Thanks for that Ric, I have mis-pronounced those words forever. In fact I mis-pronounce almost every unfamiliar French word.FWIW;
Actually, both words are French, with ogive (oh-jive) meaning "pointed arch." Meplat (mee-plah) refers to a flat, which describes the frontal portion of a bullet, with the dimension usually given in calibers.
Meplat and ogive are two words that I have run through an on-line pronunciation program. Minié and gib are two others that come to mind. I strive not to be a total hick around other gun cranks.
Had a Ruger No.3 with 1:10 twist that just loved those bullets, when motivated by 25 grains of H335..22 Cal 63 Gr. SMP Varminter - Sierra Bullets
In rifles, the semi-point design allows this style of bullet to expand faster than a spitzer style due to a generous amount of exposed lead at the tip and the slightly larger opening in the jacket. Capable of outstanding accuracy, this bullet can be an excellent choice for varmints and small...www.sierrabullets.com
i'll replace them with a hundred, of my home made slightly improved version of these though.
I've used the term meplat many times while chatting at the gunshows...I always get the look, like I'm a foreigner, LOL.Didn't know it was French, but explains why nobody knows how to pronounce it. In fact, I've never heard anyone say it.
"English uses the same 26-letter Latin alphabet as French, but has 44 distinct phonemes associated with those letters, while French only has 36. Within that 36, there are six vowel sounds and four consonants not found in English, meaning there are a total of 10 new sounds to learn.” Random linguistic quote from the internet.
.............make a noise like they go a mouth full of spoiled clam chowder.
Ever see the Simpson's episode where grounds keeper Willie substitutes for the French Teacher at Springfield's school?French drives me nuts because most words contain 15 or 20 letters, but they only pronounce them up to the first consonant and then make a noise like they go a mouth full of spoiled clam chowder.
Yocana just down the road is "Yuck can knee" .......Spanish has a "rr" letter that is really rolled.
Anyone familiar with the Great War, knows about the battles near Ypres, Belgium. The local grandson, for a reason known only to him, took four years of high school French and another four years of college French. Knowing that Flemish and French are closely related, I asked him if he knew how to pronounce Ypres. He hadn't a clue. My understanding is, it's pronounced ee paw. The tommies had it right -- Wipers.