gunner-fluke 
gunner-fluke (gun'er-flok), . [Se., also writ- 
ten (iHinn'i'/tt'ii/i : < i/utiiicr (!) + fluke'*, q. v.] 
The turbot. See fluke*, 1 (c). 
gunnery (gun'er-i),)i. [(.gun 1 + -?>'!/.] 1. The 
use of guns: same as gunniny. 
Archery is now dispossessed by gunnery : how iustly, let 
others iudge. Cainden, Remains, Artillarie. 
Specifically 2. The art and science of firing 
guns. The science of gunnery has especial reference to 
atmospheric resistance to projectiles, and their velocity, 
path, range, and effect, as affected by the form and size 
of gun and projectile, size and quality of charge, elevation 
of gun, etc. Abbreviated gun. 
From the first rude essays of clubs and stones to the 
present perfection of gunitery, cannoneering, bombarding, 
mining, etc. Burke, Vind. of Nat. Society. 
gunnery-lieutenant (gun'er-i-lu-ten"ant), n. 
An officer appointed to a ship to supervise the 
exercise of gunnery and management of the 
guns. [Eng.] 
gunnery-ship (gun'er-i-ship), . A ship spe- 
cially devoted to the practice of gunnery and 
experiments with ordnance. 
gunney, . See gunny. 
gunnies (gun'iz), . [Of Corn, origin.] In 
mining, breadth or width. A single gunnies is a 
breadth of 3 feet. Also spelled gunniss. [Corn- 
wall, Eng.] 
The former vaults or caishes that were dug in a mine 
are called "the old gunnies." Pryce. 
gunning (gun'ing), n. [Verbal u. of gun 1 , v.] 
The art or practice of shooting with guns ; espe- 
cially, the sport or pursuit of shooting game. 
In the earlier times, the art of gunniny was but little 
practised. Goldsmith. 
Gunning for shooting is in Drayton. 
Lowell, Biglow Papers, Int. 
=Syn. Gunniny, Hunting, Shooting. In the United 
States these terms are loosely used as interchangeable ; 
more strictly, gunniny and shooting are confined to the 
pursuit of feathered and small game, and hunting to the 
pursuit of larger game. In England hunting means chas- 
ing foxes or stags with horse and hounds, or hares with 
beagles. 
gunning-boat (gun'ing-bot), n. A light and 
narrow boat in which the fenmen pursue flocks 
of wild fowl along their narrow drains. Also 
calleda gunning-shout. Halliwell. [Prov. Eng.] 
gunnisonite (gun'i-son-It), n. [< Gunnison (see 
def .) + -ite%. ] A mineral found near Gunnison 
in Colorado, containing calcium fluoride, silica, 
alumina, etc., and probably an altered or im- 
pure fluorite. 
gunniss, . See gunnies. 
gunnung (gun'ung), n. [Australian.] A spe- 
cies of gum-tree, Eucalyptus robusta. 
gunny (gun'i), re. ; pi. gunnies (-iz). [Also 
written gunney; Hind, ganni, gunny, a gunny- 
bag; < Beng., Mar., etc., gona or goni, gunny- 
bag; of. Mar. gonapat or gonapat, gunny, the 
coarse canvas or sackcloth made from jute 
(Hind., etc., pat).] A strong coarse sackcloth 
manufactured chiefly in Bengal from jute, but 
to some extent also in Bombay and Madras from 
sunn-hemp. It is used for clothing by many poor people, 
but principally for bagging and the wrapping of large 
packages, as cotton-bales, for which use large quantities 
are exported to the United States. The material is com- 
monly called gunny-cloth, and much of it is made up and 
exported under the name of gunny-bagt. It is also exten- 
sively manufactured in Dundee, Scotland. Gunny of 
cinnamon, three quarters of a hundredweight. Gunny 
Of saltpeter, one quarter of a hundredweight. 
gunny-bags (gun'i-bagz), n. pi. See gunny. 
gunny-cloth (gun'i-kldth), n. See gunny. 
gun-pendulum (gun'pen*du-lum), re. 1. A de- 
vice for determining the strength of gunpow- 
der. It consists of a box filled with sand-bags, sus- 
pended so as to swing freely on receiving the impact of 
a ball fired from a gun or cannon. See ballistic pendu- 
lum, under ballistic. 
2. A small cannon or musket suspended hori- 
zontally in a swinging frame furnished with a 
fixed arc, properly graduated, and a movable 
pointer, for ascertaining the angular distance 
through which the gun oscillates in its recoil. 
