minenwerfer

See also: Minenwerfer

English

Alternative forms

• minnenwerfer

Etymology

From German Minenwerfer, from Mine + Werfer (“mortar”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈmiːnənˌvɛːfə/, /ˈmiːnənˌwəːfə/

Noun

minenwerfer (plural minenwerfers or minenwerfer)

1. (military, now historical) A type of trench mortar used by German forces especially during the First World War, or the shells fired by such a mortar. [from 20th c.]
   • 1929, Ernest Hemingway, A Farewell to Arms, Folio Society, published 2008, page 59:

     Something landed outside that shook the earth. ‘Four hundred twenty or minnenwerfer,’ Gavuzzi said.