A small explosive device designed to be thrown by hand or launched from a weapon. It contains explosives, shrapnel, or chemical agents that detonate after a set time or on impact.
From French 'grenade' meaning pomegranate, derived from Latin 'granatum'. The weapon was named for its resemblance to the fruit's shape and the way it bursts open to release its contents, similar to how the fruit splits to reveal seeds.
The connection between grenades and pomegranates runs deeper than just appearance - early grenades were actually filled with gunpowder and small metal balls that scattered like pomegranate seeds. The French word 'grenadier' originally referred to soldiers who threw these pomegranate-shaped explosives, and these elite troops were typically the tallest and strongest men in the regiment.
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