case shot
1
9.8
- noun
- /keɪs ʃɑt/
- Archaic
:
munición de esquirlas
- The artillery crew prepared case shot to maximize their firepower over a wide area.
Examples
-
Case shot and langrage.
-
"Load case shot, four-second fuse!"
Fiction book (1990) -
Caudell did not need any sanguinary speech to picture the storm of shells and cannonballs, case shot
Fiction book (1992) -
During the battle, the commander ordered the troops to fire case shot to disperse the enemy ranks.
-
In the old battlefield museum, we learned that case shot was used to increase the effectiveness of cannons against large crowds.
Synonyms
21
8.6
A metal cylinder filled with small metal balls fired from a cannon to hit many soldiers
A metal cylinder filled with many small balls that scatter when fired from a cannon
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun is compositionally built from 'case' (a container) + 'shot' (projectiles), so the basic idea of shot contained in or delivered from a case is directly derivable. Although somewhat technical/historical, the core meaning (a type of ammunition consisting of shot in a casing) follows normal compositional logic and would be understandable to a B1 learner who knows both constituents.
Etymology
Case shot comes from old artillery, where a metal case, a small cylinder, was filled with many small shot or balls. When fired the case would 'burst' and the shot would 'scatter', so the weapon was used to hit many soldiers at once.