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fusee

or fu·zee

[fyoo-zee]
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noun
  1. a wooden friction match having a large head, formerly used when a larger than normal flame was needed.
  2. a red flare light, used on a railroad as a warning signal to approaching trains.
  3. Horology. a spirally grooved, conical pulley and chain arrangement for counteracting the diminishing power of the uncoiling mainspring.
  4. fuse1(def 1).
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Origin of fusee

1580–90; < Middle French fusée spindleful, derivative of Old French fus spindle. See fuse1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for fusee

Historical Examples

  • Old muskets fired by a fusee, with a prong to rest the barrel on.

    An Explorer's Adventures in Tibet

    A. Henry Savage Landor

  • The principle of the "drum and fusee" action will be understood from Fig. 201.

    How it Works

    Archibald Williams

  • I cautiously presented my fusee but did not dare to fire against the orders.

    Crooked Trails

    Frederic Remington

  • The other day, on the pier at Boulogne, I lit a fusee for the purpose of having a smoke.

  • Nothing daunted he sought his fusee case; there was just one left in it.

    Thelma

    Marie Corelli

British Dictionary definitions for fusee

fusee

fuzee

noun
  1. (in early clocks and watches) a spirally grooved spindle, functioning as an equalizing force on the unwinding of the mainspring
  2. a friction match with a large head, capable of remaining alight in a wind
  3. an explosive fuse
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Word Origin

C16: from French fusée spindleful of thread, from Old French fus spindle, from Latin fūsus
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for fusee

n.

also fuzee, type of light musket, 1660s, from French fusil (see fusilier).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper