Bombardier \Bom`bar*dier"\, n. [F. bombardier.]
(Mil.) (a) One who used or managed a bombard; an artilleryman; a
gunner. [Archaic] (b) A noncommissioned officer in the British artillery.
Bombardier beetle (Zo["o]l.), a kind of beetle (Brachinus
crepitans), so called because, when disturbed, it makes
an explosive discharge of a pungent and acrid vapor from
its anal glands. The name is applied to other related
species, as the B. displosor, which can produce ten or
twelve explosions successively. The common American
species is B. fumans.
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) |