pistol

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See also pistöł

Contents

English [edit]

Pronunciation [edit]

Etymology [edit]

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 pistolet (“small firearm or small dagger”), which may be from Italian pistolese, from Pistoia (a city in Tuscany).

Noun [edit]

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. (Can we verify(+) this sense?) A creative and unpredictable jokester, a constant source of entertainment and surprises.
    • 2011, Diane Lierow, Bernie Lierow, Kay West, Dani's Story: A Journey from Neglect to Love, page 81:
      She was gregarious, opinionated, and in charge, the kind of person you'd describe as a real pistol, and I was immediately drawn to her.
  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.

Usage notes [edit]

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.

Derived terms [edit]

Translations [edit]

handgun
the mechanical component of a fuse
jokester — see jokester
lively, bright small boy
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked

Verb [edit]

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.

See also [edit]

Anagrams [edit]

Danish [edit]

Etymology [edit]

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

Pronunciation [edit]

  • IPA: /pistoːl/, [pʰiˈsd̥oːˀl]

Noun [edit]

pistol c (singular definite pistolen, plural indefinite pistoler)

  1. handgun, pistol

Inflection [edit]

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

See also [edit]

Indonesian [edit]

Etymology [edit]

From Dutch pistool.

Noun [edit]

pistol

  1. a pistol (gun)

Swedish [edit]

Pronunciation [edit]

Noun [edit]

pistol c

  1. a pistol (gun)

Declension [edit]

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

Related terms [edit]

See also [edit]

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