The initial velocity of the projectile is calculated from 
the value of the arc of recoil. This method is now nearly 
obsolete. 
gun-pit (gun'pit), . A pit for receiving the 
mold used in casting a gun, or for receiving 
the tube or jacket in assembling a built-up 
gun. 
gun-port (gun'port), n. A hole in a ship's side 
for the muzzle of a cannon ; a port-hole for a 
gun. 
gunpowder (gun'pou'der), . [< ME. (AF.) 
i/oiniepoudre (1422), < goune, gun, + poudre, 
powder.] An explosive mixture of saltpeter, 
sulphur, and charcoal, reduced to fine powder, 
and thoroughly incorporated with each other, 
2659 
then granulated, cleaned or dusted, glazed or 
polished, and dried. The finished powder is em- 
ployed for the discharge of projectiles from guns, in blast- 
ing, and for other purposes. The proportion of the ingre- 
dients in the composition of gunpowder varies in different 
countries, and with the different uses for which it is de- 
signed. The powders used for military purposes are dis- 
tinguished, according to the fineness and evenness of gran- 
ulation, as (a) irregular, as musket, mortar, cannon, and 
mammoth powders ; (6) regular, as cubical, pellet, hexago- 
nal, spherohexagonal, and prismatic (perforated hexagonal 
prisms) powders. These powders may have the same com- 
position, but differ in size and form of grain, density, and 
method of manufacture. Mutket powder is used for small- 
arms, mortar-powder for field-guns, cannon powder for 
light siege-guns, and the larger -grained and special pow- 
ders for heavy sea-coast guns. Mixtures of a nature simi- 
lar to gunpowder were known in China and India from 
remote times, and were especially used for rockets. The 
invention of gunpowder in Europe has been ascribed to 
Roger Bacon (about 1214-94) and to a German monk 
named Scnwarz (about 1820), but it was probably intro- 
duced into Europe through the medium of the Moors 
early in the fourteenth century. Its common use in war- 
fare dates from the sixteenth century. 
I do know Fluellen valiant, 
And, touch'd with choler, hot as gunpowder. 
Shak., Hen. V., iv. 7. 
Caking gunpowder. See catei, v. t. Gravimetric 
density of gunpowder. See demtity. Gunpowder 
paper, an explosive substance consisting of an explosive 
mixture spread on paper, dried, and rolled up in the form 
of a cartridge. Gunpowder plot, in Eng. hist., a con- 
spiracy to blow up the king (James I.) and the lords and 
commons in the Parliament House, in 1605, in revenge 
for the laws against Roman Catholics. The defeat of this 
plot by its discovery was long celebrated publicly on the 
5th of November, and still is to some extent privately, by 
processions and the burning in effigy of Guy Fawkes, its 
Srincipal agent, who was executed. Gunpowder tea, a 
ne species of green tea, being a carefully picked hyson, 
the leaves of which are rolled and rounded so as to have 
a granular appearance. White gunpowder, a blasting- 
mixture composed of chlorate of potash, dried ferrocya- 
nide of potassium, and sugar. It is now rarely used, owing 
to its liability to explode during manufacture, transporta- 
tion, etc. 
gunpowder-press (gun'pou-der-pres), n. In 
gunpowder-manuf., a press for compacting mill- 
cake or dust-powder into hard cakes prepara- 
tory to granulating. A form in use consists of a box 
in which the powder is placed between a series of upright 
plates, the pressure being applied by means of a follower 
actuated by a horizontal screw. E. H. Knight. 
gun-reach (gun'rech), . Gunshot; the dis- 
tance a gun will carry. Sydney Smith. 
gun-room (gun'rom), n. Naut., an apartment 
on the after part of the lower gun-deck of a 
man-of-war, devoted to the use of the junior 
officers. 
gun-searcher (gun'ser"cher), H. An instru- 
ment used to search for defects in the bore of a 
cannon. As formerly made, it consisted of a staff with 
one or more projecting prongs. As now constructed, it 
consists of an arrangement of mirrors with a telescope. 
Light being reflected into all parts of the bore, it is care- 
fully examined for defects with the telescope. Also called 
bore-searcher. 
gunshot (gun'shot), n. and a. I. n. If. Collec- 
tively, projectiles for cannon ; solid shot. 
An Albanese fled to the enemies campe, and warned 
them not to go, for the gunshot was nigh wasted. 
Rakluyt's Voyages, II. 85. 
2. The reach or range of a gun; the distance 
to which shot can be thrown from a cannon 
so as to be effective ; milit., the length of the 
pointblank range of a cannon-shot. 
Luxemburg retired to a spot which was out of gun-shot, 
and summoned afew of his chief officers to a consultation. 
Ma.cav.lay, Hist. Eng., xx. 
3. In her., a roundel sable. 4f. The firing of 
a cannon. 
And fill Heauen and Earth with shouting, singing, hal- 
lowing, gun-shot and flre-workes all that night. 
Purchas, Pilgrimage, p. 269. 
II. a. Made by the shot of a gun : as, a gun- 
shot wound. 
gun-shy (gun'shl), a. Afraid of a gun; fright- 
ened by the report of a gun : said of a field-dog. 
Setters and pointers become gun-shy after reaching their 
fourth to sixth year. Sportsman's Gazetteer, p. 469. 
gun-shyness (gun'shi'nes), . The state of 
being gun-shy. 
gun-Slide (gun'slid), n. In naval gun., the chas- 
sis on which the top-carriage carrying the gun 
slides in recoiling. 
gun-sling (gun'sling), n. 1. A sling for lifting 
a gun off its carriage, or off the ground when 
placed under a gin or other lifting-machine. 
