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fusee

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noun fu·see \ fyü-ˈzē \
Updated on: 11 Sep 2017

Definition of fusee

1 :a conical spirally grooved pulley in a timepiece from which a cord or chain unwinds onto a cylinder containing the mainspring and which by its increasing diameter compensates for the lessening power of the spring
2 :a red signal flare used especially for protecting stalled trains and trucks

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Origin and Etymology of fusee

borrowed from French fusée "mass of thread around a spindle, explosive fuse, rocket, fusee in a timepiece," going back to Old French fusee "mass of thread around a spindle," from fus "spindle" (going back to Latin fūsus, of obscure origin) + -ee, suffix of association or containment, going back to Late Latin -āta (going back to Latin, feminine of -ātus 3-ate)
Note: In the later Middle Ages, French fusée designated a kind of rudimentary gunpowder-filled projectile, apparently resembling thread wound around a spindle—hence the later application to fuses, fireworks, etc.

Learn More about fusee

  1. See words that rhyme with fusee Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about fusee

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