howitzer Meaning, Definition & Usage

noun a muzzle-loading high-angle gun with a short barrel that fires shells at high elevations for a short range
mortar; trench mortar.

G. haubitze, formerly hauffnitz, Bohem. haufnice, orig., a sling.

(Mil.) (a) A gun so short that the projectile, which was hollow, could be put in its place by hand; a kind of mortar. Obs. (b) A short, light, largebore cannon, usually having a chamber of smaller diameter than the rest of the bore, and intended to throw large projectiles with comparatively small charges.