gunnern.
/ˈɡʌnə/, U.S. /ˈɡənər/ 1.
a. One whose office it is to work a cannon. In the British army, now the designation of all privates of artillery except the ‘drivers’. In 15th cent. English-Latin glossaries it is often rendered by Latin words meaning ‘one who works a mangonel’ or the like: cf. gun n. (In 16th cent. sometimes = handgunner; cf. sense 3.)
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society > armed hostility > warrior > soldier > soldier by branch of army > [noun] > artilleryman
gunner1344
bombardier1562
cannoneer1562
artilleryman?1566
engineer1569
artillerist1579
bombarder1583
topchee1623
fireman1625
zumboorukchee1840
culverineer1881
red-leg1890
gun1896
horse gunner1896
society > armed hostility > warrior > soldier > common soldier > [noun] > in artillery
gunner1344
society > armed hostility > warrior > armed man > [noun] > one armed with or using firearm > artilleryman
gunner1344
cannoner1517
bombardier1562
cannoneer1562
artilleryman?1566
engineer1569
artillerist1579
bombarder1583
topchee1623
fireman1625
pyrobolist1696
zumboorukchee1840
culverineer1881
red-leg1890
gun1896
mud hog1918
1344 in Coll. Ordinances Royal Househ. (1790) 4 Marynors Armorers Artellers Gonners.
1347 in W. Camden Remaines (1614) 241 cites ‘gunnarii’ as receiving pay at the siege of Calais. ]
1401 Pol. Poems (Rolls) II. 58 The devel is ȝour duke, and pride berith the baner; wraththe is ȝoure gunner, envie is ȝour archer.
1412–20 J. Lydgate tr. Hist. Troy ii. xviii Their gonners standyng at corners with this also, and caste of wylde fyre.
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 219/1 Gunnare, or he þat swagythe a gunne, petrarius, mangonalius.
1483 Cath. Angl. 168/2 A Gunner, fundilabarius, fundibalista.
1489 W. Caxton tr. C. de Pisan Bk. Fayttes of Armes ii. xxx. I vij Item for the gonners shal be appoynted L Carpenters and tuenty labores.
1495 in M. Oppenheim Naval Accts. & Inventories Henry VII (1896) 195 Gonners hamers of Iron—xij.
c1550 Complaynt Scotl. (1979) vi. 33 Gunnaris cum heir & stand by ȝour artailȝee euyrie gunnar til his auen quartar.
a1578 R. Lindsay Hist. & Cron. Scotl. (1899) I. 228 [He] caussit his gounaris to charge his arteillzerie.
1587 A. Fleming et al. Holinshed's Chron. (new ed.) III. 823/1 In the towne of Lisle was a noise that three gunners with handguns should haue slaine the king.
1598 R. Barret Theorike & Pract. Mod. Warres v. 133 With euery peece of Ordinance..there ought to go two or three Gunners.
1600 R. Cawdrey Treasurie Similies 606 Gunners winke with the left eye, that they may leuell more truely.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry V (1623) iii. 0. 32 The nimble Gunner With Lynstock now the diuellish Cannon touches. View more context for this quotation
1626 J. Smith Accidence Young Sea-men 24 Gunners spunge your Ordinances.
1766 J. Entick Surv. London in New Hist. London IV. 339 Four quarter gunners, and forty warders.
1808 W. Scott Marmion i. ix. 31 The gunner held his linstock yare.
1863 A. W. Kinglake Invasion of Crimea II. xvi. 404 The gunner got their range.
1893 W. Forbes-Mitchell Reminisc. Great Mutiny 72 Middleton's battery..dashed forward with loud cheers, the drivers waving their whips and the gunners their caps.
b. In the navy, a warrant officer who has special charge of the battery, small arms, magazine, and ordnance stores.See also master gunner n.
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society > armed hostility > hostilities at sea > seafaring warrior or naval man > leader or commander > officer with specific duty > [noun] > gunnery officers
gunner1495
quarter-gunner1617
gunner's mate1708
gunnery-lieutenant1867
gun captain1901
gunnery jack1904
gun1916
1495 in M. Oppenheim Naval Accts. & Inventories Henry VII (1896) 220 To the maister lxvjs viijd the purser xls the Boteswayne xls Steward xxxs & the Gonner xxxvijs vjd.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) ii. ii. 46 The Master, the Swabber, the Boate-swaine & I; The Gunner, and his Mate. View more context for this quotation
a1642 W. Monson Naval Tracts (1704) iii. 342/2 A principal thing in a Gunner at Sea is to be a good Helms-Man, and to call to him at Helm to Loof.