2. A kind of strap or sling for carrying a 
shot-gun or rifle; specifically, a leather loop 
or sling which buttons or buckles on the pom- 
mel of a saddle, and in which a shot-gun or 
rifle is so slung that it is carried across the lap 
of the rider. Gun-slings of this kind are in general 
use in the western United States, especially with the Mex- 
ican or Spanish saddle, and some modification of them is 
adapted to the regulation McClellan saddle used In the 
I'nited States army. 
gun-work 
gunsmith gun'smith), n. A maker of small- 
arms; one whose occupation is to make or re- 
pair small firearms. 
gunsmithery (gun'smith"er-i), n. [< gunsmith 
+ -en/.] The business of a gunsmith ; the art 
of making small firearms ; also, a place where 
the business of a gunsmith is carried on. 
gunster (gun'ster), n. [< gun 1 + -ster; a hu- 
morous word, coined with allusion lo -punster.] 
One who uses a gun. Toiler. [Rare.] 
gun-stick (gun'stik), n. A rammer or ramrod; 
a stick or rod used to ram down the charge of 
a musket, etc. 
gun-stock (gun'stok), n. The stock or wooden 
support in which the barrel of a gun is fixed. 
GuD-stock. 
A, butt ; B, comb ; C, grip, or small of the stock ; D, head ; B, 
shoulder for lower band; f-, shoulder for upper band: G, shoulder 
and tenon for tip ; //, bed for lock-plate ; /, /, beds for band-springs ; 
*, drop ; L, heer; M, toe. 
gun-stocker (gun'stok"er), n. One who fits 
the stocks of guns to the barrels. 
gun-stocking (gun'stok"ing), n. The operation 
of fitting the stocks of guns to the barrels, 
gunstonet (gun'ston), n. 1. A stone used for 
the shot of a catapult or cannon. Before the 
invention of iron balls, stones were commonly 
used as projectiles. 
And tell the pleasant prince, this mock of his 
Hath turn'd his balls to gun-stones. 
Shak., Hen. V., L 2. 
That I could shoot mine eyes at him like gunstones. 
B. Jonson, Volpone, v. 5. 
2. A flint prepared for insertion in the lock of 
a gun. See flint-lock. 
gun-tackle (gun'tak"!), . 1. pi. The purchases 
fixed to a gun-carriage, and used to run a gun 
in or out of a port-hole. Side tackles are on the 
side of the carriage, and are used to run the gun out. 
Train tackles are on the rear end of the carriage, and are 
used to run the gun in. 
2. A tackle composed of a fall and two single 
blocks: called specifically a gun-tackle pur- 
chase. 
Gunter rig. See rig. 
Gunter's chain, line, quadrant, proportion, 
scale, etc. See the nouns. 
gun-wad (gun'wod), n. A wad for a gun; 
specifically, a circular wad, cut with an im- 
plement known as a wad-cutter out of paste- 
board, cardboard, or felt, used as wadding to 
keep the ammunition in place either in a gun- 
barrel or in a paper or metal shell. For shot- 
guns the wads used over the shot are generally simple 
pieces of pasteboard; those placed over the powder are 
usually made of thick elastic felt, and have the edge all 
around treated with some substance which tends to keep 
the barrels from fouling. See wad. 
gun-wadding (gun'wod'ing), . The material 
of which gun-wads are made. 
gunwale, gunnel (gun'wal, gun'l), n. [Prop. 
gunwale, corrupted in sailors' pronunciation to 
gunnel, formerly also gunnal (cf. trunnel); so 
called because the upper guns used to be point- 
ed from it ; (. gun 1 + wale, a plank, the upper 
edge of a ship's side, next the bulwarks : see gun 1 
and wale 1 .] 
Naut., the up- 
per edge of a 
ship's side; the 
uppermost 
wale of a ship, 
or that piece of 
timber which 
reaches on ei- 
ther side from 
the quarter- 
deck to the forecastle, being the uppermost 
bend which finishes the upper works of the hull. 
The gunwale of a boat is a piece of timber going round the 
upper sheer stroke as a binder for its top-work. 
The first rope going athwart from gunnal to gunnal . . . 
bind the boats so hard against the end of the benches that 
they cannot easily fall asunder. 
Dampier, Voyages, an. 1699. 
On board the ships, mitrailleuses and field-pieces were 
mounted on the gunnels. 
Bobart Pasha, N. A. Rev., CXXVII. 384. 
gun-work (gun'werk), . 1. Any machine- 
labor or manual labor employed in the produc- 
tion of ordnance. 2. The labor of inspecting 
or designing ordnance, or of making calcula- 
tions or reports upon ordnance or ordnance 
subjects: as, an officer detailed upon yun-work 
exclusively. 
G, G, gunwale ; K, keel ; T, thwart. 
