榴りゅう散さん弾だん

りゅ

う

さ

ん

だ

ん

Meanings

1

noun

shrapnel shell

A military term for an artillery shell that scatters metal fragments upon explosion. Used in historical and modern contexts.

榴りゅう散さん弾だんは第だい一いち次じ世せ界かい大たい戦せんで広ひろく使つかわれた。

Shrapnel shells were widely used in World War I.

この地ち域いきでは今いまでも不ふ発はつの榴りゅう散さん弾だんが見みつかることがある。

Unexploded shrapnel shells are still sometimes found in this area.

Kanji

榴pomegranate
散scatter, disperse, spend
弾bullet, twang, flip
霰hail, hailstones, small cubes

Related words

榴りゅう弾だん
榴弾 is a general term for high-explosive shells, while 榴散弾 specifically refers to shrapnel shells that scatter fragments.
散さん弾だん
散弾 means shotgun pellets or canister shot; 榴散弾 is a shell that contains such projectiles.

Written forms

榴りゅう散さん弾だん
Standard kanji spelling for shrapnel shell.
榴りゅう霰さん弾だん
rarely-used kanji form
Rarely used kanji form; 霰 (hail) is an alternative character for the scattering effect.

Etymology

Compound of 榴 (ryū, 'pomegranate', referring to the shape of early grenades) + 散 (san, 'scatter') + 弾 (dan, 'bullet/shell'). The term was coined in the late 19th century to describe shells that burst and scatter fragments.