Revised 2014

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flechettenoun

1910	0.0017
1920	0.0016
1930	0.0017
1940	0.0028
1950	0.0046
1960	0.0069
1970	0.01
1980	0.013
1990	0.015
2000	0.018
2010	0.02

Meaning & use

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Earlier version

fléchette in OED Second Edition (1989)

1.
1888–

In singular and plural. An outdoor game in which each player throws small darts at a mounted circular board. Now rare.
1888
A new game has taken Paris by storm, and is almost as great a feature in French life as lawn tennis is in England; this is flechettes.
York Herald 24 January
1907
The Game of Flechette can be confidently recommended to amuse the seniors at a garden party.
Country-side 27 July 167/3
1995
The festivities will start at 5:30 p.m. with outdoor games: jeux de Petanque, Golf, Flechettes, etc.
Panama City (Florida) News Herald 2 July 7e/1
darts
society leisure entertainment pastimes game darts [nouns] specific type of game
flechette1888–

In singular and plural. An outdoor game in which each player throws small darts at a mounted circular board. Now rare.
shanghai1930–

Darts. With capital initial. A popular variation of the game of darts, in which players amass points by throwing three darts at each number in…
View in Historical Thesaurus
2.

Military.
1. 2.a.
  1914–
  
  A pointed steel projectile resembling a dart or arrow, dropped from an aircraft; (originally and chiefly) spec. a weapon of this type that was used against infantry and cavalry in the First World War (1914–18).
  1914
  Then the French fliers started work with their ‘fléchettes’, horrid little arrows of steel which penetrate through a man's head or shoulder.
  Times 24 November 9/6
  1919
  We amused ourselves..by diving at the working parties, chasing them into the water, and then dropping ‘flechettes’..to liven things up a bit.
  Wide World Magazine September 357/1
  2001
  One application being rods, or ‘flechettes’, designed to be tossed down to earth from space.
  New York Times Magazine 5 August 55/1
  2007
  German soldiers had been completely penetrated by a flechette going all the way through their body.
  K. Dockery, Future Weapons 46
  weaponry aviation
  society armed hostility military equipment weapon missile [nouns] missile dropped from aircraft
  flechette1914–
  
  Military. A pointed steel projectile resembling a dart or arrow, dropped from an aircraft; (originally and chiefly) spec. a weapon of this type that…
  View in Historical Thesaurus
2. 2.b.
  1961–
  
  A type of small, needle-like ammunition used in bombs, shells, or guns; (also) a shell containing ammunition of this type.
  1961
  We are working on several applications of the principle in which flechettes are fired from various weapons.
  Independent Star-News (Pasadena, California) 9 April 26/4
  1969
  It sprays needle-like projectiles with lethal effect of a wide area. The metal arrows, roughly two inches long, are known as flechets.
  Australian 27 November 9/1
  1988
  Two tanks began firing fléchettes into the nearest valley.
  Times 10 August 7/1
  1999
  We were shown tank shells and artillery shells; some filled with phosphorus, high explosive, or thousands of tiny steel flechettes.
  J. Elliot, Unexpected Light (2000) viii. 298
  2004
  Doctors in Gaza say they have pulled fléchettes from dead and wounded Palestinian fighters.
  New York Times (National edition) 3 October i. 8/1
  weaponry
  society armed hostility military equipment weapon missile ammunition for firearms [nouns] bullet or shell shell other types of shell
  carcass1684–
  
  Military. A spherical iron shell, filled with an inflammable composition, and having three holes through which the flame blazes; fired from a mortar…
  light ball1729–
  
  A combustible projectile fired from a mortar at night, to illuminate the activities of the enemy.
  cannon shell1760–
  
  An explosive projectile or bomb designed to be fired by a cannon or other large calibre gun.
  anchor ball1779–1874
  
  Military. A round projectile packed with incendiary materials and fitted with a protruding hook. Obsolete.
  shrapnel1810–
  
  A hollow projectile containing bullets and a small bursting charge, which, when fired by a time… In simple use as a count noun or mass noun.
  woolly bear1853–
  
  (a) colloquial (esp. children's), also dialect a hairy caterpillar; also spec. the larva of the carpet beetle; frequently attributive; (b) Military…
  hollow shot1862–
  
  Projectiles (esp. balls or bullets, as distinguished from explosive ‘shells’) designed to be discharged from a firearm or cannon by the force of an…
  segment-shell1862–
  
  (See quot. 1862).
  ring-shot1868–96
  
  Projectiles in which the body is made of iron rings.
  star shell1876–
  
  Military. A shell filled or impregnated with combustible material which emits a bright light as the shell bursts, used for illuminating a…
  ring-shell1879
  
