Home › Words › E › eprouvetteeprouvetteeprouvette means A one-piece, fixed-elevation mortar formerly used to test the strength of gunpowder.EtymologyFrench éprouvettenounA one-piece, fixed-elevation mortar formerly used to test the strength of gunpowder.e.g.“From there, he’s on to making things like fuses, rockets and an eprouvette, or small cannon.” — 2009 June 10, Dwight Garner, “For Those Who Like Danger, the Home Book of Things Not to Try at Home”, in New York Times:Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).