WordWeight : Weighing the Words

Pronunciation : Car*touch"
Part of Speech : n.;
Etymology : [F. cartouche, It. cartuccia, cartoccio, cornet, cartouch, fr. L. charta paper. See 1st Card, and cf. Cartridge.]
Definition : 1. (Mil.) (a) A roll or case of paper, etc., holding a charge for a firearm; a cartridge. (b) A cartridge box. (c) A wooden case filled with balls, to be shot from a cannon. (d) A gunner's bag for ammunition. (e) A military pass for a soldier on furlough.

2. (Arch.) (a) A cantalever, console, corbel, or modillion, which has the form of a scroll of paper. (b) A tablet for ornament, or for receiving an inscription, formed like a sheet of paper with the edges rolled up; hence, any tablet of ornamental form.

3. (Egyptian Antiq.)

Defn: An oval figure on monuments, and in papyri, containing the name of a sovereign.

pl. Cartouches
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913