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fléchette

[ fley-shet ]

noun

, plural flé·chettes [fley-, shets, fley-, shet].
  1. Military. a small, dartlike metal projectile used as shrapnel in antipersonnel bombs and shells.
  2. a bullet with a thin, hard metal spine, designed to tumble on impact and thus cause an incapacitating wound.


fléchette

/ fleɪˈʃɛt /

noun

  1. a steel dart or missile dropped from an aircraft, as in World War I
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Word History and Origins

Origin of fléchette1

From French, dating back to 1910–15; flèche, -ette
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Word History and Origins

Origin of fléchette1

from French; see flèche
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Example Sentences

The American helicopters had strafed the Iranian vessels Mahdavi oversaw with machine guns, rockets and “fléchette” rounds - small metal darts.

The American helicopters had strafed the Iranian vessels Mahdavi oversaw with machine guns, rockets and “fléchette” rounds — small metal darts.

Kay’s sumptuous bath had to be set up in the box-room, between two towel-horses and an old box of selected games which contained a worn-out straw dart-board—it was called flechette in those days—because all the other rooms were full of packing.

A 2011 report by a Israeli nongovernmental organization, B’Tselem, argued that the use of flechette shells in civilian areas was in breach of human rights.

“If the allegations of flechette shells being used are true, then that is very serious,” Andrew Smith of the Campaign Against Arms Trade told Newsweek.

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flèches d'amourfleck