Wiktionary:Word of the day/2024/July 27

edit · refresh · view Word of the day for July 27

organ gun n

(firearms, historical) A large, portable firearm normally supported by wheels, in which bullets may be fired from a row of several tubes in succession; it was chiefly used from the 14th to the 17th century. Today is the eve of the day in 1835 when Giuseppe Marco Fieschi attempted to assassinate King Louis Philippe I of France using the machine infernale or infernal machine, a homemade 25-barrel organ gun. He was unsuccessful, but 18 people either died on the spot or succumbed to injuries later on.

← yesterday | About Word of the Day • Nominate a word • Leave feedback | tomorrow →