pistol
Plural: pistols
Noun
- a firearm that is held and fired with one hand
- A handgun
- A handgun
- The type of handgun with the chamber integral with the barrel.
- The mechanical component of a fuse in a bomb or torpedo responsible for firing the detonator.
- A lively, high-energy person.
- An offensive formation in which the quarterback receives the snap at a distance behind the center, but closer than in a shotgun formation, with a running back lined up behind him.
Verb
Verb Forms: pistoled, pistoling, pistols, pistolled, pistolling
- To shoot with a small firearm.
- To shoot (at) a target with a pistol.
Examples
- He managed to PISTOL his opponent’s lead, despite a tricky rack of letters.
Origin / Etymology
Probably from Middle French pistole, or via Middle English pistolet, from Middle French pistolet (“small firearm or small dagger”).
The origin is unclear.
If via German to Romance probably from Middle High German forms like pischulle from Czech píšťala (“firearm”, literally “tube, pipe”), from Proto-Slavic *piščalь, from *piskati, *piščati (“to squeak, whistle”), from Proto-Balto-Slavic *pīṣk-.
Alternatively, if from Romance to German, from or related to Italian pistolese (“short dagger”), from Italian Pistoia (“a Tuscan town noted for its gunsmithing”).
Synonyms
handgun, shooting iron, side arm
Scrabble Score: 8
pistol: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Wordpistol: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
pistol: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary