Bomb \Bomb\, n. [F. bombe bombshell, fr. L. bombus a humming or
buzzing noise, Gr. ?.]
1. A great noise; a hollow sound. [Obs.]
A pillar of iron . . . which if you had struck,
would make . . . a great bomb in the chamber
beneath. --Bacon.
2. (Mil.) A shell; esp. a spherical shell, like those fired
from mortars. See Shell.
3. A bomb ketch.
Bomb chest (Mil.), a chest filled with bombs, or only with
gunpowder, placed under ground, to cause destruction by
its explosion.
Bomb ketch, Bomb vessel (Naut.), a small ketch or vessel,
very strongly built, on which mortars are mounted to be
used in naval bombardments; -- called also mortar
vessel.
Bomb lance, a lance or harpoon with an explosive head, used
in whale fishing.
Volcanic bomb, a mass of lava of a spherical or pear shape.
``I noticed volcanic bombs.'' --Darwin.
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
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