From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Torpedo \Tor*pe"do\, n.; pl. {Torpedoes}. [L. torpedo, -inis,
from torpere to be stiff, numb, or torpid. See {Torpid}.]
[1913 Webster]
1. (Zool.) Any one of numerous species of elasmobranch fishes
belonging to {Torpedo} and allied genera. They are related
to the rays, but have the power of giving electrical
shocks. Called also {crampfish}, and {numbfish}. See
{Electrical fish}, under {Electrical}.
[1913 Webster]
Note: The common European torpedo ({Torpedo vulgaris}) and
the American species ({Torpedo occidentalis}) are the
best known.
[1913 Webster]
2. An engine or machine for destroying ships by blowing them
up; a mine[4]. Specifically:
[1913 Webster +PJC]
(a) A quantity of explosives anchored in a channel,
beneath the water, or set adrift in a current, and so
designed that they will explode when touched or
approached by a vessel, or when an electric circuit is
closed by an operator on shore; now called {marine
mine}. [obsolete]
[1913 Webster +PJC]
Damn the torpedoes -- full speed ahead! --Adm.
David Glasgow
Farragut (At
the battle of
Mobile Bay,
1864).
(b) A kind of small submarine boat carrying an explosive
charge, and projected from a ship against another ship
at a distance, or made self-propelling, and otherwise
automatic in its action against a distant ship.
[1913 Webster]
3. (Mil.) A kind of shell or cartridge buried in earth, to be
exploded by electricity or by stepping on it; now called
{land mine}. [obsolete]
[1913 Webster +PJC]
4. (Railroad) A kind of detonating cartridge or shell placed
on a rail, and exploded when crushed under the locomotive
wheels, -- used as an alarm signal.
[1913 Webster]
5. An explosive cartridge or shell lowered or dropped into a
bored oil well, and there exploded, to clear the well of
obstructions or to open communication with a source of
supply of oil.
[1913 Webster]
6. A kind of firework in the form of a small ball, or pellet,
which explodes when thrown upon a hard object.
[1913 Webster]
7. An automobile with a {torpedo body}. [Archaic Cant]
[Webster 1913 Suppl. +PJC]
{Fish torpedo}, a spindle-shaped, or fish-shaped,
self-propelling submarine torpedo.
{Spar torpedo}, a canister or other vessel containing an
explosive charge, and attached to the end of a long spar
which projects from a ship or boat and is thrust against
an enemy's ship, exploding the torpedo.
{Torpedo boat}, a vessel adapted for carrying, launching,
operating, or otherwise making use of, torpedoes against
an enemy's ship., especially, a small, fast boat with
tubes for launching torpedoes.
{Torpedo nettings}, nettings made of chains or bars, which
can be suspended around a vessel and allowed to sink
beneath the surface of the water, as a protection against
torpedoes.
[1913 Webster]
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
torpedo boat
n 1: small high-speed warship designed for torpedo attacks in
coastal waters
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