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siluro

torpedo

noun see-LOO-roh Rare
People & Society Military

Origin: From Latin silurus (a large freshwater fish), later applied to the self-propelled weapon.

Usage Note

Siluro is the standard Italian word for the self-propelled underwater weapon, but it doubles as the name for the European catfish (siluro d'acqua dolce). The plural is regular: i siluri. In informal usage, siluro can mean a devastating blow or dismissal — ha ricevuto un siluro ('he got the axe').

Examples

"Il sottomarino ha lanciato un siluro."

Natural Translation

The submarine launched a torpedo.

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