A cannon (plural: cannon or cannons) is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellants to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in calibre, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees, depending on their intended use on the battlefield. The word cannon is derived from several languages, in which the original definition can usually be translated as tube, cane, or reed. In the modern era, the term cannon has fallen into decline, replaced by "guns" or "artillery" if not a more specific term such as "mortar" or "howitzer", except for in the field of aerial warfare, where it is often used as shorthand for autocannon.