from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Bomb \Bomb\, n. [F. bombe bombshell, fr. L. bombus a humming or
buzzing noise, Gr. ?.]
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1. A great noise; a hollow sound. [Obs.]
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A pillar of iron . . . which if you had struck,
would make . . . a great bomb in the chamber
beneath. --Bacon.
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2. (Mil.) A shell; esp. a spherical shell, like those fired
from mortars. See {Shell}.
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3. A bomb ketch.
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{Bomb chest} (Mil.), a chest filled with bombs, or only with
gunpowder, placed under ground, to cause destruction by
its explosion.
{Bomb ketch}, {Bomb vessel} (Naut.), a small ketch or vessel,
very strongly built, on which mortars are mounted to be
used in naval bombardments; -- called also {mortar
vessel}.
{Bomb lance}, a lance or harpoon with an explosive head, used
in whale fishing.
{Volcanic bomb}, a mass of lava of a spherical or pear shape.
"I noticed volcanic bombs." --Darwin.
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