1.
[syn: floating mine, marine mine]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
marine mine \ma*rine" mine`\, n. (Mil.)
A military explosive device designed to be placed on or under
the surface of a body of water, and to explode when ships
pass nearby or come in contact with it. Its function is to
destroy enemy ships or deny hostile naval forces access to
certain areas of the sea, usually near the shoreline. Also
called underwater mine and floating mine, and previously
referred to as a torpedo (See torpedo[2]
(a) ).
[PJC]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Torpedo \Tor*pe"do\, n.; pl. Torpedoes. [L. torpedo, -inis,
from torpere to be stiff, numb, or torpid. See Torpid.]
[1913 Webster]
1. (Zool.) Any one of numerous species of elasmobranch fishes
belonging to Torpedo and allied genera. They are related
to the rays, but have the power of giving electrical
shocks. Called also crampfish, and numbfish. See
Electrical fish, under Electrical.
[1913 Webster]
Note: The common European torpedo (Torpedo vulgaris) and
the American species (Torpedo occidentalis) are the
best known.
[1913 Webster]
2. An engine or machine for destroying ships by blowing them
up; a mine[4]. Specifically:
[1913 Webster +PJC]
(a) A quantity of explosives anchored in a channel,
beneath the water, or set adrift in a current, and so
designed that they will explode when touched or
approached by a vessel, or when an electric circuit is
closed by an operator on shore; now called marine
mine. [obsolete]
[1913 Webster +PJC]
Damn the torpedoes -- full speed ahead! --Adm.
David Glasgow
Farragut (At
the battle of
Mobile Bay,
1864).
(b) A kind of small submarine boat carrying an explosive
charge, and projected from a ship against another ship
at a distance, or made self-propelling, and otherwise
automatic in its action against a distant ship.
[1913 Webster]
3. (Mil.) A kind of shell or cartridge buried in earth, to be
exploded by electricity or by stepping on it; now called
land mine. [obsolete]
[1913 Webster +PJC]
4. (Railroad) A kind of detonating cartridge or shell placed
on a rail, and exploded when crushed under the locomotive
wheels, -- used as an alarm signal.
[1913 Webster]
5. An explosive cartridge or shell lowered or dropped into a
bored oil well, and there exploded, to clear the well of
obstructions or to open communication with a source of
supply of oil.
[1913 Webster]
6. A kind of firework in the form of a small ball, or pellet,
which explodes when thrown upon a hard object.
[1913 Webster]
7. An automobile with a torpedo body. [Archaic Cant]
[Webster 1913 Suppl. +PJC]
Fish torpedo, a spindle-shaped, or fish-shaped,
self-propelling submarine torpedo.
Spar torpedo, a canister or other vessel containing an
explosive charge, and attached to the end of a long spar
which projects from a ship or boat and is thrust against
an enemy's ship, exploding the torpedo.
Torpedo boat, a vessel adapted for carrying, launching,
operating, or otherwise making use of, torpedoes against
an enemy's ship., especially, a small, fast boat with
tubes for launching torpedoes.
Torpedo nettings, nettings made of chains or bars, which
can be suspended around a vessel and allowed to sink
beneath the surface of the water, as a protection against
torpedoes.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
marine mine
n 1: an explosive mine designed to destroy ships that bump into
it [syn: floating mine, marine mine]