minute gun
- noun
- /ˈmɪnɪt ɡʌn/
:
cañón de minuto
- A single minute gun was fired throughout the ceremony to honor the fallen soldiers.
Examples
-
During the procession, the solemn sound of the minute gun echoed across the parade ground.
-
As the flag was lowered, a minute gun marked each passing minute of silence.
-
The minute gun fired every sixty seconds.
-
Many veterans attended the minute gun salute.
-
During the military funeral, the soldiers fired minute guns at regular intervals to honor the deceased.
-
The tradition calls for the firing of minute guns as a sign of mourning during official ceremonies.
-
As a mark of respect, they discharged minute guns throughout the memorial service.
Synonyms
154
4.4
The firing of a weapon used to start a race or give a salute
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is a straightforward composition of 'minute' (sixty seconds) modifying 'gun' — i.e. a gun that is fired at one-minute intervals. This measurement + object pattern is transparent and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Minute gun comes from the simple image of a gun fired every minute during a funeral or ceremony, with each shot counting one minute. That's why it now means 'a gun fired every minute', often used as a sign of 'mourning' or to mark a minute of silence.