pistol

• POS: Noun, Verb (usu participle)
• HYPHEN: pis=tol

CIDE DICTIONARY

pistol, n. [F. pistole, pistolet, It. pistola; prob. from a form Pistola, for Pistoja, a town in Italy where pistols were first made. Cf. Pistole.].

 The smallest firearm used, intended to be fired from one hand, -- now of many patterns, and bearing a great variety of names. See Illust. of Revolver.  [1913 Webster]

Pistol carbine, a firearm with a removable but-piece, and thus capable of being used either as a pistol or a carbine. -- Pistol pipe (Metal.), a pipe in which the blast for a furnace is heated, resembling a pistol in form. -- Pistol shot. (a) The discharge of a pistol. (b) The distance to which a pistol can propel a ball.

pistol, v. t. [Cf. F. pistoler.].

 To shoot with a pistol.  Sydney Smith.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

pistol, n. & v.
--n.
1 a small hand-held firearm.
2 anything of a similar shape.
--v.tr. (pistolled, pistolling; US pistoled, pistoling) shoot with a pistol.

Idiom

hold a pistol to a person's head coerce a person by threats. pistol-grip a handle shaped like a pistol-butt. pistol-shot
1 the range of a pistol.
2 a shot fired from a pistol. pistol-whip (-whipped, -whipping) beat with a pistol.

Etymology

obs. F f. G Pistole f. Czech pist' al

THESAURUS

pistol

automatic, blow to pieces, blow up, blowgun, blowpipe, brain, bring down, burn to death, charge, cock, cut down, cut to pieces, deal a deathblow, detonate, discharge, disintegrate, drop, eject, fell, fire, fire off, firearm, flamethrower, frag, gat, give the quietus, gun, gun down, gun for, handgun, heater, hit, incinerate, jugulate, lapidate, lay low, let fly, let off, load, musket, peashooter, pelt, pepper, pick off, piece, plug, poleax, pot, potshoot, potshot, prime, repeater, revolver, riddle, rifle, rod, sawed-off shotgun, shoot, shoot at, shoot down, shoot to death, shooting iron, shotgun, silence, six-gun, six-shooter, snipe, stab to death, stone, stone to death, strike, strike dead, take a potshot, torpedo, vaporize

ROGET THESAURUS

pistol

Arms

N arm, arms, weapon, deadly weapon, armament, armaments, armature, panoply, stand of arms, armor, armory, apparatus belli, ammunition, powder, powder and shot, cartridge, ball cartridge, cartouche, fireball, villainous saltpeter, dumdum bullet, explosive, gunpowder, guncotton, mercury fulminate, picrates, pentaerythritol tetranitrate, PETN, high explosive, trinitrotoluene, TNT, dynamite, melinite, cordite, lyddite, plastic explosive, plastique, pyroxyline, sword, saber, broadsword, cutlass, falchion, scimitar, cimeter, brand, whinyard, bilbo, glaive, glave, rapier, skean, Toledo, Ferrara, tuck, claymore, adaga, baselard, Lochaber ax, skean dhu, creese, kris, dagger, dirk, banger, poniard, stiletto, stylet, dudgeon, bayonet, sword-bayonet, sword-stick, side arms, foil, blade, steel, ax, bill, pole-ax, battle-ax, gisarme, halberd, partisan, tomahawk, bowie knife, ataghan, attaghan, yataghan, yatacban, assagai, assegai, good sword, trusty sword, naked sword, cold steel, club, mace, truncheon, staff, bludgeon, cudgel, life preserver, shillelah, sprig, hand staff, quarter staff, bat, cane, stick, knuckle duster, billy, blackjack, sandbag, waddy, gun, piece, firearms, artillery, ordnance, siege train, battering train, park, battery, cannon, gun of position, heavy gun, field piece, mortar, howitzer, carronade, culverin, basilisk, falconet, jingal, swivel, pederero, bouche a feu, petard, torpedo, mitrailleur, mitrailleuse, infernal machine, smooth bore, rifled cannon, Armstrong gun, Lancaster gun, Paixhan gun, Whitworth gun, Parrott gun, Krupp gun, Gatling gun, Maxim gun, machine gun, pompom, ten pounder, small arms, musket, musketry, firelock, fowling piece, rifle, fusil, caliver, carbine, blunderbuss, musketoon, Brown Bess, matchlock, harquebuss, arquebus, haguebut, pistol, postolet, petronel, small bore, breach-loader, muzzle-loader, revolver, repeater, Minis rifle, Enfield rifle, Flobert rifle, Westley Richards rifle, Snider rifle, Martini-Henry rifle, Lee-Metford rifle, Lee-Enfield rifle, Mauser rifle, magazine rifle, needle gun, chassepot, wind gun, air gun, automatic gun, automatic pistol, escopet, escopette, gunflint, gun- lock, hackbut, shooter, shooting iron, six-shooter, shotgun, Uzzi, assault rifle, Kalashnikov, bow, crossbow, balister, catapult, sling, battering ram, gunnery, ballistics, missile, bolt, projectile, shot, ball, grape, grape shot, canister shot, bar shot, cannon shot, langrel shot, langrage shot, round shot, chain shot, balista, ballista, slung shot, trebucbet, trebucket, bullet, slug, stone, brickbat, grenade, shell, bomb, carcass, rocket, congreve, congreve rocket, shrapnel, mitraille, levin bolt, levin brand, thunderbolt, pike, lance, spear, spontoon, javelin, dart, jereed, jerid, arrow, reed, shaft, bolt, boomerang, harpoon, gaff, eelspear, oxgoad, weet-weet, wommerah, cattle prod, chemical mace, en flute, nervos belli pecuniam infinitam.

Blusterer

N blusterer, swaggerer, vaporer, roisterer, brawler, fanfaron, braggart, bully, terrorist, rough, bulldozer, hoodlum, hooligan, larrikin, roarer, Mohock, Mohawk, drawcansir, swashbuckler, Captain Bobadil, Sir Lucius O'Trigger, Thraso, Pistol, Parolles, Bombastes Furioso, Hector, Chrononhotonthologos, jingo, desperado, dare-devil, fire eater, fury, rowdy, slang-whanger, tough, puppy, prig, Sir Oracle, dogmatist, doctrinaire, jack-in-office, saucebox, malapert, jackanapes, minx, bantam-cock.