gunshipn.
/ˈɡʌnʃɪp/, U.S. /ˈɡənˌʃɪp/ 1. A fast ship mounted with guns, typically used to attack coastal targets. Cf. gunboat n. 1a.
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society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > war vessel > [noun] > gunboat
artillery boat1759
gun-boat1793
gun-vessel1800
gun-brig1801
schooner-gun-vessel1806
gunship1841
turret-ship1862
turret-vessel1862
pelter1890
1841 L. M. Child Let. 7 Oct. in Lett. from N.-Y. (1843) viii. 47 You probably recollect that he built a large gun-ship for the Turkish Sultan.
1898 P. H. Colomb in National Rev. Aug. 842 That fighting ships—that is, gun-ships—should no longer be supplied, as at present universally, with torpedoes.
1911 Q. Rev. Oct. 476 This gradual merging of the essential features of the gun-ship and the torpedo-ship is now about to find expression in the submarine.
2011 Daily Record (Glasgow) (Nexis) 20 Sept. 21 We once occupied a crane unloading spent nuclear shipments and were chased by gunships sailing between Japan and South Korea.
2. A military aircraft armed with guns used to provide air support or to carry out air strikes. Frequently with distinguishing word, as in airplane gunship, helicopter gunship, etc.
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society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > rotary wing aircraft > [noun] > helicopter or gyrocopter > for military use
gunship1965
medevac1966
1965 Washington Post 24 Jan. e1/2 He leads the company's all-volunteer platoon of six gunships.
1985 N.Y. Times 7 Sept. 4/4 In the last year the Salvadoran Air Force has received two AC-47 airplane gunships from the United States as well as six Hughes 500 helicopter gunships.
2006 Portales (New Mexico) News-Tribune 2 July 2 a/1 A crew of thirteen is needed to fly the gunship, and a support staff of 25 keeps it humming.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2022).
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gun-ship
gun-ship n.
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1841 L. M. Child Lett. from N.Y. viii. 59 You probably recollect that he built a large gun-ship for the Turkish Sultan.
1898 P. H. Colomb in National Rev. Aug. 842 That fighting ships—that is, gun-ships—should no longer be supplied, as at present universally, with torpedoes.
gunship
gunship n. (also helicopter gunship) a heavily armed helicopter.
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1968 Times 3 Feb. 8/3 Helicopter ‘gunships’ armed with machine-guns accounted for most of the toll.
1969 I. Kemp Brit. G.I. in Vietnam iii. 63 I saw two Huey gun-ships—assault helicopters—swooping down towards us... I listened gratefully to the whoosh of its [sc. the leading gun-ship's] 2.75 inch rockets and the stutter of its M60 machine guns.
1969 Australian 7 June 2/7 Other RAAF gunships remained overhead until the crew were lifted out.
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n.1841as lemmas