Nearby Words
noun
Idiom1.
an explosive device formerly used in warfare to blow in a door or gate, form a breach in a wall, etc.
2.
a kind of firecracker.
3.
(initial capital letter
) Also called Flying Dustbin. a British spigot mortar of World War II that fired a 40-pound (18 kg) finned bomb, designed to destroy pillboxes and other concrete obstacles.
) Also called Flying Dustbin. a British spigot mortar of World War II that fired a 40-pound (18 kg) finned bomb, designed to destroy pillboxes and other concrete obstacles.4.
hoist by/with one's own petard, hurt, ruined, or destroyed by the very device or plot one had intended for another.
/with one's own petard, hurt, ruined, or destroyed by the very device or plot one had intended for another.:10
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Petard
is always a great word to know.
So is flibbertigibbet. Does it mean:
| an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance. |
| a chattering or flighty, light-headed person. |
Origin:
1590–1600; < Middle French, equivalent to pet(er) to break wind (derivative of pet < Latin pēditum a breaking wind, orig. neuter of past participle of pēdere to break wind) + -ard -ard
1590–1600; < Middle French, equivalent to pet(er) to break wind (derivative of pet < Latin pēditum a breaking wind, orig. neuter of past participle of pēdere to break wind) + -ard -ard
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To petard
Collins
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
petard
1598, "small bomb used to blow in doors and breach walls," from Fr. pétard (1580), from M.Fr. péter "break wind," from O.Fr. pet "a fart," from L. peditum, properly neut. pp. of pedere "to break wind" (in M.L. pettus). Surviving in phrase hoist with one's own petard (or some variant) "blown
EXPANDup with one's own bomb," which is ult. from Shakespeare (1605):
COLLAPSE
"For tis the sport to haue the enginer Hoist with his owne petar" ("Hamlet" III.iv.207).See hoist.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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