torpedo

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˌtɔː(ɹ)ˈpiː.dəʊ/ (UK); /ˌtoɹˈpi.doʊ/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin torpēdō (“numbness; electric ray”),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from torpēre “to be numb, stiff”,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} the fish being named from the numbing effect of its electric shock.^[3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The electric ray, a flat fish that gives an electric shock (c. 1520).^[7][3][4][5]

Semantic evolution

Figuratively, one who has a benumbing influence was a torpedo (1590).^[7] In 1776 the name was given to a case of explosive designed to blow up ships, at first a floating mine,^[7][3][4] and the self-propelled underwater missile dates from about 1900.^[4] Other explosive devices, such as a railway detonator and a cartridge fired in an oil well, were also called torpedoes.^[7][2][6] The verb meant “to attack with a torpedo” from 1873–79,^[7][3][5] and figuratively “to wreck, destroy” from 1895.^[7][4] In American slang a torpedo is a professional gunman.^[7][5][1]

Timeline

• c. 1520 – the electric ray.^[7][3][5]
• 1590 – figuratively, something that benumbs.^[7]
• 1776 – an explosive device against ships.^[7][3][4]
• 1810 – torpedo-boat.^[4]
• 1879 – verb, to attack with a torpedo.^[7][5]
• 1895 – verb, to wreck or destroy.^[7][4]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A cigar-shaped, self-propelled underwater missile launched from a submarine, ship or aircraft, which explodes on or near its target.
2. Any of various submarine explosive devices, especially a mine.
3. A small explosive placed on a railway track as a warning signal, or one fired in an oil or gas well.
4. The electric ray.
5. (slang) A professional gunman.

Verb

1. To attack, strike or sink with a torpedo.
2. To destroy or wreck, as in torpedo a plan.

Word family

• torpedo boat
• torpedo bomber
• torpedo tube

Related words

• torpid
• torpor
• submarine

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press