Epinglette (Fr.). An iron needle with which the cartridge of any large piece of ordnance is pierced before it is primed.
Epinikian. Pertaining to, or celebrating, victory; as an epinikian ode.
Epirus. A celebrated country of ancient Greece, lying between the Ionian Sea and the chain of Pindus.
E Pluribus Unum. “One out of many.” A motto adopted by the United States since their declaration of independence, in 1776.
Epouvante (Fr.). A sudden panic with which troops are seized, and under which they retreat without any actual necessity for so doing.
Eprouvette (Fr.). A small mortar to prove the strength of gunpowder. There are different sorts of eprouvettes, according to the fancy of different nations who use them. Some raise a weight, and others throw a shot, to certain heights and distances. As a test of gunpowder the eprouvette is comparatively worthless, and it has been generally superseded by instruments for measuring the initial velocity obtained by firing the powder in the particular gun for which it is intended. A short mortar is, however, still used, to a certain extent, for testing the power of modern blasting powders, such as the mixtures of nitro-glycerine. A very small charge and a heavy shot of chilled iron which enters two or three inches only into the mortar are used. The square roots of the ranges (other things being equal) give the relative powers of the different powders, nearly.
Equalize. To render the distribution of any number of men equal as to the component parts. To equalize a battalion, to tell off a certain number of companies in such a manner that the several component parts shall consist of the same number of men.
Equation of Time. See [Time], [Mean Solar Time].
Equerry. Any person who is appointed to attend the sovereign, or prince of the royal blood, upon out-door excursions, and who has the care and management of their horses.
Eques Auratus. A heraldic term for a knight.