fieldpiece

9.9

A large movable gun used on land in war and fired by soldiers

noun
/ˈfiːldˌpiːs/

Archaic

: pieza de campaña

On May seventh, Howe sent the Second Battalion of light infantry, two fieldpieces, eighteen flatboats, four galleys, two armed schooners, and four gunboats on the river to the Bordentown area in a show of force.

Examples

The army transported their fieldpiece to the front lines for use in the upcoming skirmish.
If them Lancers has got a fieldpiece they could move it in, lay in one round, and then finish us off with them ten-foot frog stickers they're packing.

Major Dundee (1965)
During the battle, the soldiers operated the fieldpiece to bombard the enemy positions effectively.
After setting up the fieldpiece, the crew prepared to fire at the advancing troops.

Synonyms

cannon

vsfieldpiece

103 3.9

A large heavy gun often on wheels or ships that fires heavy shells

is restricted to land use and typically operated by a crew rather than mounted

field gun

vsfieldpiece

Specialized

1 6.8

A large movable weapon soldiers use on the battlefield to fire at enemy troops

is a large movable land weapon usually operated by a military crew

Surface Forms

fieldpiece singular

fieldpieces plural

Morphology

fieldpiece = field + piece (opaque) = field + piece

Although the compound is historically 'field' + 'piece', the word's military sense depends on the specialized older meaning of 'piece' as a cannon, so the meaning is not readily predictable for most learners.

Etymology

Fieldpiece is made from field ('open land') and piece ('a part or object'), so it literally meant a 'piece' used out in the field. That's why fieldpiece refers to a large, movable gun used by soldiers in land battles.