pistol

[pis-tl]

noun

1. a short firearm intended to be held and fired with one hand.

verb (used with object)

pistoled, pistoling , pistolled, pistolling .

1. to shoot with a pistol.

pistol

/ ˈpɪstəl /

noun

1. a short-barrelled handgun

2. to threaten a person in order to force him to do what one wants

verb

1. (tr) to shoot with a pistol

Other Word Forms

• pistollike adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of pistol¹

1560–70; < Middle French pistole < German, earlier pitschal, pitschole, petsole < Czech píšt’ala literally, pipe, fife, whistle (presumably a slang term for a type of light harquebus employed during the Hussite wars), akin to pištět to squeak, peep

Word History and Origins

Origin of pistol¹

C16: from French pistole, from German, from Czech pišt'ala pistol, pipe; related to Russian pischal shepherd's pipes

Example Sentences

"I was a serving soldier. I had regular access to assault rifles, pistols, machine guns, sniper rifles. At no point there was there any risk or threat to the public."

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Lord Fredrick pulled a small pistol from inside his jacket and waved it blindly around the room.

Read more on Literature

In the predawn hours of March 13, 1944, a Halifax bomber flew across the black waters of the Adriatic Sea carrying four Jewish paratroopers equipped with submachine guns, pistols and knives.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

"Killers, killers," the group chants at the officers, one of whom is armed with a rifle, another carries a pistol.

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Suddenly, the image of a hand grasping a pistol emerges from the scrum.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• firearm 
• gun 
• handgun 
• rod