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

They also seized three pistols and more than 300 rounds of ammo.

Read more on Barron's

On Sunday, masked Hamas fighters armed with Kalashnikovs and pistols showed up outside the Jordanian hospital in Gaza City.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The lawsuit states the only justification for banning a firearm is when the weapon is “dangerous and unusual” and argues that semiautomatic pistols are neither.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

They drilled through a newly plastered and redecorated area where they discovered three bags inside a tea-towel, with two containing a Skorpion submachine gun each and a pistol in the remaining package.

Read more on BBC

Spivey got out of his truck holding a pistol and, in the confrontation that followed, was killed by a gunshot to the back.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• firearm 
• gun 
• handgun 
• rod