fusee

or fu·zee

[fyoo-zee]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR fusee ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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).

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. 2019

Related Words for fusee

Congreve, fusee, locofoco, Vesta, vesuvian

Examples from the Web for fusee

Historical Examples of fusee

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.
Days and Nights in London
J. Ewing Ritchie
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

(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

Word Origin for fusee

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

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