Cord"ite (?), n. [From Cord,
n.] (Mil.)
A smokeless powder composed
of nitroglycerin, guncotton, and mineral jelly, and used by the
British army and in other services. In making it the ingredients are
mixed into a paste with the addition of acetone and pressed out into
cords (of various diameters) resembling brown twine, which are dried
and cut to length. A variety containing less nitroglycerin than the
original is known as cordite M. D.
© Webster 1913.