A han grenade is a small hand-held anti-personnel weapon designed to be thrown and then explode after a short time. The word "grenade" is derived from the French "grenade" (meaning pomegranate, the fruit originally called in French "Pomme-grenade" or "grenade-apple," in reference to the general size of early grenades and because its shrapnel pellets reminded soldiers of the seeds of this fruit). Grenadiers were originally soldiers who specialized in throwing grenades.