1719 D. Defoe Farther Adventures Robinson Crusoe 254 This Man they call'd Captain was the Gunner only.
1815 A. Burn Mem. (1816) I. 16 The boatswain, gunner and carpenter, my messmate and myself, got together.
c1860 H. Stuart Novices or Young Seaman's Catech. (rev. ed.) 79 The oldest and most experienced men in the ship are usually selected for gunners.
c. figurative.
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1657 A. Cokayne Obstinate Lady i. i. 6 The young Gunner Mr. Cupid hath somewhat tam'd me.
1699 G. Farquhar Love & Bottle i. 10 That little Pimping Cupid is a blind Gunner.
1707 G. Farquhar Beaux Stratagem iv. 42 O Sister, I'm but a young Gunner, I shall be afraid to shoot, for fear the Piece shou'd recoil.
d. A member of an aircraft crew who operates a gun. Cf. aerial adj., air gunner n.
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society > armed hostility > hostilities in the air > airman > [noun] > aircrew with specific duties
observer1870
strafer1915
air gunner1916
air bomber1918
gunner1918
rear gunner1918
bombardier1932
bomb-aimer1935
tail gunner1939
tail-end Charlie1941
arse-end Charlie1942
waist-gunner1942
spotter pilot1944
1910 C. C. Turner Aerial Navigation xv. 211 Swift must be the aerial gunner's calculation.]
1918 E. C. Middleton Glorious Exploits Air facing p. 240 (caption) He dived to 500 feet, thus enabling his gunner, 1st A.M. Donald, to open heavy fire on them.
1919 Blackburn & Newby All about Aircraft 25 To be efficient a gunner must have a good eye.
1935 C. G. Burge Compl. Bk. Aviation 168/2 Many interesting developments have been designed to protect the gunner from the air pressure when flying at these high speeds.
1968 Encycl. Brit. X. 1037/1 To assist the gunner in manual aiming, a movable wind vane type of gun sight, calibrated and designed to compensate for the forward motion of the gunner's own aircraft, is often placed on the forward end of the gun barrel.
2. One who makes or attends to guns; a gunmaker, gunsmith. Obsolete exc. dialect.
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society > armed hostility > military equipment > production and development of arms > armourer > [noun] > one who makes artillery or firearms
gunmaker1385
artillerc1453
gunner1463
gunsmith1588
pyrobolist1696
gun-worker1905
1463 in Manners & Househ. Expenses Eng. (1841) 225 My masters gonner..schalle haue euery weke xij.d., and mete, and drynke, and beddynge.
?1518 Cocke Lorelles Bote sig. B.vjv Gonners maryners, and shyp maysters.
1555 Acc. in T. Sharp Cov. Myst. (1825) 193 Payd to xvij gonnarys lxijs. iiijd.
1556 Acc. in T. Sharp Cov. Myst. (1825) 193 xiiij gonnars and a lakye lixs.
1880 W. H. Patterson Gloss. Words Antrim & Down Gunner, a workman who repairs fire-arms; a gun-smith.
3. One who shoots with a sporting gun or fowling piece; one who goes shooting game. (Sometimes used contemptuously in contradistinction to sportsman.)
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the world > food and drink > hunting > shooting > shooter > [noun]
gunner1753
gun1818
shootist1864
gunnist1894
rifle1933
1753 Scots Mag. Mar. 144/1 A gunner met them in the vale.
1755 Gentleman's Mag. Sept. 392/1 Corn..beat down by pointers, spaniels, gunners, &c. going over it before it be cut.
1794 H. L. Piozzi Brit. Synonymy I. 292 Partridge fall at every stroke of the gunner.
1814 P. Hawker Diary (1893) I. 92 These gunners..literally make a merit of their wasteful expenditure of ammunition.
1843 Zoologist 1 13 The swallows are sadly persecuted by strolling gunners from the town.
1878 Daily News 24 Oct. 6/4 These birds are very seldom trapped in nets, caught with birdlime, or killed by gunners.
1890 S. W. Baker Wild Beasts I. Pref. 7 A vast gulf separates the true sportsman from the merciless gunner... The gunner is the curse of the nineteenth century; his one idea is to use his gun, his love is slaughter, indiscriminate and boundless.
4. big gunner, handgunner, etc.: one who attends to a big gun, a handgun, etc. horse gunner: a member of the Royal Horse Artillery.
