pistoln.
/ˈpɪstl/, U.S. /ˈpɪstl/ 1. A small firearm designed to be held in one hand; (also) a similar small handgun discharged without an explosive, esp. one using compressed air.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > device for discharging missiles > firearm > small-arm > [noun] > pistol
pistolet1550
potguna1556
pistol?1560
snapper1587
pistoletto1647
pop1708
gun1744
cracker1751
stick1781
barking iron1785
barker1815
young gun1822
buffer1824
reporter1827
iron1828
flute1842
cannon1901
?1560 T. Norton Orations of Arsanes sig. Biiiiv Hold the charged pistole to your bosomes.
a1583 H. Gilbert Queene Elizabethes Achademy (1869) 4 To teache noble men and gentlemen..to skirmish on horsbacke with pistolles.
1600 W. Cornwallis Ess. I. iv. sig. D6v To keepe this case of Pistols continually readie charged, and bent.
1649 J. Milton Εικονοκλαστης iii. 23 Pistols cockt and menac'd in the hands of about three hundred Swaggerers and Ruffians.
1699 S. Sewall Diary (1878) I. 502 Pole of the Calash, broken by the Horses frighted with a Pistol.
1726 P. Aubin Lady Lucy iv. 45 One of them discharg'd a Pistol in his Face, and kill'd him on the Spot.
a1774 A. Tucker Light of Nature Pursued (1777) III. iii. 172 If a man..should have a pistol holden over him, and be threatened with being shot through the head.
1841 E. W. Lane tr. Thousand & One Nights I. 126 With a pair of pistols stuck in the girdle.
1892 A. Bierce Tales of Soldiers & Civilians 136 These mounted madmen..vanished round an angle of the road, shouting and firing their pistols.
1957 J. Thurber Alarms & Diversions 107 The murders had been done with an automatic pistol, not a revolver.
1996 Independent 24 Jan. 7/1 Today, the brandisher of the pistol appears before MPs.
2. A person armed with or skilled in the use of a pistol; (in early use) spec. a soldier armed with a pistol; a pistoleer. rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > warrior > armed man > [noun] > one armed with or using firearm > one bearing or using handgun > pistol > collectively
pistol1595
1595 W. Raleigh Let. 25 Nov. (1999) 131 Againe, Cornewall hath not anie one company of horse, either lance, lightehorse, petronelle or pistall.
1598 R. Barret Theorike & Pract. Mod. Warres v. 143 They are alwayes seconded with armed Pistols or Lances.
1975 B. Garfield Hopscotch xxvi. 267 The two pistols were coming..and he wasn't in time to get out of their sight.
1978 H. C. Rae Sullivan i. vii. 117 What if we're killed early..? You're no pistol.
3. More fully electric pistol, Volta's pistol. A closed, tubular, metallic vessel in which an explosive mixture of gases may be ignited by an electric spark, used by Volta to determine the ratio of gases required for complete combustion (i.e. that resulting in the largest explosion). Now historical.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > explosive device > [noun] > other explosive devices
squib1590
Volta's pistol1779
water worm1809
satchel charge1943
thunderflash1943
Willie Peter1963
Willie Pete1972
suicide belt1974
1779 Philos. Trans. 1778 (Royal Soc.) 68 1025 A kind of pistol loaded with inflammable air in the manner described by Mr. Volta of Como.
1843 Penny Cycl. XXVI. 434/1 He [sc. Volta] also invented the instrument which has been called the electrical pistol.
1872 J. D. Everett Deschanel's Elem. Treat. Nat. Philos. III. xxxix. 556 This experiment is usually shown by means of Volta's pistol..which is a metallic vessel, containing the mixture, and closed by a cork.
1985 Educ. in Chem. 22 13/1 Using the new electric pistol, Volta could quantitatively determine the ratio that is necessary for optimum burning.
1998 Isis 89 306 Volta imagined even more spectacular demonstrations: using the electric pistol as a pyrotechnic device, or firing a pistol in Milan by discharging a Leyden jar in Como.
4. figurative.
