Lewis gun

American  

noun

1. a light, air-cooled, gas-operated machine gun with a circular magazine, first used in World War I.

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Lewis gun British  

noun

1. a light air-cooled drum-fed gas-operated machine gun used chiefly in World War I

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Etymology

Origin of Lewis gun

First recorded in 1910–15; named after I. N. Lewis

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Lewis gun

It is ten pounds lighter and five inches shorter than the old army pattern Lewis gun, is gas-operated and air-cooled.

From Time Magazine Archive

With the assistance of a few Sikhs and one Lewis gun we could hold this legation, if Italians arrive within a few days.

From Time Magazine Archive

Up on the double came a second company with a Lewis gun.

From Time Magazine Archive

This will be made in Britain under a patent agreement as with the Lewis gun.

From Time Magazine Archive

Lewis gun is an automatic rifle, firing the same ammunition as the S.-M.-L.-E. rifle, and two Lewis-gun sections are included in each infantry platoon.

From Lectures on Land Warfare; A tactical Manual for the Use of Infantry Officers An Examination of the Principles Which Underlie the Art of Warfare, with Illustrations of the Principles by Examples Taken from Military History, from the Battle of Thermopylae, B.C. 480, to the Battle of the Sambre, November 1-11, 1918 by Anonymous