gun
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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Etymology 1
From Middle English gunne, gonne, possibly from Gunnhild, a female given name formerly used as a nickname for engines of war. The name is composed of the Norse elements gunnr and hildr, both meaning "battle".
Pronunciation
Noun
gun (plural guns)
- A device for projecting a hard object very forcefully; a firearm or cannon.
- 1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], chapter 1, in The Amateur Poacher, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC:
- They burned the old gun that used to stand in the dark corner up in the garret, close to the stuffed fox that always grinned so fiercely. Perhaps the reason why he seemed in such a ghastly rage was that he did not come by his death fairly. Otherwise his pelt would not have been so perfect.
- 2018 February 23, Richard Ayoade, The Last Leg, Season 14, Episode 5:
- Well, I've always been progun, you know that. It's... yeah, I think adding more guns into a situation is obviously the way to prevent shooting. I think in a way, if we take the guns away, the shootings may escalate. And I think that's why he's so firm on literally arming everyone. I think if you don't have a gun in your hands... well, let's not find out what that world would be.
- Looking for wild meat to fill his family's freezer for the winter, the young man quietly raised up his gun at the approaching deer.
- A very portable, short firearm, for hand use, which fires bullets or projectiles, such as a handgun, revolver, pistol, or Derringer.
- A less portable, long firearm that fires bullets or projectiles; a rifle, either manual, automatic or semi-automatic; a flintlock, musket or shotgun.
- (military) A cannon with relatively long barrel, operating with relatively low angle of fire, and having a high muzzle velocity.[1]
- (military) A cannon with a 6-inch/155mm minimum nominal bore diameter and tube length 30 calibers or more. See also: howitzer; mortar.[1]
- (figurative) A firearm or cannon used for saluting or signalling.21-gun salute
- 1906, Stanley J[ohn] Weyman, chapter I, in Chippinge Borough, New York, N.Y.: McClure, Phillips & Co., →OCLC, page 01:
- It was April 22, 1831, and a young man was walking down Whitehall in the direction of Parliament Street. […]. He halted opposite the Privy Gardens, and, with his face turned skywards, listened until the sound of the Tower guns smote again on the ear and dispelled his doubts.
- A device operated by a trigger and acting in a manner similar to a firearm.
- Any implement designed to fire a projectile from a tube.
- air-pressure pellet gun
- zipgun
- A device or tool that projects a substance.
- A device or tool that applies something rather than projecting it.
- a price-label gun
- Any implement designed to fire a projectile from a tube.
- (surfing) A long surfboard designed for surfing big waves (not the same as a longboard, a gun has a pointed nose and is generally a little narrower).
- 2000, Drew Kampion, surfline.com
- by the winter of 1962, the Brewer Surfboards Hawaii gun was the most in-demand big-wave equipment on the North Shore.
- 2000, Drew Kampion, surfline.com
- (cellular automata) A pattern that "fires" out other patterns.
- 2000, Gary William Flake, The computational beauty of nature:
- The glider gun on the bottom of the NOT circuit emits a continuous stream of gliders, while the data stream source emits a glider only when there is a value of 1 in the stream […] .
- 2007 February 23, Frank, “Life on the Edge”, in comp.theory.cell-automata (Usenet):
- It would be especially interesting if someone can find an "airplane gun", which generates airplanes at regular intervals.
- 2010, Andrew Adamatzky, Game of Life Cellular Automata, page 74:
- Greene's period-416 2c/5 spaceship gun
- (colloquial, metonymically) A person who carries or uses a gun (rifle, shotgun or handgun), particuarly with reference to how quickly the person can draw and fire the gun.
- Some said that the cowboy was the fastest gun in the West.
- 1991 12, “Ski”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name), page 256:
- […] we had one lawman - Sheriff Dirty Herwick, "the slowest gun in the West." Dirty was a kindly man, a java addict whose knees knocked at the sight of blood. Back then, we winched our own car wrecks out of ravines and chased away mountain lions with kitchen brooms.
- (Can we date this quote?), J.R. Roberts, Death in Denver, Speaking Volumes, →ISBN:
- "I must say, I quite enjoy having the best detective in the business, and the fastest gun in the West, on my payroll." "First of all," Clint said tightly, "I'm not the fastest gun in the West, and second, I'm not on your payroll." Royce held up both of his hands. "I didn't mean to offend you, sir […]"
- (Can we date this quote?), J.R. Roberts, Gundown in Paradise, Speaking Volumes, →ISBN:
- "They say he's the fastest gun in the whole goddamn world." "I thought Blackie was supposed to be the best," Harlow remarked. “That's what all you chaps keep tellin' me." "Blackie is the fastest gun in the Oklahoma Territory," […]
- 2015 February 26, Neil Hickey, Adventures in the Scribblers Trade: The Most Fun You Can Have, iUniverse, →ISBN:
- They want to take on the fastest gun in town.
- 2015 August 31, Raymond C. Merriam, Hell’S Partner, Xlibris Corporation, →ISBN:
- "He's a fast gun out of Arizona."
