missile
UK /ˈmɪs.aɪl/ · US /ˈmɪs.(ə)l/ noun
Forms missiles
- noun Any object used as a weapon by being thrown or fired through the air, such as stone, arrow or bullet. [from 17th c.] “The Rhodians, who used leaden bullets, were able to project their missiles twice as far as the Persian slingers, who used large stones.”
- noun (military) A self-propelled projectile whose trajectory can be adjusted after it is launched. [from 20th c.] “That missile is explosive enough to kill hundreds.”
Synonyms
Antonyms
Etymology
From Latin missile (“thrown weapon, projectile”), neuter of missilis (“throwable, capable of being thrown”), from mittere (“to send”). From 1611. Compare Middle French missile (“projectile”), from 1636.
Webster’s 1913
- adjective Capable of being thrown; adapted for hurling or to be projected from the hand, or from any instrument or rngine, so as to strike an object at a distance.
- noun A weapon thrown or projected or intended to be projcted, as a lance, an arrow, or a bullet.
Etymology [L. missils, fr. mittere, missum, to cause to go, to send, to throw; cf. Lith. mesti to throw: cf. F. missile. Cf. Admit, Dismiss, Mass the religious service, Message, Mission.]
Etymology [L. missile.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “missile”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details