Minié ball

American  

[min-ee, min-ee-ey, mee-nyey] / ˈmɪn i, ˈmɪn iˌeɪ, miˈnjeɪ /

noun

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

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Minié ball British  

/ ˈmɪnɪˌeɪ, miɲe /

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

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Etymology

Origin of Minié ball

1855–60; named after C. E. Minié (1814–79), French officer who invented it

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Minié ball

Invented by the Frenchman Claude-Etienne Minié, the Minié ball was a cone-shaped ball of lead with a hollow base.

From Slate ● Aug. 21, 2015

Minié ball from hundreds of bullets stashed in front of our counter and wondered whether my grandfather knew what he was signing us up for when he found his first one.

From Time ● Jun. 30, 2015

The leading objection to the Minié ball in this form was that the device did its work too thoroughly.

From Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science Volume 15, No. 85, January, 1875 by Various

Common hunting-rifles were bored out to carry a Minié ball, twenty to the pound, and sword-bayonets fitted to them.

From Thirteen Months in the Rebel Army Being a Narrative of Personal Adventures in the Infantry, Ordnance, Cavalry, Courier, and Hospital Services; With an Exhibition of the Power, Purposes, Earnestness, Military Despotism, and Demoralization of the South by Stevenson, William G.

"Yes; I received a Minié ball there at Gettysburg, and although the bullet was extracted, the wound never properly healed."

From My Lady of the North by Parrish, Randall