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society > armed hostility > warrior > soldier > soldier by branch of army > [noun] > artilleryman
gunner1344
bombardier1562
cannoneer1562
artilleryman?1566
engineer1569
artillerist1579
bombarder1583
topchee1623
fireman1625
zumboorukchee1840
culverineer1881
red-leg1890
gun1896
horse gunner1896
society > armed hostility > warrior > soldier > soldier of specific force or unit > [noun]
spahi1562
legionnaire1595
strelitz1603
Croat1623
deli1667
Croatian1700
lancer1712
highlander1725
lambs1744
royals1762
light-bob1778
fly-slicer1785
Life Guardsman1785
royals?1795
Hottentot1796
yeoman1798
pandour1800
Faugh-a-Ballaghsc1811
forty-two man1816
kilty1842
Zouave1848
bumblerc1850
Inniskilliner1853
blue cap1857
turco1860
Zou-Zou1860
mudlark1878
king's man1883
Johnny1888
Piffer1892
evzone1897
horse gunner1897
dink1906
army ranger1910
grognard1912
Jock1914
chocolate soldier1915
Cook's tourist1915
dinkum1916
Anzaca1918
choc1917
ranger1942
Chindit1943
Desert Rat1944
Green Beret1949
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 229/1 Han[d]gonner, covleurinier.
1896 R. Kipling Seven Seas 206 'Orse Gunners, listen to my song!
1897 Ld. Roberts 41 Years in India I. ii. 12 A fixed resolve to leave no stone unturned in the endeavour to become a horse gunner.
1898 Earl of Suffolk et al. Encycl. Sport II. 168 Gunner, term applied to the man who works the big gun aboard a double punt; aboard a single, often styled a ‘big gunner’.
1931 Geogr. Jrnl. 78 121 Two other officers, one a Sapper and one a Gunner—I believe I ought to say one of the Royal Engineers, one of the Royal Artillery.
5. With number prefixed: A vessel carrying (so many) guns.
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society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > war vessel > [noun] > vessel carrying certain number of guns
gunner1829
1829 F. Marryat Naval Officer III. i. 21 That there is..not less than a forty-four gunner.
1897 Westm. Gaz. 22 July 10/1 The design of the ship is that of a thirty-gunner of the sixteenth century.
Categories »
7. dialect in certain applications of obscure origin. [Perhaps unconnected words.]
a. The Sea Bream, Pagellus centrodontus.
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1859 J. Richardson Yarrell's Hist. Brit. Fishes (ed. 3) II. 149 At Antrim it [the Sea Bream] is called Murranroe and Barwin, and on the north~west coast Gunner.
1880–4 F. Day Fishes Great Brit. & Ireland I. 37 Gunner on the north-west coast.
b. The Great Northern Diver, Colymbus glacialis.
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1837 Penny Cycl. IX. 37/2 Colymbus glacialis..is provincially called..Gunner and Greater Doucker.
1863 H. G. Adams Our Feathered Fam. 252 The Ring-necked Loon (Colymbus glacialis), sometimes called the..Gunner.
Compounds
C1. attributive, as gunner-like adv.
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1628 R. Norton Gunner xxxviii. 101 How to loade a Peece of Ordnance Gunner-like.
1884 A. Forbes Chinese Gordon ii. 49 The gunner non-coms. replied with groans.
C2. † gunner-room n. Obsolete = gunroom n. 1.
gunner-fluke n. Scottish the turbot.
ΚΠ
1710 R. Sibbald Hist. Fife & Kinross ii. iii. 51 Rhombus Aculeatus Rondeletii: Our Fishers call it, the Gunner Flook.
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society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > parts of vessels > room, locker, or quarters > [noun] > part of vessel where sailors live > in naval vessel
gun-room1626
cockpit1691
gunner-rooma1698
wardroom1759
wardroom mess1887
pit1890
a1698 W. Row Suppl. in R. Blair Life (1848) (modernized text) x. 229 Mr. Hutchison persuaded him to come up only to the gunner-room.
C3. In phraseological uses with the possessive case.
gunner's coin n. a wedge of metal used to raise a cannon or mortar to the desired elevation.
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society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > device for discharging missiles > firearm > equipment for use with firearms > [noun] > wedge to raise or lower gun
mitch1481
coin1622
quoin1627
gunner's coin1779
coign1862
1779 T. Forrest Voy. New Guinea 257 The island from the S.W. appears like a wedge, or what seamen call a gunner's coin.
gunner's daughter n. a jocular name amongst seamen for the gun to which sailors were ‘married’, i.e. lashed, to receive punishment.
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society > armed hostility > hostilities at sea > naval weapons and equipment > [noun] > ship's guns collectively > gun to which offenders were lashed
gunner's daughter1821
society > authority > punishment > corporal punishment > instrument or place of corporal punishment > [noun] > gun to which sailors were lashed
gunner's daughter1821
1821 Ld. Byron Let. 2 Jan. (1978) VIII. 54 As..Captain Whitby..used to say to his seamen (when ‘married to the gunner's daughter’)—‘two dozen and let you off easy’.
1824 W. Scott Redgauntlet III. i. 16 I was punished..—made to kiss..the gunner's daughter.
1834 F. Marryat Peter Simple II. xiii. 228 I'll marry some of you young gentlemen to the gunner's daughter.
gunner's gang n. the men under the direct superintendence of the gunner (Hamersly Naval Encycl. 1881).
gunner's handspike n. one shorter and flatter than the ordinary handspike, and shod with iron at the point (Smyth Sailor's Word-bk. 1867).
gunner's ladle n. (see ladle n.).
