shrapnel
noun
[ ˈʃrapn(ə)l ]
• fragments of a bomb, shell, or other object thrown out by an explosion.
• "he was killed by flying shrapnel"
• small change.
• "little more than a few pounds and a handful of shrapnel"
Origin:
early 19th century: named after General Henry Shrapnel (1761–1842), the British soldier who invented the shell; the sense ‘fragments of a bomb or shell’ originated during the First World War.
