Massachusetts) 13. 4. 1941; wirkte am Harvard Observatorium; entwickelte eine Sternklassifizierung nach Spektralklassen (die Harvard… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • cannon — 1. This word for a large gun is now confined, apart from its historical reference, to a shell firing gun in aircraft (a use first recorded in 1919). Historically the word is used both as an ordinary noun (with plural cannons), and as a collective …   Modern English usage

  • cannon — c.1400, tube for projectiles, from O.Fr. canon (14c.), from It. cannone large tube, augmentive of L. canna reed, tube (see CANE (Cf. cane)). Cannon fodder (1891) translates Ger. kanonenfutter (Cf. Shakespeare s food for powder in I Hen. IV ).… …   Etymology dictionary

  • Cannon — Can non, v. i. 1. To discharge cannon. [Webster 1913 Suppl.] 2. To collide or strike violently, esp. so as to glance off or rebound; to strike and rebound. He heard the right hand goal post crack as a pony cannoned into it crack, splinter, and… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • cannon — ► NOUN (pl. usu. same) 1) a large, heavy piece of artillery formerly used in warfare. 2) an automatic heavy gun that fires shells from an aircraft or tank. ► VERB chiefly Brit. (cannon into/off) ▪ collide with forcefully or at an angle. ORIGIN… …   English terms dictionary

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