carbine
[ kahr-been, -bahyn ]
/ ˈkɑr bin, -baɪn /
noun
a light, gas-operated semiautomatic rifle.
(formerly) a short rifle used in the cavalry.
Origin of carbine
1595–1605; earlier
carabine < Middle French: small harquebus, weapon borne by a
carabin a lightly armed cavalryman, compared with (
e)scarabin gravedigger for plague victims (< Provençal, akin to French
escarbot cockchafer, dung beetle ≪ Latin
scarabaeus
scarab), though semantic change is unclear
Words nearby carbine
carbene,
carbenicillin,
carbenicillin disodium,
carbide,
carbimazole,
carbine,
carbineer,
carbinol,
carbitol,
carbo,
carbo load
Example sentences from the Web for carbine
British Dictionary definitions for carbine
carbine
/ (ˈkɑːbaɪn) /
noun
a light automatic or semiautomatic rifle of limited range
Also called: carabin, carabine
a light short-barrelled shoulder rifle formerly used by cavalry
Word Origin for carbine
C17: from French
carabine, from Old French
carabin carabineer, perhaps variant of
escarrabin one who prepares corpses for burial, from
scarabée, from Latin
scarabaeus
scarab