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Minié ball

[min-ee, min-ee-ey; French mee-nyey]
noun
  1. a conical bullet with a hollow base that expanded when fired, used in the 19th century.

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. 2018

Examples from the Web for minie ball

Historical Examples of minie ball

  • He had been killed by a minie-ball squarely through his forehead.

    War from the Inside

    Frederick L. (Frederick Lyman) Hitchcock

  • He was hit by a minie-ball in the left shoulder, just below the collar-bone.

    War from the Inside

    Frederick L. (Frederick Lyman) Hitchcock

  • Now, for the first time, I heard the keen whistle of the Minie-ball.

  • It was only some of the bark of the tree, which had been dusted into my face by a minie-ball.

    The Boy Spy

    Joseph Kerby

  • There my tent-mate was wounded by a minie-ball; I was standing by his side when he was hit.

    The Empty Sleeve

    Henry H. Meacham

British Dictionary definitions for minie ball

Minié ball

noun
  1. 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
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