Howitzer

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Howitzer \How"itz*er\, n. [G. haubitze, formerly hauffnitz,
     Bohem. haufnice, orig., a sling.] (Mil.)
     (a) A gun so short that the projectile, which was hollow,
         could be put in its place by hand; a kind of mortar.
         [Obs.]
     (b) A short, light, largebore cannon, usually having a


         chamber of smaller diameter than the rest of the bore,
         and intended to throw large projectiles with
         comparatively small charges.
         [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  howitzer
       n : a muzzle-loading high-angle gun with a short barrel that
           fires shells at high elevations for a short range [syn: {mortar},
            {trench mortar}]