Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Cordite \Cord"ite\, n. [From {Cord}, n.] (Mil.)
   A smokeless powder composed of nitroglycerin, guncotton, and
   mineral jelly, and used by the British army and in other
   services. In making it the ingredients are mixed into a paste
   with the addition of acetone and pressed out into cords (of
   various diameters) resembling brown twine, which are dried
   and cut to length. A variety containing less nitroglycerin
   than the original is known as {cordite M. D.}

Source : WordNet®

cordite
     n : explosive powder (nitroglycerin and guncotton and
         petrolatum) dissolved in acetone and dried and extruded
         in brown cords