Grenade, a small shell exploded by a time-fuse, about 3 inches in diameter, of iron or annealed glass, filled with powder, and thrown from the hand. They are chiefly used against the dense masses of troops assembled in the ditch of a fortress during an assault, and then are often rolled over the parapet through wooden troughs instead of being thrown by hand.
Grenade
Chambers's Encyclopaedia, Volume 5: Friday to Humanitarians, p. 416
Source scan(s): p. 0431