a. English regional (north-western). A peculiar, eccentric, or disorderly person; (in weakened sense) a person, esp. a man. Usually derogatory.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > pride > boasting or boastfulness > blustering or bravado > [noun] > person
jettera1400
flirdom?a1500
facerc1500
termagant1508
rutterkina1529
bellomy1535
bystour1535
roister1549
swash1549
rush-buckler1551
roisterkin1553
swashbuckler1560
dash-buckler1567
swinge-buckler?1577
whiffler1581
huff-snuff1582
swish-swash1582
fixnet1583
swag1588
swasher?1589
kill-cow1590
roister-doister1592
dagger1597
flaunting Fabian1598
tisty-tosty1598
huff-cap1600
swaggerer1600
burgullian1601
huff-muff1602
tear-cat1606
blusterer1609
wag-feather1611
wind-cutter1611
bilbo-lorda1625
tearer1633
cacafuegoa1640
bravado1643
Hector1655
scaramouch1662
swashado1663
huffer1664
bluster-mastera1670
Drawcansir1672
bully huff1673
huff1674
belswagger1680
valienton1681
blunderbuss1685
Draw can bully1698
bouncer1764
Bobadil1771
bounce1819
pistol1828
sacripant1829
hufty1847
bucko1883
the world > health and disease > mental health > mental illness > degree or type of mental illness > [noun] > slight madness > crankiness or eccentricity > person
fantastical1589
fantastic1598
earwig brain1599
extravagant1627
fanatic1644
energumen1660
original1675
toy-pate1702
gig1777
quiz1780
quoz?1780
rum touch1800
crotcheteer1815
pistol1828
eccentric1832
case1833
originalist1835
cure1856
crotchet-monger1874
curiosity1874
crank1881
crackpot1883
faddist1883
schwärmer1884
hard case1892
finger1899
mad hatter1905
nut1908
numéro1924
screwball1933
wack1938
fruitcake1942
odd bod1942
oddball1943
ghoster1953
raver1959
kook1960
flake1968
woo-woo1972
zonky1972
wacko1977
headbanger1981
1828 W. Carr Dial. Craven (ed. 2) (at cited word) He's a sad pistil.
1857 J. Sullivan Cumberland & Westmorland ii. iii. 90 ‘Thou'rt a bonny pistol’ is anything but praise.
1894 Weyver's Awn Comic Olmanac 18 They've sum pistols o'weyver's to deeal wi'.
a1903 B. Kirkby in Eng. Dial. Dict. (1903) IV. 524/1 [Westmoreland] He's a gay pistle wi' a sup o' drink in him. He's a gay pistle is oor laal Jacky.
1986 Lakeland Dial. Sept. 35 Thoo med ha been a hoaf decent sized fellah be now, asteed of a scrunty laal pistol sech as thoo is!
b. U.S. slang. A person remarkable for his or her ability, cleverness, energy, etc.; (also occasionally) a remarkable thing.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > excellence > [noun] > excellent person
gemc1275
blooma1300
excellence1447
mirrorc1450
man of mena1470
treasure?1545
paragon1548
shining light1563
Apollo's swan?1592
man of wax1597
rara avis1607
Titan1611
choice spirita1616
excellency1725
inestimable1728
inimitable1751
cock of the walk1781
surpasser1805
shiner1810
swell1816
trump1819
tip-topper1822
star1829
beauty1832
soarer1895
trumph1895
pansy1899
Renaissance man1906
exemplum virtutis1914
museum piece1920
superman1925
flyer1930
pistol1935
all-star1949
1935 J. Conroy World to Win xi. 326 Dat boy was a pistol from way back yandah in a holler tree!
1945 A. Ginsberg Let. 12 Aug. in J. Kerouac & A. Ginsberg Lett. (2010) 14 They keep telling me about their women. This sex talk is a real pistol.
1984 J. Didion Democracy ii. x. 153 Your mother's been getting up a party for the Rose Bowl, Harry Victor said. Carol's a real pistol, Dwight Christian said.
2001 N. Steinbeck in J. Steinbeck IV & N. Steinbeck Other Side of Eden viii. 55 When we first met, he was a pistol, full of ideals and a natural leader.
Phrases
P1.
a. to put a pistol to (one's) head: to commit suicide by shooting. Also figurative.
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the world > life > death > killing > suicide > [verb (intransitive)] > types of
to put a pistol to (one's) head1741
to make a hole in the water1826
self-immolate1879
1741 Let. Hon.T. Hervey 45 I cou'd have put a Pistol to my Head..and looked on Death with more Complacency.
1853 W. M. Thackeray Newcomes (1854) I. ix. 91 I'm blowed if I don't put a pistol to my 'ead, and end it, Mrs. G.
1896 A. E. Housman Shropshire Lad xliv. 67 And early wise and brave in season [you] Put the pistol to your head.
1992 J. Peters & J. Nichol Tornado Down iv. 29 If it looked like you were going to be captured, the thing to do was to put your service-issue pistol to your head, and blow your brains out.
b. to hold (also put) a pistol to (also at) (a person's) head: to coerce or attempt to coerce (a person).
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the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > danger > threat or threatening > threaten [verb (intransitive)] > compel an action by threatening
to hold (also put) a pistol to (also at) (a person's) head1841
society > authority > subjection > obedience > compulsion > compel [verb (intransitive)] > to action
to put (a person) to it1581
to hold (also put) a pistol to (also at) (a person's) head1841
to force (one's) hand1860
to twist (someone's) arm1953
1841 C. Dickens Let. 26 Feb. (1969) II. 220 Put a penny pistol to Chapman's head, and demand the blocks of him.
1886 N.Y. Times 25 Apr. 4/5 You might put a pistol to my head and not prevent my writing ‘hypocrite’ ‘hypocrit’.
1917 W. J. Locke Red Planet iii. 33 The boy was my guest. I had not intended to hold a pistol to his head.
1974 ‘W. Haggard’ Kinsmen iii. 40 She'd held a pistol at Heale-Mann's respectable head. Do as I wish or face a scandal.
