Derringer
noun
noun ·3 syllables ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A type of very small, concealable pistol with one or two barrels, but without any loading system or magazine.
"“Afraid? Oh no! they never interfere with me. […] And look here,” and diving her little hand into the bodice of her dress she produced a double-barrelled nickel-plated Derringer, “I always carry that loaded, and if anybody tried to touch me I should shoot him[…]”"
- 2 Alternative form of derringer (“pistol”). alt-of, alternative, dated
- 3 a pocket pistol of large caliber with a short barrel wordnet
Example
More examples"“Afraid? Oh no! they never interfere with me. […] And look here,” and diving her little hand into the bodice of her dress she produced a double-barrelled nickel-plated Derringer, “I always carry that loaded, and if anybody tried to touch me I should shoot him[…]”"
Etymology
Named after American gunsmith Henry Deringer Junior (1786–1868).
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.