touchhole

American  

[tuhch-hohl] / ˈtʌtʃˌhoʊl /

noun

1. the vent in the breech of an early firearm or cannon through which the charge was ignited.

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touchhole British  

/ ˈtʌtʃˌhəʊl /

noun

1. a hole in the breech of early cannon and firearms through which the charge was ignited

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Etymology

Origin of touchhole

First recorded in 1495–1505; touch + hole

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

touchhole

Carefully, deliberately, Pamela Russell lowered her candle to the cannon's touchhole.

From Shaman by Robert Shea

The match, no longer applied by the hand to the touchhole, was fixed into a cock, which was brought down to the pan by the motion of the trigger.

From Traditions of Lancashire, Volume 2 by John Roby

Here," said he, dealing Rust a heavy thump upon the shoulder with the butt-end of the piece, "take back your snapper, and look you prick the touchhole, or your barking-iron will never bite for you.

From Rookwood by William Harrison Ainsworth

Orders were given that every man was to "throw the priming out of his pan, pick his touchhole, prime anew, examine bullets and see that everything was in readiness for battle."

From Pioneers of the Old Southwest: a chronicle of the dark and bloody ground by Constance Lindsay Skinner

Find in the Glossary the meaning of: boar; encounter; tusks; riveted; gigantic; abyss; severed; whereupon; exaggerations; ramparts; touchhole; recoil; repelling; dismounted; hold.

From The Elson Readers, Book 5 by William H. Elson