1999 Nation (Nexis) 1 Nov. 2 The agencies will be able to hold a pistol to the heads of residents to relieve them of more tax money.
c. with a pistol at (also to) one's head: under pressure; while being threatened.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > subjection > obedience > compulsion > under compulsion [phrase]
on compulsion1598
under task1671
under a force1681
with a pistol at (also to) one's head1892
1892 R. L. Stevenson & L. Osbourne Wrecker xvi, in Scribner's Mag. Feb. 160/1 I assure you it is not at all my habit to do business with a pistol to my head.
1978 Times 14 Mar. 19/2 The [French] Socialists..have an understandable dislike of negotiating with a pistol at their heads.
1987 Times (Nexis) 24 Apr. I can't negotiate with a pistol at my head.
P2. Athletics. to beat the pistol: to start in anticipation of the starting pistol; to make an undetected false start; = to beat (also jump) the gun at gun n. 6f. Also in extended use.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > racing or race > race [verb (intransitive)] > make false start
to beat the pistol1890
to beat (also jump) the gun1933
1890 N.Y. Times 19 Oct. 20/3 A handful of men..are throwing discredit over Owen's run by claiming that he beat the pistol two yards at the start.
1924 Times 24 July 6/5 One man was disqualified for persistently trying to beat the pistol.
1956 Times 22 Nov. 4/2 Bell took the kick and a defender so to speak beat the pistol.
2001 Atlanta Jrnl.-Constit. (Nexis) 4 Mar. 4 e Greene flirting with a start that beat the pistol.
Compounds
C1.
a.
pistol bag n.
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society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > device for discharging missiles > firearm > equipment for use with firearms > [noun] > gun-case or sling > bag for guns
pistol bag1701
1701 London Gaz. No. 3714/4 Lost..,a pair of green Velvet Pistol-Bags embroidered with Gold.
1869 Times 6 Mar. 4/4 Although no pistol was ever found in the prisoner's possession, a pistol bag was found in a bedroom in a lodging house which the prisoner occupied.
1999 C. Knief Emerald Flash xxv. 188 Carrying the elephant rifle over my shoulder,..and supporting a heavy leather pistol bag around my waist.
pistol barrel n.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > device for discharging missiles > firearm > parts and fittings of firearms > [noun] > barrel > types of
pistol barrel1663
rifle barrel1766
stub-barrel1833
twist barrel1833
stub1853
full choke1876
1663 Marquis of Worcester Cent. Names & Scantlings Inventions Index 7 Light Pistol-barrels.
1792 H. H. Brackenridge Mod. Chivalry (1937) I. i. 50 Remember that the pistol barrel being short, the powder is apt to throw the bullet up.
1884 ‘M. Twain’ Adventures Huckleberry Finn xxi. 216 When they see the pistol the men jumped to one side, and the pistol barrel come down slow and steady to a level.
1990 Amer. Rifleman Feb. 57/1 For pistol barrels three O-rings, evenly spaced, are recommended, and four are used in rifle barrels.
pistol belt n.
ΚΠ
1822 E. E. Williams Jrnl. 25 Mar. (1902) 44 A skate strap is therefore substituted for a pistol belt.
1865 Weekly New Mexican 14 July 3/1 Byers & Andrews, Dealers in..Pistol Belts and Holsters.
1991 M. Helprin Soldier of Great War iv. 290 By four they had assembled on the parade ground.., their rifles on their shoulders, bandoliers and pouches of ammunition hung from pistol belts.
pistol bullet n.
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society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > missile > ammunition for firearms > [noun] > bullet or shell > bullet > types of bullet
pistol bullet?1591
musket bullet1598
musket ball1637
silver bullet1648
three-o(h)-three1683
pistol ball1689
musket shot1755
Biscayen1812
picket1848
rifle bolt1849
Minié ball1851
Minié1852
expanding bullet1859
navy bullet1873
two-two1895
dum-dum1897
Lee-Enfield bullet1899
rubber bullet1900
full-metal-jacket1913
round-nose1932
thirty-two1942
plastic bullet1945
baton round1968
?1591 T. Coningsby Jrnl. Siege Rouen (Harl. 288) 23 in Camden Misc. (1847) I Being well armed pressed ours home agayne, not without exchange of some pystoll bulletts.
1664 N. Ingelo Bentivolio & Urania: 2nd Pt. vi. 230 They imploy such utensils when they make Pistol-bullets.
1761 F. Sheridan Mem. Miss Sidney Bidulph II. 34 This hand should have been sooner employed to send a pistol bullet thro' my head.
