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Minié ball

[ min-ee, min-ee-ey; French mee-nyey ]
/ ˈmɪn i, ˈmɪn iˌeɪ; French miˈnyeɪ /
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noun

a conical bullet with a hollow base that expanded when fired, used in the 19th century.

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Origin of Minié ball

1855–60; named after C. E. Minié (1814–79), French officer who invented it
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for minie ball

British Dictionary definitions for minie ball

Minié ball

/ (ˈmɪnɪˌeɪ, French miɲe) /

noun

a conical rifle bullet, used in the 19th century, manufactured with a hollow base designed to expand when fired to fit the rifling

Word Origin for Minié ball

C19: named after Capt C. E. Minié (1814–1879), French army officer who invented it
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 minie ball

minie ball

n.

kind of rifle bullet, 1853, named for its inventor, French army officer Claude-Étienne Minié (1814-1879), who designed it 1847-8.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper