[kas-kuh-bel] 
| a knoblike projection at the rear of the breech of a muzzleloading cannon. |
| cas·ca·bel (kās'kə-běl') n.
[Spanish, bell, rattle, from Old Provençal cascavel, from Vulgar Latin *cascābellus, probably from *quassicāre, to rattle, crack, from Latin quassāre, to shatter; see squash2. Sense 1, from the sound of the loose seeds in the dried fruit.] |