1882 R. L. Stevenson New Arabian Nights I. 128 As a pistol-bullet travels so often on the wings of chance.
2000 Combat Handguns Mar. 54/3 The pistol bullet will be less likely to over-penetrate through interior walls than one from a full-blown rifle cartridge.
pistol-butt n.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > device for discharging missiles > firearm > parts and fittings of firearms > [noun] > stock or shaft > parts of
shaft1626
side plate1680
pistol hand1702
club1720
heel plate1753
break-off1804
shoulder-butt1810
pistol-butt1814
rifle butt1826
pistol grip1841
nose cap1844
trap1844
trap-plate1844
receiver1851
bump1852
furniture1852
bend1859
comb1867
fore-end1881
furniture-pin1881
grip1881
1814 W. Scott Waverley III. xi. 136 Striking the boy upon the head with the heavy pistol butt . View more context for this quotation
2003 Malay Mail (Nexis) 12 Nov. To silence her, one of the men hit the woman on the head with the pistol-butt but she screamed even louder.
pistol flint n.
ΚΠ
1818 W. Scott Heart of Mid-Lothian viii, in Tales of my Landlord 2nd Ser. IV. 178 He..filled his pipe, lighted it with the assistance of his pistol-flint, and smoked.
1833 Times 30 Sept. 1/1 (advt.) Messrs. Oxley and Taylor, Gun and Pistol Flint Manufacturers.
1996 Chicago Sun-Times (Nexis) 4 Feb. 5 Lafitte..offered his store of ammunition and 7,500 pistol flints to Jackson, who accepted.
pistol holster n.
ΚΠ
1783 in R. T. Durrett Louisville (1893) 147 13 Pair Pistol Holsters.
1851 Jrnl. Royal Geogr. Soc. 21 14 We..thoroughly examined the coast in the whale-boat,..finding nothing, with the exception of a pistol-holster in a canoe.
1994 R. Hendrickson Happy Trails 145 The rawhide thong attached to a pistol holster and tied around the leg to keep the holster steady.
pistol powder n.
ΚΠ
1623 Invoice of Goods 16 Sept. in S. M. Kingsbury Rec. Virginia Company (1935) IV. 281 Forty pound of stronge powder... One hundred waight of pistoll & goose.]
1642 H. Hexham 1st Part Princ. Art Mil. (ed. 2) 8 Being strong & fine pistoll powder, it is held too much in the opinion of some men.
1781 Va. State P. I. 505 The Baron desires you immediately to send..four hundr. pounds fine Pistole powder, fit for Rifles.
1839 Jrnl. Statist. Soc. 2 213 46 lbs. of pistol-powder at 1s. 6d.
1990 Amer. Rifleman Feb. 63/3 Scot has already achieved a good deal of notice for its shotshell and pistol powders.
pistol practice n.
ΚΠ
1824 T. Medwin Conv. with Byron I. 15 It was time to take our evening drive, ride, and pistol-practice.
1922 J. Agate Red Lett. Nights (1944) 76 It [sc. Hedda Gabler] contains nothing of awe or terror, nothing to make us fearful lest our exaltées should take to pistol-practice in the garden.
2002 Internat. Herald Tribune (Nexis) 29 Aug. 6 A bullet that won't hurt has been introduced in pistol practice.
pistol shape n.
ΚΠ
1877 A. Agassiz N. Amer. Starfishes 126 More advanced larva,..in which the oral pouch has assumed its characteristic pistol-shape.
1931 E. Wenham Domest. Silver v. 42 Probably one of the most attractive forms of handles is the so-called pistol-shape.
2000 Washington Post (Nexis) 28 Apr. a31 Remember the years when we zealously banned toy guns, and they chewed their peanut-butter sandwiches into little pistol shapes anyway?
pistol-toter n.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > warrior > armed man > [noun] > one armed with or using firearm > one bearing or using handgun > pistol
pistolier?1563
pistoleter1570
pistoletier1587
pistoler1590
pistoleera1679
pistol man1784
sightsman1790
pistol shot1832
pistol-toter1887
pistol-packer1899
pistolero1932
1887 Stevens Point (Wisconsin) Jrnl. 17 Sept. The days of the pistol ‘toter’ are almost surely numbered.
1911 Boston Herald 14 Oct. 6/4 The New York law has the drop on pistol toters.
2003 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 23 Sept. b2/3 [He] was there to see about getting..‘a pistol-toter's permit’.
b.
pistol-shaped adj.
ΚΠ
1857 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Aug. 132a The pistol-shaped handles of silver knives.
1964 W. L. Goodman Hist. Woodworking Tools 133 Using the broad-bladed Japanese saw with the pistol-shaped handle.
2003 Boston Globe (Nexis) 15 June m4 ‘Roger's Cajun Pistol’..a spicy blend of crawfish, crab, shrimp, and cheese, packed in a pistol-shaped piece of fried bread.
c.
pistol-toting n. and adj.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > arming or equipping with weapons > [noun] > provision of guns > carrying of pistol
pistol-toting1903
society > armed hostility > military equipment > arming or equipping with weapons > [adjective] > armed or provided with firearms > with small arms > with specific type of
pistoled1634
blunderbussed1851
revolvered1858
pistol-toting1903
pistol-packing1927
1903 Trenton (New Jersey) Times 21 Aug. 10/4 Pistol toting showed a vast decrease in that section.
1995 Hispanic Jan.–Feb. 40 Jiménez's Vaquero..stands sixteen feet high and depicts a pistol-toting vaquero on top of bucking bronco.
C2. † pistol-key n. Obsolete a watch-key shaped like a pistol.† pistol-pipe n. Metallurgy Obsolete rare the tuyère or blast-pipe of a blast furnace.Apparently only attested in dictionaries or glossaries.† pistol-splint n. Surgery Obsolete rare a splint shaped somewhat like a pistol, used esp. in fractures of the lower radius.
pistol arm n. the arm with which a person uses a pistol.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > external parts of body > limb > arm > [noun]
armeOE
brawna1382
hand?a1425
branch1594
bridle arm1622
shield-arm1640
smiter1673
sword-arm1687
fin1785
pistol arm1800
spade-arm1804
pinion1848
liver wing1855
bow-arm1860
meathook1919
gun1973
1800 Horatio of Holstein I. viii. 187 He, therefore..struck the pistol arm of the highwayman.
1917 E. R. Burroughs Princess of Mars xxiii. 276 As he leaned to peer over the eaves I grasped him by his throat and his pistol arm.
2003 Leicester Mercury (Nexis) 24 Sept. 14 A bomb exploded, disabling Lt Barrett's pistol arm.
pistol ball n. now historical a metal ball of a type used as ammunition in early pistols.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > missile > ammunition for firearms > [noun] > bullet or shell > bullet > types of bullet
pistol bullet?1591
musket bullet1598
musket ball1637
silver bullet1648
three-o(h)-three1683
pistol ball1689
musket shot1755
Biscayen1812
picket1848
rifle bolt1849
Minié ball1851
Minié1852
expanding bullet1859
navy bullet1873
two-two1895
dum-dum1897
Lee-Enfield bullet1899
rubber bullet1900
full-metal-jacket1913
round-nose1932
thirty-two1942
plastic bullet1945
baton round1968
1689 in A. W. C. Hallen Acct. Bk. Sir J. Foulis (1894) 108 For a duzn pistoll ball 0. 2. 0.
1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones III. viii. i. 147 Fisher came suddenly from his lurking Place, and walking softly behind his Friend..discharged a Pistol Ball into his Head. View more context for this quotation
1877 W. W. Fowler Woman on Amer. Frontier xii. 270 The dastard stepped from behind the tree and sent a pistol ball through her right arm.
1991 Amer. Antiq. 56 534/2 Numerous battle-related artifacts were found, primarily spent and dropped musket, rifle and pistol balls.
pistol cane n. a pistol disguised as a cane; a cane containing a concealed pistol.
ΚΠ
1871 Titusville (Pa.) Morning Herald 25 May The shot is supposed to have come from a pistol cane.
1994 Boston Herald 17 Apr. O52 A most unusual pistol cane that was made in New Orleans..circa 1867.
pistol-carbine n. a pistol with a detachable stock, which can be fired as a pistol or as a carbine.
ΚΠ
1856 Times 19 Sept. 5/2 The ‘cavalry pistol carbine’... The distinguishing feature is a detached butt, which..may be instantly fixed to the pistol, converting it into a carbine with a rifled bore of the same diameter as the musket.
1864 J. Gorgas Civil War Diary 14 Aug. (1947) 134 He referred to the ‘pistol carbine’, the barrel of which was twelve inches long, and had a movable stock.
2002 Great Falls (Montana) Tribune (Nexis) 27 Apr. 2 m (caption) Larry Duren explains the workings of a rare 1855 Springfield .58 caliber pistol-carbine to John Nelson.
pistol crab n. now rare = pistol shrimp n.
ΚΠ
1903 Biol. Bull. 4 198 By..suddenly snapping the claws together the hammer is forced into the socket..to produce a surprisingly loud report, whence the popular name ‘pistol crab’.
1949 Sci. Monthly Sept. 203/1 The name long applied to one of the commoner California pistol-crabs—more properly a shrimp, Crangon dentipes..—has been replaced by..C. clamator.
pistol flare n. = pistol light n.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military organization > signals > [noun] > light signal
Very light1907
fairy light1916
pistol flare1916
pistol light1916
1916 ‘B. Cable’ Action Front 26 ‘Keep the lights blazing,’ Rawbon paused to shout to the man with the pistol flares.
2001 Des Moines (Iowa) Reg. (Nexis) 29 Mar. 1 n The standard equipment of an electric starter.., night flying instruments, two parachute flares and five pistol flares.
pistol grip n. that part of the pistol stock which is gripped by the hand; a handle or grip shaped like the butt of a pistol; frequently attributive.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > device for discharging missiles > firearm > parts and fittings of firearms > [noun] > stock or shaft > parts of
shaft1626
side plate1680
pistol hand1702
club1720
heel plate1753
break-off1804
shoulder-butt1810
pistol-butt1814
rifle butt1826
pistol grip1841
nose cap1844
trap1844
trap-plate1844
receiver1851
bump1852
furniture1852
bend1859
comb1867
fore-end1881
furniture-pin1881
grip1881
society > occupation and work > equipment > tool > parts of tools generally > [adjective] > handle or stock > of specific shape or size
pistol grip1958
society > occupation and work > equipment > tool > parts of tools generally > [noun] > handle > of other shapes
handstaff1440
brace1592
potent1688
crutch1831
grip-lug1891
baluster handle1956
pistol grip1972
1841 Times 21 Dec. 2/6 The colonel has added to the stock of the musket..a little knob of wood..similar to a pistol-grip, which gives great steadiness in firing.
1892 W. W. Greener Breech-loader 84 The rational gun stock..embodies qualities long sought in pistol grip guns.
1958 Engineering 28 Mar. 411/3 In addition to the push-button and pistol-grip controls.
1972 Shooting Times & Country Mag. 27 May 3/2 (advt.) Pistolgrip stock with cheekpiece £2 extra.
1994 Bowhunting World Feb. 67/1 Deeply contoured, accuracy-aiding pistol grips did not become common until the late 1950s to early 1960s.
pistol hand n. (a) the hand with which a person uses a pistol; †(b) = pistol grip n. (obsolete).
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > external parts of body > limb > extremities > hand > [noun] > right hand
right handOE
destera1300
right halfc1350
right sidea1382
sword-hand1531
wand-hand1637
pistol hand1702
spear-hand1728
thumb-hand1750
whip hand1806
dexter1814
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > device for discharging missiles > firearm > parts and fittings of firearms > [noun] > stock or shaft > parts of
shaft1626
side plate1680
pistol hand1702
club1720
heel plate1753
break-off1804
shoulder-butt1810
pistol-butt1814
rifle butt1826
pistol grip1841
nose cap1844
trap1844
trap-plate1844
receiver1851
bump1852
furniture1852
bend1859
comb1867
fore-end1881
furniture-pin1881
grip1881
1702 J. H. Compl. Gentleman Soldier 66 You must not let your Pistol hand fall, till the next Word of Command be given.
1821 Times 21 Apr. 3/2 As it [sc. the pistol] lay on the floor near the body, the barrel burst to pieces and the pistol hand dreadfully shattered.
1856 Encycl. Brit. XI. 100/1 A pistol-hand is a handsome..addition to the gun~stock.
1892 W. W. Greener Breech-loader 82 The pistol-hand gun-stock, especially in that form..known technically as half pistol-hand, is the common form throughout Canada and the United States.
1992 Washington Post (Nexis) 19 Aug. a19 The gunslinging sheriff..winged him with a bullet in his pistol hand and brought him back to the county jail.
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1820 Times 24 Apr. 6/4 Witness, in the watch-house, took from Ings a knife-case, two balls, and a pistol-key.
1852 R. S. Surtees Mr. Sponge's Sporting Tour xix. 94 A most diminutive Geneva watch, hung with pencils, pistol-keys, and other curiosities.
1862 Times 22 July 1/1 Lost,..an engraved silver-backed watch, white face, and a gold chain, with pistol key.
pistol light n. now rare a flare fired from a special pistol; a Very light.
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society > armed hostility > military organization > signals > [noun] > light signal
Very light1907
fairy light1916
pistol flare1916
pistol light1916
1916 ‘B. Cable’ Action Front 62 A couple of pistol lights flared upwards.
1929 Papers Michigan Acad. Sci., Arts & Lett. 10 315 Pistol lights, rockets shot from a pistol.
pistol man n. a man armed with or skilled at using a pistol.
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society > armed hostility > warrior > [noun] > champion or fighter in single combat
campionc1320
defendantc1450
combatant1489
appellant1520
defender?c1525
principal1590
duellist1593
champion1597
combater1598
dueller1614
battailant1620
pistol man1784
monomachist1828
society > armed hostility > warrior > armed man > [noun] > one armed with or using firearm > one bearing or using handgun > pistol
pistolier?1563
pistoleter1570
pistoletier1587
pistoler1590
pistoleera1679
pistol man1784
sightsman1790
pistol shot1832
pistol-toter1887
pistol-packer1899
pistolero1932
1784 R. Bage Barham Downs I. 213 I once intended to have shot at him,..but not being much of a pistol man..I changed my mind.
1854 J. B. Jones Freaks & Fortune xxvii. 239 Let us do something or other, and not be standing here talking to this pistol-man!
1984 Times 21 Sept. 2/6 (headline) Pistol man held in royal visit.
pistol-packer n. colloquial a person armed with a pistol.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > warrior > armed man > [noun] > one armed with or using firearm > one bearing or using handgun > pistol
pistolier?1563
pistoleter1570
pistoletier1587
pistoler1590
pistoleera1679
pistol man1784
sightsman1790
pistol shot1832
pistol-toter1887
pistol-packer1899
pistolero1932
1899 Independent (U.S.) 7 Sept. 2435 (title) The Pistol Packer.
1944 Time 10 July 40/2 The lady that's known as Lou pinched several pokes, but pulled no triggers... No pistol packer, she.
2003 Q Spring (Led Zeppelin Special ed.) 40/1 He faced down irate pistol-packers in Arizona.
pistol-packing adj. colloquial that carries a pistol.
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society > armed hostility > military equipment > arming or equipping with weapons > [adjective] > armed or provided with firearms > with small arms > with specific type of
pistoled1634
blunderbussed1851
revolvered1858
pistol-toting1903
pistol-packing1927
1927 Daily Northwestern (Oshkosh, Wisconsin) 26 Jan. 6/2 The special prosecutor called the defendant a ‘pistol packing parson’.
1943 A. Dexter (title of song) Pistol packin' mama.
1998 Jrnl. Amer. Hist. 85 558 Daisy Bates, the pistol-packing heroine of Little Rock, agreed to denounce Williams.
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1875 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. III. 1714/2 Pistol-pipe (Metal.), the tuyere of a hot-blast furnace.
pistol pocket n. †(a) a man who carries a pistol in his pocket (obsolete); (b) a pocket or pouch for carrying or storing a pistol.
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1850 Huron Reflector (Norwalk, Ohio) 14 May We hope..that the little Senatorial hang-man and pistol-pocket, from Middiddippi, will be expelled.
1865 Boston Jrnl. 22 May 4/4 In her pistol pocket handy, Just like a thoughtful man, She had a prudent little flask of brandy.
1966 M. Avallone Fat Death 20 His hands were anchored into the pistol pockets of his grey trousers, throwing back the tails of his form-fitting jacket.
2003 Houston Chron. (Nexis) 27 Aug. 1 I began with the pickup. In the pistol pocket of that vehicle..I found $1.67.
pistol-proof n. and adj. †(a) n. pistol-proof armour (obsolete); (b) adj. resistant to pistol fire.
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society > armed hostility > defence > [noun] > impenetrability to weapons
pistol-proof1590
cannon-proof1601
society > armed hostility > defence > [adjective] > proof against weapons
cannon-proof1588
pistol-proof1590
sword-proofa1593
musket-proof1603
arrow-proof1612
shot-free1616
bomb-proof1702
splinter-proof1834
bullet-proof1856
metal proof1906
hard1958
the world > action or operation > safety > [noun] > safety or invulnerability > specific invulnerability
pistol-proof1590
stick-free1621
rabbit-proof1832
thief-proof1856
the world > action or operation > safety > [adjective] > safe or invulnerable > specific
pistol-proof1590
sword-proofa1593
fireproof1610
plot proofa1616
shot-free1616
stick-free1632
armour-proof1635
water-free1642
sting-free1644
iron-free1670
bomb-proof1702
ball-proof1759
bear-proof1840
bullet-proof1856
dingo-proof1873
aseismic1884
tamperproof1886
radioresistant1922
tamper-resistant1978
1590 R. Williams Briefe Disc. Warre 29 The forepart of his curaces of a light pistoll proofe.
?1592 Trag. Solyman & Perseda sig. G2v My skin holds out Pistoll proofe.
1607 R. C. tr. H. Estienne World of Wonders 237 Harnesse..not halfe so weighty, and yet of pistol proof.
1716 D. Ryder Diary 22 May (1939) (modernized text) 239 He said he did not fear any two men living and was pistol proof.
1894 Times 21 Aug. 7/1 New bullet-proof cuirasses..one described as dagger and pistol proof and the other as rifle proof.
1997 Associated Press Online (Nexis) 29 Dec. A lightly armored, pistol-proof vehicle sells for $145,000.
pistol range n. (a) the distance that a pistol can fire a bullet; (b) a place for practising pistol shooting.
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1811 Edinb. Advertiser 30 Aug. 141/2 The enemy silently waited the attack..until the boats were within pistol range.
1838 R. S. Surtees Jorrocks's Jaunts 312 Round-abouts, archery-butts, pistol-ranges.
1864 G. O. Trevelyan Competition Wallah iv. 99 The sepoys plied them with shot at pistol-range.
1977 H. Kaplan Damascus Cover iv. 33 On the pistol range Ari discovered..that his aim was way off.
1981 Manchester Guardian Weekly (Nexis) 21 June 1 There will be strong pressures on the Palace..to perform..the ceremonials beyond pistol range.
