Here's the breakdown:
* Henry Shrapnel (1761-1842) was a British military officer who developed a new type of artillery shell in the late 18th century.
* Shrapnel's shell contained a large number of musket balls and was designed to explode in mid-air, scattering the balls over a wide area.
* The effectiveness of this new shell led to its widespread adoption and the name "shrapnel" became synonymous with this type of munition.
Therefore, the word "shrapnel" is a proper noun derived from the name of the inventor, subsequently used as a common noun to refer to this type of artillery shell and its effects.