pistol

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See also pistöł

Contents

[edit] English

[edit] Pronunciation

[edit] Etymology

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)”).

[edit] Noun

pistol (plural pistols)

  1. A handgun, typically with a chamber integrated in the barrel, a semi-automatic action and a box magazine.
  2. The mechanical component of a fuse in a bomb or torpedo responsible for firing the detonator.
  3. (Shakespeare) A creative and unpredictable jokester, a constant source of entertainment and surprises.
  4. (Southern US) A small boy who is bright, alert and very active.
  5. (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.

[edit] Usage notes

Shooters normally differentiate between a pistol and a revolver, which is named after its rotating chamber; however, in common usage, the word pistol is also imprecisely used to refer to any type of handgun.

[edit] Derived terms

[edit] Translations

handgun
the mechanical component of a fuse
jokester — see jokester
lively, bright small boy
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[edit] Verb

pistol (third-person singular simple present pistols, present participle pistoling, simple past and past participle pistoled)

  1. (transitive) To shoot (at) a target with a pistol.

[edit] See also

[edit] Anagrams

[edit] Danish

[edit] Etymology

From Middle French pistole or from German Pistole, either from Italian pistola or from Czech píšťala (“whistle”).

[edit] Pronunciation

  • IPA: /pistoːl/, [pʰiˈsd̥oːˀl]

[edit] Noun

pistol c. (singular definite pistolen, plural indefinite pistoler)

  1. handgun, pistol

[edit] Inflection

    Inflection of pistol
common gender Singular Plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative, dative and accusative pistol pistolen pistoler pistolerne
genitive pistols pistolens pistolers pistolernes

[edit] See also

[edit] Indonesian

From Dutch pistool

[edit] Noun

pistol

  1. a pistol (gun)

[edit] Swedish

[edit] Pronunciation

[edit] Noun

pistol c.

  1. a pistol (gun)

[edit] Declension

Declension of pistol
singular plural
Common indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative pistol pistolen pistoler pistolerna
genitive pistols pistolens pistolers pistolernas

[edit] Related terms

[edit] See also

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