melinite

[ mel-uh-nahyt ]

noun

, Chemistry.

1. a high explosive containing picric acid.

melinite

/ ˈmɛlɪˌnaɪt /

noun

1. a high explosive made from picric acid

Word History and Origins

Origin of melinite¹

1885–90; < French mélinite < Greek mḗlin ( os ) made of apples (derivative of mêlon apple) + French -ite -ite ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of melinite¹

C19: via French from Greek mēlinos (colour) of a quince, from mēlon fruit, quince

Example Sentences

Pg 120 The whole place was dust and thunder and the half-acrid, half-fat, all-sickly smell of melinite.

From Project Gutenberg

That shell will be cherished after extraction of its fuse and melinite charge.

From Project Gutenberg

Shrapnel screamed all around, and melinite shells made the earth shake.

From Project Gutenberg

Cellars may give protection from fire or melinite; but they are worse than death traps against the heavy fumes of poisonous gas.

From Project Gutenberg

Also the enemy fired a new kind of shell, believed to be melinite, which stifles a man to death and does not hit one at all.

From Project Gutenberg