English
Molotov breadbasket
Coined around 1940 to describe cluster munitions used in Finland by the Soviet Union during the Winter War (1939-1940).
A compound of Molotov + breadbasket
Proto-Indo-European *melh₂-
Proto-Indo-European *molh₂-to-
Proto-Slavic *moltъ ‘hammer’
Russian мо́лот ‘hammer’
Russian Мо́лотов
English Molotov
The story
Coined around 1940 to describe cluster munitions used in Finland by the Soviet Union during the Winter War (1939-1940).
Today it means
noun A cluster bomb; a munition that disperses multiple smaller explosives.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Molotov breadbasket