fusee
or fu·zee
[fyoo-zee]
- a wooden friction match having a large head, formerly used when a larger than normal flame was needed.
- a red flare light, used on a railroad as a warning signal to approaching trains.
- Horology. a spirally grooved, conical pulley and chain arrangement for counteracting the diminishing power of the uncoiling mainspring.
- fuse1(def 1).
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Origin of fusee
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 TibetA. Henry Savage Landor
The principle of the "drum and fusee" action will be understood from Fig. 201.
How it WorksArchibald Williams
I cautiously presented my fusee but did not dare to fire against the orders.
Crooked TrailsFrederic Remington
The other day, on the pier at Boulogne, I lit a fusee for the purpose of having a smoke.
Days and Nights in LondonJ. Ewing Ritchie
Nothing daunted he sought his fusee case; there was just one left in it.
ThelmaMarie Corelli
fusee
fuzee
- (in early clocks and watches) a spirally grooved spindle, functioning as an equalizing force on the unwinding of the mainspring
- a friction match with a large head, capable of remaining alight in a wind
- 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
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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