Artillery is the heavy guns of an army, and the soldiers who work them. An artillery barrage, heavy artillery, the Royal Artillery.
It covers guns too large to be carried — field guns, howitzers, mortars and rocket artillery — and it is the branch of an army rather than a single weapon. Artillery has caused the majority of battlefield casualties in most modern wars. Figuratively, bring out the heavy artillery means to deploy your strongest arguments or people. Note artillery piece, the technical term for one gun, and gunner, for the soldier.
1nounartilleryThe heavy guns of an army, and those who operate them.
“The artillery opened up at about four in the morning.”
artillery is heavy weapons.
Old French artillerie meant military equipment generally, from a verb meaning to equip. The root is probably Latin ars, art or skill, which is why artillery and art are distant relatives.
Latin
aptō — to make capable
Vulgar Latin
*apticlō
Old French
artillerie — collection of military engines, crossbows, lances etc.
Middle English
artillerie
English, today
artillery
Built from
From Middle English artillerie, from Old French artillerie (“collection of military engines, crossbows, lances etc.”), from artillier (“to equip, provide with contraptions”), alteration of atiller (“to arrange, adjust, put on clothes or, especially, pieces of armour”) (influenced by art), itself from Vulgar Latin apticlō < *apticulō, from Latin aptō (“to make capable”).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA