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, adjectiveWords nearby pistol
pistareen,
piste,
pistil,
pistillate,
pistoia,
pistol,
pistol grip,
pistol-handle knife,
pistol-whip,
pistole,
pistoleer
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