Etymology

gunpowder

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Today it means: An explosive mixture of saltpetre (potassium nitrate), charcoal and sulfur; formerly used in gunnery but now mostly used in fireworks. Full definition →

English powder ← Middle English gunne ← Old Norse Gunnhildr
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gunpowder · noun, verb1

  1. Proto-Indo-European*gʷʰen-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*gʷʰéntis
  3. Proto-Germanic*gunþiz
  4. Old Norsegunnr
  5. Proto-Indo-European*kelh₂-
  6. Proto-Indo-European*kelh₂tís
  7. Proto-Germanic*hildiz
  8. Old Norsehildr
  9. Old NorseGunnhildr
  10. Middle Englishgunne
  11. Englishgun
  12. Englishpowder
  13. English todaygunpowder

From gun + powder.

gunpowder · noun2

Possibly due to its smell resembling gunpowder during the British Raj.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.