  (a) A band of metal encircling a button (rare); (b) a projectile in which the body is made of iron rings; a segment-shell.
  pipsqueak1900–
  
  slang. A type of small high-velocity shell distinguished by the sound of its flight. Now historical.
  Black Maria1914–
  
  Army slang (chiefly British). During the First World War (1914–18) a name given to certain German… A heavy German shell filled with T.N.T. that on…
  coal box1914–
  
  British Army slang. A low-velocity shell emitting black smoke, used by the German army during the First World War (1914–18); = Black Maria, n.…
  crump1914–
  
  The explosion of a heavy shell or bomb, or the sound of this; hence, the shell itself; crump-hole, a hole or crater made by a shell. Soldiers' slang.
  Jack Johnson1914–
  
  A heavy German shell filled with TNT, which on exploding emits volumes of dense black smoke; = Black Maria, n. 3a. Also: the smoke emitted by such a…
  Archie1915–
  
  As a count noun. A shell from an anti-aircraft gun.
  Little Willie1915–
  
  slang. In the First World War (1914–18). A name given to any of various items of military equipment, spec. a long-range German shell or gun and…
  whizz-bang1915–
  
  Military colloquial. In the First World War (1914–18): a small-calibre high-velocity shell, fired from a German gun. Now historical.
  fizzbang1916–
  
  = whizz-bang, n. A.2.
  five-ninea1918–
  
  A type of shell used by the German forces in the 1914–18 war; a gun that fires such a shell.
  ashcan1918–
  
  Military slang. In the First World War (1914–18): a large German artillery shell. Now historical.
  cream puff1918–29
  
  Military colloquial. An exploding shell. Obsolete.
  sea-bag1918–
  
  A seaman's travelling bag or trunk; also transferred, a heavy artillery shell.
  pudding1919
  
  slang. A pudding-shaped bomb. Cf. plum pudding, n. A.5. Obsolete. rare.
  G.I. can1929–
  
  ‘Galvanized iron’, used chiefly in G.I. can: (a) slang a German artillery shell; (b) a galvanized-iron can; a rubbish-bin.
  flechette1961–
  
  Military. A type of small, needle-like ammunition used in bombs, shells, or guns; (also) a shell containing ammunition of this type.
  View in Historical Thesaurus

Pronunciation

British English

/fleɪˈʃɛt/

flay-SHET

/flɛˈʃɛt/

flesh-ET

U.S. English

/fleɪˈʃɛt/

flay-SHET

/flɛˈʃɛt/

flesh-ET

Frequency

flechette typically occurs about 0.02 times per million words in modern written English.

flechette is in frequency band 3, which contains words occurring between 0.01 and 0.1 times per million words in modern written English. More about OED's frequency bands

Frequency data is computed programmatically, and should be regarded as an estimate.

Frequency of flechette, n., 1910–2010

* Occurrences per million words in written English

Historical frequency series are derived from Google Books Ngrams (version 2), a data set based on the Google Books corpus of several million books printed in English between 1500 and 2010.

The overall frequency for a given word is calculated by summing frequencies for the main form of the word, any plural or inflected forms, and any major spelling variations.

For sets of homographs (distinct entries that share the same word-form, e.g. mole, n.¹, mole, n.², mole, n.³, etc.), we have estimated the frequency of each homograph entry as a fraction of the total Ngrams frequency for the word-form. This may result in inaccuracies.

Smoothing has been applied to series for lower-frequency words, using a moving-average algorithm. This reduces short-term fluctuations, which may be produced by variability in the content of the Google Books corpus.

Personal account

flechettenoun

Quotations

Earlier version

Factsheet

What does the noun flechette mean?

How common is the noun flechette?

How is the noun flechette pronounced?

British English

U.S. English

Where does the noun flechette come from?

Nearby entries

Etymology

Summary

Meaning & use

Quotations

Contents

Earlier version

Pronunciation

British English

U.S. English

Consonants

Vowels

Other symbols

Consonants

Vowels

Other symbols

Consonants

Vowels

Forms

Variant forms

Frequency

Frequency of flechette, n., 1910–2010

Compounds & derived words

Quotations

Quotations

Earlier version

Factsheet

What does the noun flechette mean?

How common is the noun flechette?

How is the noun flechette pronounced?

British English

U.S. English

Where does the noun flechette come from?

Nearby entries

Etymology

Summary

Meaning & use

Quotations

Contents

Earlier version

Pronunciation

British English

U.S. English

British English

Consonants

Vowels

Other symbols

U.S. English

Consonants

Vowels

Other symbols

Simple Text Respell

Consonants

Vowels

Forms

Variant forms

Frequency

Frequency of flechette, n., 1910–2010

Compounds & derived words

Quotations