PISTOL
pistol, handgun, side arm, shooting iron
(noun) a firearm that is held and fired with one hand
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Noun
pistol (plural pistols)
A handgun, typically with a chamber integrated in the barrel, a semi-automatic action and a box magazine.
The mechanical component of a fuse in a bomb or torpedo responsible for firing the detonator.
A creative and unpredictable jokester, a constant source of entertainment and surprises.
(Southern US) A small boy who is bright, alert and very active.
(American football) 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.
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.
Verb
pistol (third-person singular simple present pistols, present participle pistoling, simple past and past participle pistoled)
(transitive) To shoot (at) a target with a pistol.
Anagrams
• pilots, postil, potlis, sploit, spoilt
Source: Wiktionary
Pis"tol, n. Etym: [F. pistole, pistolet, It. pistola; prob. from a
form Pistola, for Pistoja, a town in Italy where pistols were first
made. Cf. Pistole.]
Definition: The smallest firearm used, intended to be fired from one hand,
– now of many patterns, and bearing a great variety of names. See
Illust. of Revolver. Pistol carbine, a firearm with a removable but-
piece, and thus capable of being used either as a pistol or a
carbine.
– Pistol pipe (Metal.), a pipe in which the blast for a furnace is
heated, resembling a pistol in form.
– Pistol shot. (a) The discharge of a pistol. (b) The distance to
which a pistol can propel a ball.
Pis"tol, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pistoled; p. pr. & vb. n. Pistoling.]
Etym: [Cf. F. pistoler.]
Definition: To shoot with a pistol. "To pistol a poacher." Sydney Smith.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition