Definition
In legal contexts, "powder" most commonly refers to gunpowder or an explosive powder used in firearms and blasting. The term appears primarily in criminal pleadings, indictments for assault or homicide by shooting, and regulatory contexts governing the storage and transport of explosive materials. When used in connection with allegations involving the discharge of a firearm or the use of projectiles, courts have consistently construed "powder" to mean gunpowder specifically, even absent express qualification.
Common Language
Modern common usage (Wiktionary): Fine particles resulting from reducing a dry substance by pounding, grinding, or triturating; also a cosmetic substance applied to the face; an explosive mixture used in gunnery; loosely, powder snow.
Historical common usage (Webster's 1913): "The fine particles to which any dry substance is reduced by pounding, grinding, or triturating, or into which it falls by decay; dust." Also: "An explosive mixture used in gunnery, blasting, etc.; gunpowder."
Editorial note: The common and legal meanings largely overlap, but the legal significance lies in the narrowing effect of context. In ordinary speech, "powder" is genuinely ambiguous across dozens of substances. In legal instruments — particularly criminal pleadings involving shooting — courts treat the word as a term of art pointing exclusively to gunpowder, rejecting ambiguity arguments based on the word's broader common meaning.
Common Confusion
The principal confusion arises in historical pleadings where a defendant challenges the sufficiency of an indictment on the ground that "powder" is too vague to identify the instrumentality of a crime. Courts have consistently rejected this argument where contextual language (references to leaden balls, shooting, firearms) removes any genuine ambiguity. Researchers should not conflate this interpretive principle — that context constrains meaning — with a rule that "powder" always means gunpowder independent of context. In regulatory or commercial law contexts, the word retains its broader meaning.
Why It Matters in Research
Anderson's sends researchers directly to the POLICE entry, signaling that "powder" as a standalone legal term of art is largely encountered in the context of police powers and the regulation of explosive and dangerous substances — a well-developed area of 19th-century municipal and state law. Researchers working in that regulatory tradition should follow that cross-reference.
For criminal law researchers, the more actionable doctrine is the pleading sufficiency rule addressed by Bouvier: historical indictments frequently used "powder" as shorthand for gunpowder, and challenges to such pleadings on vagueness grounds were routinely turned away. If you are reading a 19th-century indictment or information and encounter "powder and leaden balls" or similar phrasing, treat it as a conventional formula for firearm discharge, not as an imprecise description requiring interpretive caution.
The term also surfaces in admiralty and commercial shipping records, where "powder" appears in cargo manifests and port regulations governing the handling of explosive materials. These contexts are governed by entirely different bodies of law and should not be read through the criminal pleading lens.
Researchers working with drug-related materials from the late 20th century onward may encounter "powder" as informal shorthand in law enforcement records (e.g., "powder cocaine" as distinguished from crack cocaine), a usage with significant legal consequences for sentencing under federal guidelines. This usage is modern and entirely distinct from the historical gunpowder context.
Historical Dictionary Support
Bouvier offers the most substantive legal treatment: the entry confirms that while "powder" is technically a broad term capable of describing any finely divided dry substance, its use in the context of a shooting allegation carries a settled legal meaning — gunpowder. Bouvier's citation to a Missouri appellate decision illustrates that courts applied this contextual narrowing principle without hesitation. The entry is brief but doctrinally precise.
Anderson's does not provide a standalone definition, instead cross-referencing POLICE. This redirection is itself informative: it places "powder" within the regulatory police-powers tradition rather than treating it as a term primarily defined by its physical properties. The two dictionaries thus present complementary angles — Bouvier addresses the criminal pleading context, Anderson addresses the regulatory context.
Neither dictionary addresses the modern pharmaceutical or narcotics senses of the word, which is expected given their publication dates. Researchers should treat both entries as authoritative only for their historical period and subject domains.
Jurisdictional Note
Regulation of explosive powders, including storage, transport, and sale, developed unevenly across states and territories in the 19th century. Some jurisdictions located this authority in municipal ordinances, others in state statute. The cross-reference to POLICE in Anderson's reflects the doctrinal home of this regulatory power. Federal preemption in the area of explosive materials is a modern development and does not govern historical research in this corpus.