pistol

[ pis-tl ]
/ ˈpɪs tl /

noun

a short firearm intended to be held and fired with one hand.

verb (used with object), pis·toled, pis·tol·ing or (especially British) pis·tolled, pis·tol·ling.

to shoot with a pistol.

Origin of pistol

1560–70; < Middle French pistole < German, earlier pitschal, pitschole, petsole < Czech píšt’ala literally, pipe, fife, whistle (presumably a slang term for a type of light harquebus employed during the Hussite wars), akin to pištět to squeak, peep

OTHER WORDS FROM pistol

pis·tol·like, adjective

Example sentences from the Web for pistol

British Dictionary definitions for pistol

pistol
/ (ˈpɪstəl) /

noun

a short-barrelled handgun
hold a pistol to a person's head to threaten a person in order to force him to do what one wants

verb -tols, -tolling or -tolled or US -tols, -toling or -toled

(tr) to shoot with a pistol

Word Origin for pistol

C16: from French pistole, from German, from Czech pišt'ala pistol, pipe; related to Russian pischal shepherd's pipes