carbine
[ kahr-been, -bahyn ]
/ ˈkɑr bin, -baɪn /
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noun
a light, gas-operated semiautomatic rifle.
(formerly) a short rifle used in the cavalry.
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Origin of carbine
1595–1605; earlier carabine<Middle French: small harquebus, weapon borne by a carabin a lightly armed cavalryman, compared with (e)scarabin gravedigger for plague victims (<Provençal, akin to French escarbot cockchafer, dung beetle ≪ Latin scarabaeusscarab), though semantic change is unclear
Words nearby carbine
carbenicillin, carbenicillin disodium, carbide, carbidopa, carbimazole, carbine, carbineer, carbinol, Carbitol, carbo, carbobenzoxy
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
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British Dictionary definitions for carbine
carbine
/ (ˈkɑːbaɪn) /
noun
a light automatic or semiautomatic rifle of limited range
Also called: carabin, carabine a light short-barrelled shoulder rifle formerly used by cavalry
Word Origin for carbine
C17: from French carabine, from Old French carabin carabineer, perhaps variant of escarrabin one who prepares corpses for burial, from scarabée, from Latin scarabaeus scarab
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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