torpedo

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a self-propelled underwater missile; to attack or wreck something

   A single torpedo sent the freighter to the bottom within minutes.

Simplified etymology

Torpedo entered English in the early 16th century as the name of the electric ray. It comes from Latin torpedo, from torpere, “to be numb or sluggish,” referring to the fish’s sluggishness and numbing electric shock. In the late 18th century the name was transferred to a timed underwater explosive, from which the modern self-propelled weapon developed.

From Latin torpēdō ('numbness, the electric ray fish that numbs'), from torpēre ('to be stiff or numb'); the modern weapon was named for its stealthy, paralyzing strike.

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