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  1. pistol love

Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. n. A firearm designed to be held and fired with one hand.
  2. v. To shoot with such a handgun.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. n. A firearm intended to be held in one hand when aimed and fired. It came into use early in the sixteenth century, perhaps as early as l500, for by 1520 it was common as a weapon of the reiters or German mercenary cavalry, who were called pistoleers from its use. The early pistol was fitted with the wheel-lock, which was superseded by the flint-lock, and the latter by the percussion-lock. Pistols with more than one barrel have been in use from the introduction of the weapon, those with two having the barrels sometimes side by side, sometimes one over the other. The stock of the pistol has been made of many forms, the old cavalry pistol having it only slightly curved, so that it was held, when pointed at an object, by the right hand, with the lock uppermost, the barrel to the left, the trigger to the right. When accnrate aiming was required, as in dueling-pistols, the handle was made much more curved. See revolver.
  2. To shoot with a pistol.

Wiktionary

  1. n. A handgun, typically with a chamber integrated in the barrel, a semi-automatic action and a box magazine.
  2. n. The mechanical component of a fuse in a bomb or torpedo responsible for firing the detonator.
  3. n. Shakespeare A creative and unpredictable jokester, a constant source of entertainment and surprises.
  4. n. southern US A small boy who is bright, alert and very active.
  5. n. American football A play formation in which the quarterback is a few feet behind the center when the ball is snapped, but closer than in a shotgun formation, with a running back a few feet behind him.
  6. v. transitive To shoot (at) a target with a pistol.

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. n. The smallest firearm used, intended to be fired from one hand, -- now of many patterns, and bearing a great variety of names. See Illust. of revolver.
  2. v. To shoot with a pistol.

WordNet 3.0

  1. n. a firearm that is held and fired with one hand

Etymologies

  1. Probably from Middle French pistole, plausibly from German Pistole, from Czech píšťala ("firearm", literally "tube, pipe"), from pištěti ("to whistle"), of imitative origin, related to Russian пищаль (piščál’, "shepherd's pipe; harquebus"). Perhaps, however, from Middle English pistolet, from Middle French  ("small firearm or small dagger"), which may be from Italian pistolese ("from Pistoia (a city in Tuscany)"). (Wiktionary)
  2. French pistole, from German, from Middle High German pischulle, from Czech píšt'ala, pipe, whistle, firearm, from pištěti, to whistle, of imitative origin. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)

Examples

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synonyms (10)

Words with the same meaning

  1. firearm
  2. flute
  1. gun
  2. shooting iron
  1. revolver
  2. snaphance
  1. bulldozer
  2. petronel
  1. dag
  2. derringer

same context (21)

Words that are found in similar contexts

  1. rifle
  2. revolver
  3. shotgun
  4. knife
  1. cannon
  2. musket
  3. bullet
  4. cartridge
  1. blaster
  2. firearm
  3. handgun
  4. dagger
  1. barrel
  2. belt
  3. machine
  4. grenade
  1. carbine
  2. bomb
  3. shoot
  4. magazine
  1. boot

rhymes (9)

Words with the same terminal sound

  1. Bristol
  1. Cristal
  1. Crystal
  1. Krystal
  1. bristol
  1. chrystal
  1. crystal
  1. distal
  1. pistil

reverse dictionary (112)

Words that contain this word in their definition

  1. snaphance
  2. derringer
  3. six-shooter
  4. gat
  5. automatic
  6. horse-pistol
  7. Very pistol
  8. forty-five
  9. revolver
  10. verey pistol
  11. zip gun
  12. peacekeeper
  13. semiautomatic
  14. semiautomatic pistol
  15. six-gun
  16. rod
  17. horse pistol
  18. luger
  19. automatic pistol
  20. colt pistol
  21. very's night signals
  22. pistol-grip
  1. pistol-shot
  2. magnum
  3. magazine-pistol
  4. volta's pistol
  5. pistolade
  6. pistoleer
  7. pistol-shaped
  8. dag
  9. petronel
  10. pistol-cane
  11. flintlock
  12. firearm
  13. machine pistol
  14. marksman
  15. guard
  16. heater
  17. holster
  18. click
  19. dueling-pistol
  20. flounce
  21. Parabellum
  22. self-cocking
  1. tack
  2. touchhole
  3. bore
  4. bullet
  5. pistol-carbine
  6. pistolet
  7. pistol-router
  8. pistol-splint
  9. pocket-pistol
  10. cartridge clip
  11. barker
  12. barking-iron
  13. cock
  14. gunflint
  15. holster-pipe
  16. Irish bull
  17. Mauser
  18. Luger
  19. modern pentathlon
  20. cap gun
  21. outshoot
  22. snub-nosed
  1. twenty-two
  2. twenty-two pistol
  3. Very light
  4. von mauser
  5. water gun
  6. water pistol
  7. side arm
  8. pistol grip
  9. squirt gun
  10. submachine gun
  11. pistol-whip
  12. stock
  13. pop
  14. p. p. von mauser
  15. peter paul mauser
  16. squirter
  17. bulldog
  18. discharge
  19. heat
  20. pack
  21. light arm
  22. pistol
  1. 22
  2. burp gun
  3. pistol carbine
  4. pistol pipe
  5. pistol shot
  6. pocket pistol
  7. report
  8. seven-shooter
  9. sight
  10. slug
  11. cover
  12. fire
  13. gun
  14. hair
  15. iron
  16. life-preserver
  17. muzzle
  18. popper
  19. present
  20. ramrod
  21. shooter
  22. span
  1. set
  2. tickler

tagging (1)

Words tagged ‘pistol’

  1. snaphance

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Lists

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Comments

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  • rolig I just read that this word originates in the Slavic languages, which I hadn't realized. It came into English from German (Pistole), which took it from the Czech word pišt'ala, which means "whistle, flute, wind instrument" – cf. Russian пищаль / pishchal', Slovene piščal, Polish piszczel, piszczałka, all of which refer to a (potentially) musical wind instrument. The ultimate Slavic root is pisk- ("a whistling sound"), which may be related to the English word "pipe", both probably deriving from the onomatopoetic PIE root pi-. Jan 29, 2011

  • chained_bear I always think of
    Pistol: "My name is Pistol call'd."
    Henry: "It sorts well with your fierceness."
    Shakespeare, (Henry V).
    (I probably screwed that up.) Nov 18, 2007

  • tragedianxarrest I kind of like to say this word. Pistol. Pistol. Pistol. It just pops, you know? Nov 18, 2007

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‘pistol’ has been looked up 1568 times, loved by 1 person, added to 19 lists, commented on 3 times, and has a Scrabble score of 8.