pistol
pistol Lexical Profile
pistol Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A small firearm designed to be held and operated with one hand, especially one in which the firing chamber is integral with the barrel.
"The historical museum displays an ornate 18th-century flintlock pistol in its main gallery."
North American A notably energetic, spirited, or amusingly eccentric person (informal).
"Even in her eighties, my grandmother was a real pistol who kept everyone laughing at family dinners."
• verb
To shoot or strike with a small handheld firearm.
"In the classic stage melodrama, the villain attempts to pistol the hero from behind the curtain."
Word Nuance & Usage
Do not confuse 'pistol' (a small firearm) with its homophone 'pistil' (the female seed-bearing organ of a flower).
• Rhymes for pistol
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the mid-16th century from French pistole, via German Pistole, ultimately from Czech píšťala ('whistle, pipe, or early hand cannon'), derived from the verb pískat ('to whistle').
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.