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
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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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