Molotov cocktail
Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word Molotov cocktail. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word Molotov cocktail, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say Molotov cocktail in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word Molotov cocktail you have here. The definition of the word Molotov cocktail will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofMolotov cocktail, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
See also: molotov cocktail
English
Alternative forms
Etymology
Calque of Finnish Molotovin koktaili. Coined in Finland during the Winter War of 1939–40 between Finland and the Soviet Union, and named after then-Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov (1890–1986), who claimed the bombs the Soviet Union dropped on Finland were "airborne humanitarian food deliveries", prompting Finns to say their firebombs were "Molotov cocktails" (a drink to go with his food deliveries).
Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA(key): /ˈmɒ.ləˌtɒf ˈkɒk.teɪl/
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈmɔ.ləˌtɔv ˈkɔk.teɪl/
Audio (US) (file)
Noun
Molotov cocktail (plural Molotov cocktails)
- A crude incendiary bomb made from a glass bottle, either filled with a flammable liquid such as petroleum and supplied with a rag for a fuse that is lit just before being hurled, or filled with such a mix of flammable liquids that it ignites itself when it is smashed and its contents are exposed to air.
Quotations
- For quotations using this term, see Citations:Molotov cocktail.
Synonyms
- (bomb): mollie (informal), petrol bomb, Bandera smoothie
- Molotov, molotov
Related terms
Translations
simple incendiary bomb
|
References
D. L. Gold (1996), “Etymology and Etiology in the Study of Proper Nouns, Eponymous Lexemes, and Possibly Eponymous Lexemes”, in Onomastica: pismo poświęcone nazewnictwu geograficznemu i osobowemu oraz innym nazwom własnym, v 41, pp 109–38.