culverin
Americannoun
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medieval form of musket.
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a kind of heavy cannon used in the 16th and 17th centuries.
noun
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a long-range medium to heavy cannon used during the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries
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a medieval musket
Etymology
Origin of culverin
1400–50; late Middle English < Middle French coulevrine < Latin colubrīna, feminine of colubrīnus colubrine
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Arundel died at the age of 27 after his leg was shattered, in May 1435, by a shot from a primitive cannon, or culverin, at Gerberoy, France.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 11, 2026
This plan did not work; gunnery was so imprecise that no captain knew whether a given culverin would dismast his enemy, drop its ball a quarter-mile short, or explode and wreck his own ship.
From Time Magazine Archive
Here Baran," he said,—thrusting his foot against the culverin I mentioned before—"you claim to be a skilled bombardier.
From Told by the Death's Head A Romantic Tale by M?r J?kai
Later Winston remembered watching in paralyzed horror as the linstock clattered against the breech of the culverin, scattering sparks.
From Caribbee by Thomas Hoover
On a hill overlooking the harbor a row of torches blazed, illuminating a battery of eighteen- pound culverin set above a high stone breastwork.
From Caribbee by Thomas Hoover
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
