Shellfires

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of military weaponry involving projectiles that explode upon impact, commonly used in artillery operations
2. the act of bombarding an area with explosive shells to inflict damage or destruction
3. the sound and effects produced during such explosions, often resulting in chaos and casualties

Etymology: "Shellfires" is simply the plural of "shellfire", a compound of "shell" and "fire". The shellfire was the bursting of artillery shells over or among troops, so the sense of the single word has a concrete, battlefield origin rather than a figurative one. The plural form is used when referring to several separate bombardments or several episodes of such fire, as in describing a campaign made up of successive barrages. Both parts of the compound keep their everyday meanings: "shell" in the sense of a hollow projectile filled with explosive, and "fire" in the sense of gunfire or the discharge of weapons.

Synonyms: artillery fire, cannon fire, bombardments, gunfire, shelling