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1769 W. Falconer Universal Dict. Marine Transl. French Terms Chargeoir, a gunner's ladle.
gunner's mate n. a petty officer of a ship appointed to assist the gunner.
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society > armed hostility > hostilities at sea > seafaring warrior or naval man > leader or commander > officer with specific duty > [noun] > gunnery officers
gunner1495
quarter-gunner1617
gunner's mate1708
gunnery-lieutenant1867
gun captain1901
gunnery jack1904
gun1916
1708 Royal Proclam. in London Gaz. No. 4440/1 The Midshipmen, Carpenters Mates, Boatswains Mates, Gunners Mates.
1719 D. Defoe Farther Adventures Robinson Crusoe 255 A Gunner's Mate, on board an English East-India Ship.
gunner's pendulum n. (see quot.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > instruments for measuring time > [noun] > timer or chronograph
stop-watch1740
time marker1835
time recorder1836
hourglass1852
time clock1857
time lock1858
egg-glass1867
chronograph1868
egg-timer1869
timer1869
gunner's pendulum1876
time switch1884
chess-clock1905
phototimer1942
pinger1950
shot clock1967
1876 G. E. Voyle Mil. Dict. (ed. 3) Pendulum, Gunner's—consists of an upright frame of wood, having a cross-arm attached to it, from which a pendulum is suspended, vibrating seconds..It is used to measure the time of flight of a mortar shell.
gunner's piece n. the fragment of a burst gun which flies upward (Hamersly).
gunner's quadrant n. (see quadrant n.1).
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society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > device for discharging missiles > firearm > equipment for use with firearms > [noun] > measuring instruments
gunner's quadrant1628
gunner's scale1628
gunner's rule1692
side scale1745
1628 R. Norton Gunner xxxii. 95 The Gunners Quadrant.
1692 Smith's Sea-mans Gram. (new ed.) ii. iii. 92 A Gunner's Quadrant to level, elevate, or depress his Gun.
1898 Notes & Queries 15 Oct. 309/2 The ‘gunner's quadrant’ was a quadrant with a ruler attached and also a plumb-line; the end of the ruler was inserted in the muzzle of the gun, and the plumb-line cutting the lines on the quadrant marked the proper degrees of elevation.
gunner's ring n. (see quot.).
ΚΠ
1866 Chambers's Jrnl. No. 28. 229 That peculiar wreath of smoke, apparent when a gun has been greased at the muzzle, and known as the ‘gunner's ring’.
gunner's rule n. (see quot.).
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > device for discharging missiles > firearm > equipment for use with firearms > [noun] > measuring instruments
gunner's quadrant1628
gunner's scale1628
gunner's rule1692
side scale1745
1692 Smith's Sea-mans Gram. (new ed.) ii. xxiv. 137 This Gunner's Rule was invented.
gunner's ruler n. (see quot.).
ΚΠ
1692 Smith's Sea-mans Gram. (new ed.) ii. xxiv. 137 A Gunner's Ruler, for the Elevating of any Piece of Ordnance to any degree of Mounture.
gunner's scale n. (see quot.).
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > device for discharging missiles > firearm > equipment for use with firearms > [noun] > measuring instruments
gunner's quadrant1628
gunner's scale1628
gunner's rule1692
side scale1745
1628 R. Norton Gunner xxxi. 94 My Gunners Scale is to be made in Brasse..And in Wood.
1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory iii. ix. 375/2 A Gunners Scale, one side being divided into inches, quarters and halfquarters, with a Gunners Quadrant described upon it; the other having the names of all sorts of Ordnance.
gunner's tailor n. ‘an old rating for the man who made the cartridge bags’ (Smyth).
Derivatives
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1628 J. Butler in R. Norton Gunner sig. A4 Expert Gunnered Engineers.
ˈgunneress n. a female gunner.
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society > armed hostility > warrior > armed man > [noun] > one armed with or using firearm > artilleryman > woman
gunneress1837
1837 T. Carlyle French Revol. I. vii. v. 356 The seized cannon are yoked with seized cart-horses: brownlocked Démoiselle Théroigne, with pike and helmet, sits there as gunneress.
ˈgunnership n. the position of gunner.
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society > armed hostility > warrior > soldier > soldier by branch of army > [noun] > artilleryman > position of
gunnership1836
1836 Boston (Lincs.) Herald 23 Feb. 4/2 The gunner-ship of Dover Castle, which is now vacant, is in the gift of the Duke of Wellington.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1900; most recently modified version published online September 2021).
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n.1344