pistol Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a firearm that is held and fired with one hand
    shooting iron; side arm; handgun.

WordNet

Pis"tol noun
Etymology
F. pistole, pistolet, It. pistola; prob. from a form Pistola, for Pistoja, a town in Italy where pistols were first made. Cf. Pistole.
Definitions
  1. 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. generically, also called handgun
Pis"tol transitive verb
Etymology
Cf. F. pistoler.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Pistoled ; present participle & verbal noun Pistoling
Definitions
  1. To shoot with a pistol. "To pistol a poacher." Sydney Smith.

Webster 1913