petard
[ pi-tahrd ]
/ pɪˈtɑrd /
|
noun
an explosive device formerly used in warfare to blow in a door or gate, form a breach in a wall, etc.
a kind of firecracker.
(initial capital letter) Also called Flying Dustbin. a British spigot mortar of World War II that fired a 40-pound (18 kg) finned bomb, designed to destroy pillboxes and other concrete obstacles.
Nearby words
Idioms
hoist by/with one's own petard, hurt, ruined, or destroyed by the very device or plot one had intended for another.
Origin of petard
1590–1600; < Middle French, equivalent to pet(er) to break wind (derivative of pet < Latin pēditum a breaking wind, orig. neuter of past participle of pēdere to break wind) + -ard -ard
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
British Dictionary definitions for hoist by one's own petard
petard
/ (pɪˈtɑːd) /
noun
(formerly) a device containing explosives used to breach a wall, doors, etc
hoist with one's own petard being the victim of one's own schemes
a type of explosive firework
Word Origin for petard
C16: from French: firework, from péter to break wind, from Latin pēdere
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 hoist by one's own petard
petard
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Culture definitions for hoist by one's own petard
hoist by one's own petard
[ (pi-tahrd) ]
To be caught in one's own trap: “The swindler cheated himself out of most of his money, and his victims were satisfied to see him hoist by his own petard.” A “petard” was an explosive device used in medieval warfare. To be hoisted, or lifted, by a petard literally means to be blown up.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.