cordite

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. A smokeless explosive powder consisting of nitrocellulose, nitroglycerin, and petrolatum that has been dissolved in acetone, dried, and extruded in cords.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. A smokeless powder, introduced in 1889, and adopted in the British military and naval service for small arms and guns of all calibers. Abandoned in 1902. It is brown in color, and is composed of 58 parts of nitroglycerin, 37 parts of guncotton, and 5 parts of mineral jelly (vaseline). The name is derived from the fact that it is made in the forms of cords or cylinders by pressing the composition through holes of varying size. The cylinders for heavy guns are made tubular. Cordite imparts a high velocity to the projectile without undue pressure, is very stable under extreme climatic conditions, and its ballistic properties are not seriously affected by moisture. The objection to it is that the high degree of heat developed upon combustion causes rapid erosion of the bore of the gun.

Wiktionary

1. n. A smokeless propellent made by combining two high explosives, nitrocellulose and nitroglycerine, used in some firearm ammunition.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. (Mil.) A smokeless powder composed of nitroglycerin, guncotton, and mineral jelly, and used by the British army and in other services. In making it the ingredients are mixed into a paste with the addition of acetone and pressed out into cords (of various diameters) resembling brown twine, which are dried and cut to length. A variety containing less nitroglycerin than the original is known as cordite M. D.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. explosive powder (nitroglycerin and guncotton and petrolatum) dissolved in acetone and dried and extruded in brown cords