missile
English
A selection of missiles (military)
Etymology
From Latin missilis (“that may be thrown”), neuter missile (“a weapon to be thrown, a javelin”), in plural missilia (“presents thrown among the people by the emperors”), from mittere (“to send”). From 1611. Compare Middle French missile (“projectile”), from 1636.
Pronunciation
- (UK) enPR: mĭsʹīl, IPA(key): /ˈmɪs.aɪl/
- (US, Canada) enPR: mĭsʹīl, mĭsʹəl, IPA(key): /ˈmɪs.aɪl/, /ˈmɪs.əl/
Audio (US) (file) Audio (US) (file)
- Rhymes: -ɪsaɪl, -ɪsəl
- (US, Canada) Homophone: missal
Noun
missile (plural missiles)
- 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.
- Paragraph 24, R v Blackshaw (2012) WLR 1126
- Riot officers and police on horseback were deployed to disperse the crowns[sic – meaning crowds], but they came under attack from bottles, fireworks and other missiles.
- (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.
Derived terms
- Euromissile
- missileer
Related terms
- mess
- message
- messenger
- mission
- missionary
- missive
Translations
air-based weapon
|
self-propelled, guidable projectile
|
See also
- projectile
- rocket
Further reading
- missile in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
- missile in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911
- James A. H. Murray [et al.], editors (1884–1928), “Missile”, in A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (Oxford English Dictionary), volume VI, Part 2 (M–N), London: Clarendon Press, OCLC 15566697, page 540, column 3.
Anagrams
- mislies, similes, slimies, smilies
French
Etymology
From Middle French, from Latin missilis (“that may be thrown”) (as in English).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /mi.sil/
Audio (file)
Noun
missile m (plural missiles)
- missile
Derived terms
- missile à tête chercheuse
Further reading
- “missile”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Italian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈmis.si.le/
- Rhymes: -issile
- Hyphenation: mìs‧si‧le
Noun
missile m (plural missili)
- missile
Adjective
missile (plural missili)
- (relational) missile
Latin
Etymology
From missilis.
Noun
missile n (genitive missilis); third declension
- a thrown weapon, such as a javelin
- (plural) presents from the Emperor thrown to the people
- (New Latin) a missile (self-propelled projectile)
- 2018, Tuomo Pekkanen, Foederatio occidentalis Syriam missilibus percussit , Nuntii Latini 20.4.2018:
- USA, Britannia, Francia mane Sabbati plus centum missilia in tres metas Syriacas miserunt, in quibus arma chemica conficiebantur et tractabantur.
- The US, UK, and France Saturday morning fired over a hundred missiles at three Syrian sites in which chemical weapons were being built and stored.
- USA, Britannia, Francia mane Sabbati plus centum missilia in tres metas Syriacas miserunt, in quibus arma chemica conficiebantur et tractabantur.
- 2018, Tuomo Pekkanen, Foederatio occidentalis Syriam missilibus percussit , Nuntii Latini 20.4.2018:
Declension
Third-declension noun (neuter, “pure” i-stem).
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | missile | missilia |
| Genitive | missilis | missilium |
| Dative | missilī | missilibus |
| Accusative | missile | missilia |
| Ablative | missilī | missilibus |
| Vocative | missile | missilia |
Synonyms
- (javelin): tēlum, iaculum
Adjective
missile
- nominative/accusative/vocative neuter singular of missilis
References
- “missilis”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- “missilis”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
- missile in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette