ˈlī(ə)l- noun
Usage: usually capitalized L
Etymology: after David A. Lyle died 1937 American officer, United States Army, its inventor
1. : a mounted gun that resembles a small brass cannon and is used to fire a projectile attached to a line of rope to an extreme range of about 700 yards in rescue operations at sea
2. : a firing device that resembles a short shotgun and is used to propel a weight attached to a line of rope in rescue operations at sea or on land (as in fire fighting) — called also line-throwing gun