grenade English · revision 874
11 Oct 2026, 01:19 by bogdan “New entry from the dictionary sources (AHD, Barnhart, Etymonline, MW, OED, RHWU, Wiktionary)” current version
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+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA: /ɡɹəˈneɪd/^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ==Etymology==
+ It is [[bor|frm|grenade|t=pomegranate]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) from Old French ''grenate'', as in ''pome grenate'',^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) influenced by [[es|granada|t=pomegranate]],^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) from Latin ''grānātus'' “full of seeds”, from ''grānum'' “grain”.^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) It is related to [[pomegranate]] and [[garnet]].^(AHD)^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ A pomegranate (about 1532), a sense now obsolete.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)
+
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ In 1591 the word was applied to a small explosive shell,^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) so called because the many seeds of the pomegranate suggested the powder-filled, fragmenting bomb, or because of its shape.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) Grenades were much used in the late 17th century, went out of use in the 18th and were revived in the 20th;^(Etymonline) the soldiers who threw them were [[grenadier|alt=grenadiers]] (1676), a name later kept for elite troops.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) From 1891 the word also named a glass container thrown to disperse a chemical.^(OED 1989)
+
+ ==Timeline==
+ * c. 1532 – a pomegranate (obsolete).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)
+ * 1591 – a small explosive shell.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)
+ * 1676 – ''grenadier''.^(Barnhart 1995)
+ * 1849 – verb, to attack with grenades.^(OED 1989)
+ * 1891 – a glass container of chemicals.^(OED 1989)
+
+ ==Modern meaning==
+ ===Noun===
+ # A small explosive missile thrown by hand or fired from a rifle or launcher.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+ # A similar container of a chemical, such as tear gas, dispersed when it bursts.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)
+
+ ===Verb===
+ # To attack with grenades.^(RHWU)^(OED 1989)^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ==Word family==
+ * [[grenadier]]
+ * [[grenadine]]
+ * [[grenade launcher]]
+
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[garnet]]
+ * [[pomegranate]]
+ * [[grain]]
+
+ ==References==
+ {{reflist}}