This section is from "The Encyclopaedia Britannica". Also available from Amazon: Great Books of the Western World (60 Volumes).
Bullet (Fr. boulet, diminutive of boule, ball). The original meaning (a "small ball") has, since the end of the 16th century, been narrowed down to the special case of the projectile used with small arms of all kinds, irrespective of its size or shape. (For details see Ammunition; Gun; Rifle, etc.)
 
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