pistol

[ pis-tl ]

/ ˈpɪs tl /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR pistol ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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

verb (used with object), pis·toled, pis·tol·ing or (especially British) pis·tolled, pis·tol·ling.

to shoot with a pistol.

Nearby words

Origin of pistol

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

Related formspis·tol·like, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for pistol

On October 5, 2013, Wilson pointed a pistol at a postal clerk.
Post Office Robbers More Wanted Than ISIS|M.L. Nestel|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He pointed a pistol at a grocery checkout woman and swiped whatever cash he could into his pockets before booking it.
Post Office Robbers More Wanted Than ISIS|M.L. Nestel|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A call made to police beforehand described Rice as “a guy with a pistol” on a swing set, but said it was “probably fake.”
The 14 Teens Killed by Cops Since Michael Brown|Nina Strochlic|November 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In Devoted to Death, Chesnut describes a Mexican hitman who has an image of la Santa engraved on the butt of his pistol.
America’s Fastest Growing Death Holiday Is From Mexico|Michael Schulson|November 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST

For all the talk of high-tech military gear, this began like a scene from long ago: two men, one pistol, six shots.
Why Won't Obama Go to Ferguson?|Stuart Stevens|August 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The bar fell aside and he pulled a .45 pistol from its clamp.
The Syndic|C.M. Kornbluth
Yet how could he have held the pistol to her head, saying, "No marriage, no elopement."
The Incredible Honeymoon|E. Nesbit
Roland sprang into it, a pistol in one hand, his sword in the other.
The Companions of Jehu|Alexandre Dumas, pre
Rising, with compressed lips he held toward Muskoka the butt of his pistol.
The Young Railroaders|Francis Lovell Coombs
Here he slapped his pistol pocket at the back of his lumbar region.
Dracula's Guest|Bram Stoker

British Dictionary definitions for pistol

pistol

/ (ˈpɪstəl) /

noun

a short-barrelled handgun

hold a pistol to a person's head to threaten a person in order to force him to do what one wants

verb -tols, -tolling or -tolled or US -tols, -toling or -toled

(tr) to shoot with a pistol

Word Origin for pistol

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for pistol

pistol

"small hand-held firearm," 1570s, from Middle French pistole "short firearm" (1566), of uncertain origin, sometimes said to be from German Pistole, from Czech pis'tala "firearm," literally "tube, pipe," from pisteti "to whistle," of imitative origin, related to Russian pischal "shepherd's pipe."

But earlier English form pistolet (1550) is said to be from Middle French pistolet "a small firearm," also "a small dagger," which may be the literal sense; though some connect this word with Italian pistolese, in reference to Pistoia, town in Tuscany noted for gunsmithing. Pistol-whip (v.) is first recorded 1942.