torpedo English · revision 963

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˌtɔː(ɹ)ˈpiː.dəʊ/ ''(UK)''; /ˌtoɹˈpi.doʊ/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|torpēdō|t=numbness; electric ray]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) from ''torpēre'' “to be numb, stiff”,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) the fish being named from the numbing effect of its electric shock.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The electric ray, a flat fish that gives an electric shock (c. 1520).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Figuratively, one who has a benumbing influence was a ''torpedo'' (1590).^(OED 1989) In 1776 the name was given to a case of explosive designed to blow up ships, at first a floating mine,^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) and the self-propelled underwater missile dates from about 1900.^(Etymonline) Other explosive devices, such as a railway detonator and a cartridge fired in an oil well, were also called torpedoes.^(OED 1989)^(AHD)^(RHWU) The verb meant “to attack with a torpedo” from 1873–79,^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate) and figuratively “to wreck, destroy” from 1895.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) In American slang a ''torpedo'' is a professional gunman.^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1520 – the electric ray.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1590 – figuratively, something that benumbs.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1776 – an explosive device against ships.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1810 – ''torpedo-boat''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1879 – verb, to attack with a torpedo.^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1895 – verb, to wreck or destroy.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A cigar-shaped, self-propelled underwater [[missile]] launched from a [[submarine]], ship or aircraft, which explodes on or near its target.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Any of various submarine explosive devices, especially a [[mine]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A small explosive placed on a railway track as a warning signal, or one fired in an oil or gas well.^(AHD)^(RHWU)^(OED 1989)^(Wiktionary)

+ # The [[electric ray]].^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(slang)'' A professional gunman.^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To attack, strike or sink with a torpedo.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To destroy or wreck, as in ''torpedo a plan''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[torpedo boat]]

+ * [[torpedo bomber]]

+ * [[torpedo tube]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[torpid]]

+ * [[torpor]]

+ * [[submarine]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}