Artilleries

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A branch of military service responsible for using large-caliber guns and missile systems
2. The equipment and weapons used in land warfare, particularly heavy guns such as cannons and howitzers
3. A term referring to the collective forces and establishments that deploy and maintain artillery for combat situations

Etymology: "Artilleries" is the plural of "artillery," and the plural form itself is the less common one, used when people mean distinct kinds or collections of military guns. The singular word once covered far more than cannons. In Old French, "artillerie" meant a collection of military engines, including crossbows and lances, so the sense of a whole body of weapons was there from the start. The French word grew from "artillier," meaning to equip or provide with contraptions. That verb was an alteration of "atiller," which meant to arrange or adjust, and in particular to put on clothes or pieces of armour. Its distant ancestor is Latin "aptare," to make fit or capable. The spelling shifted partly under the influence of the familiar English word "art," which had no real connection to it, so the link to skill and craft is a misleading association rather than the true root.

Synonyms: cannons, firearms