cellulose nitrate containing a relatively large amount of nitrogen: used as an explosive
guncotton in American English
(ˈgʌnˌkɑtən)
noun
nitrocellulose in a highly nitrated form, used as an explosive substance and propellant
guncotton in American English
(ˈɡʌnˌkɑtn)
noun
a highly explosive cellulose nitrate, made by digesting clean cotton in a mixture of one part nitric acid and three parts sulfuric acid: used in making smokeless powder
Word origin
[1840–50; gun1 + cotton]This word is first recorded in the period 1840–50. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: bypass, creationism, flan, organizer, set piece