howitzer

(hou’it-sér),n. [« howitz + -erl.] A short piece of ordnance, usually having a hemispherical chamber for the powder narrower than the bore, specially designed for the horizontal firing of shells with small charges, and combining in some degree the accuracy of the cannon with the Bra Howitzer (24-pounder). caliber of the mortar, but more portable than either. The Coehorn howitzer, used in India for mountain service, is light enough to be borne bya horse. ‘The rifled gun, throwing a shell of the same capacity from a smaller bore, and with much greater power, has superseded the howitzer for general purposes.—Mountain howitzer, a 12-pounder bronze gun formerly used in the United States service, especially for carriage on the back of amule or horse. Its weight was 220 pounds and its length a little over 8 feet. howk, houk (houk), v. [A dial. var. of holk, q.v-] I. trans. To dig; scoop; make hollow: as, to howk a hole. He howkit a cave monie fathoms deep, And put May Marg’ret there. Hynde Etin (Child’s Ballads, I. 295). II, in trans. To burrow. [Scotch in both uses. |