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Pistol
Definitions
- 1 A handgun broadly
- 2 a firearm that is held and fired with one hand wordnet
- 3 A handgun; The type of handgun with the chamber integral with the barrel. broadly
- 4 The mechanical component of a fuse in a bomb or torpedo responsible for firing the detonator.
- 5 A lively, high-energy person.
"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."
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- 6 An offensive formation in which the quarterback receives the snap at a distance behind the center, but closer than in a shotgun formation, with a running back lined up behind him.
- 1 To shoot (at) a target with a pistol. transitive
Etymology
Probably from Middle French pistole, or via Middle English pistolet, from Middle French pistolet (“small firearm or small dagger”). The origin is unclear. If via German to Romance probably from Middle High German forms like pischulle from Czech píšťala (“firearm”, literally “tube, pipe”), from Proto-Slavic *piščalь, from *piskati, *piščati (“to squeak, whistle”), from Proto-Balto-Slavic *pīṣk-. Alternatively, if from Romance to German, from or related to Italian pistolese (“short dagger”), from Italian Pistoia (“a Tuscan town noted for its gunsmithing”).
Probably from Middle French pistole, or via Middle English pistolet, from Middle French pistolet (“small firearm or small dagger”). The origin is unclear. If via German to Romance probably from Middle High German forms like pischulle from Czech píšťala (“firearm”, literally “tube, pipe”), from Proto-Slavic *piščalь, from *piskati, *piščati (“to squeak, whistle”), from Proto-Balto-Slavic *pīṣk-. Alternatively, if from Romance to German, from or related to Italian pistolese (“short dagger”), from Italian Pistoia (“a Tuscan town noted for its gunsmithing”).
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