eprouvette
Definitions
from The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- noun An apparatus for testing the explosive force of powders or other explosives.
- noun A spoon used in assaying metals.
- noun A short mortar.
Examples
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Right quick Haskell called up his eprouvette mortars and put them just beyond the lip of the crater and had them loaded with a scant ounce and a half of powder, since all they had to do was loft the shells fifty feet to where the Federals milled about like a pen of shoats waiting for the hammer between the eyes.
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Feeling strange as well, for his recent experience had led him to fear that the mere existence of the Henry repeating rifle or the eprouvette mortar made all talk of spirit immediately antique.
Note
The word 'eprouvette' comes from a French word meaning 'to test'.
