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Webster 1913 Edition


Bombard

Bom′bard

,
Noun.
[F.
bombarde
, LL.
bombarda
, fr. L.
bombus
+
-ard
. Cf.
Bumper
, and see
Bomb
.]
1.
(Gun.)
A piece of heavy ordnance formerly used for throwing stones and other ponderous missiles. It was the earliest kind of cannon.
They planted in divers places twelve great
bombards
, wherewith they threw huge stones into the air, which, falling down into the city, might break down the houses.
Knolles.
2.
A bombardment.
[Poetic & R.]
J. Barlow.
3.
A large drinking vessel or can, or a leather bottle, for carrying liquor or beer.
[Obs.]
Yond same black cloud, yond huge one, looks like a foul
bombard
that would shed his liquor.
Shakespeare
4.
pl.
Padded breeches.
[Obs.]
Bombard phrase
,
inflated language; bombast.
[Obs.]
B. Jonson.

Bom′bard

,
Noun.
[OE.
bombarde
, fr. F.
bombarde
.]
(Mus.)
See
Bombardo
.
[Obs.]

Bom-bard′

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Bombarded
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Bombarding
.]
To attack with bombards or with artillery; especially, to throw shells, hot shot, etc., at or into.
Next, she means to
bombard
Naples.
Burke.
His fleet
bombarded
and burnt down Dieppe.
Wood.

Webster 1828 Edition


Bombard

BOM'BARD

,
Noun.
[bomb and ard, kind.]
1.
A piece of short thick ordnance with a large mouth, formerly used; some of them carrying a ball of three hundred pounds weight. It is called also basilisk, and by the Dutch, donderbuss, thunder-gun. But the thing and the name are no longer in use.
2.
An attack with bombs; bombardment.
3.
A barrel; a drinking vessel.

Definition 2024


bombard

bombard

English

Noun

bombard (plural bombards)

  1. a medieval primitive cannon, used chiefly in sieges for throwing heavy stone balls.
    • Knolles
      They planted in divers places twelve great bombards, wherewith they threw huge stones into the air, which, falling down into the city, might break down the houses.
  2. (obsolete) a bassoon-like medieval instrument
  3. (obsolete) a large liquor container made of leather, in the form of a jug or a bottle.
    • 1610, The Tempest, by Shakespeare, act 2 scene 2
      [] yond same black cloud, yond huge one, / looks like a foul bombard that would shed his liquor.
  4. (poetic, rare) A bombardment.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of J. Barlow to this entry?)
  5. (music) A bombardon.
Translations

Etymology 2

From French bombarder, from Middle French bombarde (a bombard)

Verb

bombard (third-person singular simple present bombards, present participle bombarding, simple past and past participle bombarded)

  1. To attack something with bombs, artillery shells or other missiles or projectiles.
  2. (figuratively) To attack something or someone by directing objects at them.
  3. (physics) To direct at a substance an intense stream of high-energy particles, usually sub-atomic or made of at most a few atoms.
Synonyms
Translations

Derived terms