Petronel
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A short but large-caliber, heavy 16th- and 17th-century firearm that used a matchlock or wheellock mechanism, intermediate between the arquebuse and pistol. obsolete
"[…]And putting vp good ſtore of gold and Iewels for that iourney, and taking with him a good horſe, that was browne Bay, with a Petronell hanging at the arſon of his Saddle[…]"
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
More examples"[…]And putting vp good ſtore of gold and Iewels for that iourney, and taking with him a good horſe, that was browne Bay, with a Petronell hanging at the arſon of his Saddle[…]"
Etymology
From Middle French petrinal, alteration of poitrinal, from poitrinal (“of the chest”) (the weapon is thought to have been braced against a chest-pad when firing), from poitrine (“chest, breast”), from Latin pectorina, feminine of pectorinus (“of the breast”) (from pectus (“chest”) + -inus (“-ine”)).
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.