2000 Combat Handguns Mar. 58/1 The techniques were created on a pistol range, where conditions are controlled—they were never tested in the real-world.
pistol shrimp n. any of various marine shrimps of the families Alpheidae and Crangonidae (infraorder Caridea), having one enlarged chela which can be snapped shut with a loud concussion used for defence and for stunning prey; also called snapping prawn, snapping shrimp.
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1937 Amer. Midland Naturalist 18 189 Beneath the masses of colonial animals are found many retiring organisms such as the pistol shrimps, Crangon dentipes, C. bellimanus and Synalpheus lockingtoni, [etc.].
2002 M. D. Greenfield Signalers & Receivers iv. 134 The pistol shrimp Alphaeus heterochaelis generates very intense clicks by snapping the two segments of an enlarged chela together.
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the world > health and disease > healing > medical appliances or equipment > surgical supports > [noun] > splint
spelkc1000
splintc1400
shindle1598
splinter1598
junk1617
fish1666
starch bandage1838
starch splint1843
pistol-splint1860
Balkan splint1916
gutter-splint1919
1860 J. E. Erichsen Sci. & Art Surg. (new ed.) p. xx Pistol-splint.
Derivatives
ˈpistol-like adj.
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1834 L. Ritchie Wanderings by Seine 167 We hear..the pistol-like report of beer, and the more soberly alluring plunk! of wine-corks.
1994 J. Barth Once upon Time 192 I discovered accidentally what I would later learn were called rim-shots—the pistol-like effect of striking simultaneously the drumhead with the tip and the rim with the shaft of the stick.
ˈpistol-wise adv. in the manner or style of a pistol.
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1838 D. Urquhart Spirit of East I. 412 Placing one hand on his hip, and laying the other on the enormous key that was stuck, pistol-wise in his belt.
1895 Outing 26 6/1 The Major, holding on with one hand, used the rifle pistol~wise.
1999 Re: Alaska Guns in rec.guns (Usenet newsgroup) 31 Jan. Most folks carry a 44 mag if they have to carry something pistol-wise.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2006; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
pistolv.
/ˈpɪstl/, U.S. /ˈpɪstl/ 1. transitive. To shoot (a person, etc.) with a pistol. Also (occasionally) intransitive.
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the world > health and disease > ill health > injury > injure [verb (transitive)] > wound > wound with missile
shootc893
shoot1297
feather1415
to shoot (a person, thing) through1535
daga1572
pistol1598
lace1622
to shoot‥through and througha1648
pink1661
pop1762
plump1785
wing1802
drill1808
rifle1821
leg1829
hole1847
shot1855
blunderbuss1870
riddle1874
pip1900
slot1987
society > armed hostility > military equipment > operation and use of weapons > action of propelling missile > discharge of firearms > use or operation of small arms > use small arms [verb (transitive)] > shoot with pistol
daga1572
pistol1598
pistolade1815
1598 G. Chapman Blinde Begger of Alexandria sig. B4 I do not like this humor in thee in pistoling men in this sort.
1607 T. Dekker & J. Webster Famous Hist. Thomas Wyat sig. D4v Powder the Varlet, pistoll him.
1649 Man in Moon 5–12 Sept. 176 The next he met with being a man, he made no more adoe but Pistolled, that he presently fell down dead.
1691 A. Wood Athenæ Oxonienses I. 757 He, out of a deep reluctancy, pistol'd himself in his Cabin.
1748 S. Richardson Clarissa VII. liv. 208 He is afraid you will pistol him.
1781 Woodbury I. xxiv. 85 I could have pistoled myself, to have put an end to my shame and vexation.
1815 Ld. Byron Let. 14 Feb. (1975) IV. 271 Lord Cranstoun..hath recently pistolled his wife's paramour in the arm.
1894 S. R. Crockett Raiders 152 I declare I could have pistolled him there and then.
1925 Amer. Mercury July 270/1 I'm going to pistol a rattlesnake—one of my friends is bit.
1991 P. O'Brian Nutmeg of Consol. (1993) vi. 157 She was being transported for pistolling the runners that came to arrest her.
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the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > sharp or hard sound > [verb (intransitive)] > crack or snap
crackc1000
snap1673
yack1873
pistol1898
1898 Atlantic Monthly Apr. 500/1 His whip~lash whirling and pistoling about his head.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
n.?1560
v.1598- peroxisomes
- peroxo
- peroxo-
- peroxonitric
- peroxy
- peroxy-
- peroxynitrate
- peroxynitric
- peroxynitric acid
- peroxynitrite
- perp
- perp walk
- perpacate
- perpend
- perpended
- perpendent
- perpender
- perpendicle
- perpendicular
- perpendicular pronoun
- perpendicular style
- perpendicular-looking
- perpendicular-sided
- perpendicularities
- perpendicularity