- (television) An electron gun.
- 2012, Brand Fortner, Theodore E. Meyer, Number by Colors, page 202:
- The problem is figuring out how to get the electrons from the red gun to hit only the red phosphors, the electrons from the blue gun to hit only the blue phosphors, and so on.
- (colloquial, usually in the plural) The biceps.
- (nautical, in the plural) Violent blasts of wind.
- (Australia, slang) Someone excellent, surpassingly wonderful, or cool.
Derived terms
- aerogun
- air gun, airgun, air-gun
- Alekhine's gun
- anti-gun
- antigun
- Armstrong gun
- balling gun
- Barisal gun
- BB gun
- big gun
- blow from a gun
- blowgun, blow gun
- Bofors gun
- Bren gun
- bum gun
- burp gun
- cap gun, cap-gun
- caulking gun
- cemetery gun
- chain gun
- chase gun
- Chekhov's gun
- chicken gun
- chow gun
- clam gun
- coach gun
- coilgun, coil gun
- Costain gun, costain gun
- cryogun
- Dane gun
- dart gun
- Deer gun
- deluge gun
- DIY gun
- drop gun
- eat one's gun
- elder-gun
- electric gun
- electron gun
- elephant gun
- evening gun
- fiber gun
- field gun
- finger gun
- flag gun
- flame gun
- flare gun
- flash gun, flashgun
- footgun
- Gardner gun
- Gatling gun
- Gauss gun
- gene gun
- ghost gun
- girls with guns
- give a gun, give it the gun
- glider gun
- glue gun
- go great guns
- gravity gun
- grease gun
- great gun
- gun barrel
- gun-barrel
- gunbattle
- gunbearer
- gunbelt
- gunbird
- gunboat
- gun-brig
- gunbroke
- gun-broke
- gun carriage
- guncase
- gun-centric
- Gunchester
- gun club
- gun control, gun-control
- gun cotton, guncotton
- gun culture
- gun deck
- gun dog, gundog
- gunfighting
- gunfight → gunfighter
- gunfire
- gunfit
- gunfitting
- gunflash
- gunflint
- gun for, gun-for-hire
- gunfucker
- gun fu, gun-fu
- gunful
- gun furniture
- gun grabber
- gunhand
- gunhandler
- gun-happy
- gunhawk
- gunhouse
- gun-howitzer
- gunite
- gun jumping
- gun kata, gun-kata
- gun lap
- gunlayer
- gun layer, gun-layer
- gunless
- gun licence
- gunlike
- gunline
- gun line
- gun lobby
- gunlock
- gunloon
- gunloop
- gunmaker
- gunmaking
- gunman
- gunmanship
- gun mantlet
- gun metal, gun-metal, gunmetal
- gun money
- gunnage
- gunnel
- gunner, gunnery
- gunnish
- gunowner
- gunpad
- gun paper, gun-paper
- gunperson
- gun pit
- gunplay
- gunpoint
- gunpoke
- gunport
- gunpowder, gun powder
- gunpower
- gunproof
- gunrack
- gun range
- gun rights, gun-rights
- gun room
- gunroom
- gunrunner, gunrunning
- gun sanctuary
- guns and butter
- guns and roses
- guns blazing
- gun shearer
- gunshed
- gunshield
- gunship
- gunshop
- gunshot
- gun show
- gunshy, gun-shy, gun shy
- gunsight
- gunsite
- gunslinger
- gunslinging
- gunsman
- gunsmith
- gunsmithy
- gunsmoke
- gun sock
- gunster
- gun-stick
- gunstick
- gun stock, gunstock
- gunstone
- guntard
- gun time
- gun-toting
- gun-type → gun-type bomb
- gunwale
- gunwise
- gunwoman
- gunwork
- gunworks
- gun worm
- gunwright
- gunzel
- handgun
- harpoon gun
- Heaf gun
- heat gun
- hired gun
- hold a gun to someone's head
- hookgun
- Hotchkiss gun
- hot glue gun
- hotgun
- is that a gun in your pocket or are you just pleased to see me
- jigger gun
- jump the gun
- junk gun
- kit gun
- Krupp gun
- laser gun, laser-gun, lasergun
- Lewis gun
- light gun
- light machine gun
- line gun
- lock pick gun
- long gun
- Lyle gun
- machinegun
- machine gun, machine-gun
- magazine gun
- massage gun
- Maxim gun
- minigun, mini-gun
- minute gun
- morning gun
- mountain gun
- mouse gun
- nailgun, nail gun
- needle gun
- net gun
- noon gun
- Nordenfelt gun
- opening gun
- organ gun
- out-gun
- paint gun
- Paixhans gun
- pellet gun
- pen gun
- physics gun
- pick gun
- piercing gun
- pill gun
- pivot gun
- poacher's gun
- popgun, pop gun
- potgun
- price gun
- pro-gun
- prop gun
- pumpgun
- punt gun
- put a gun to someone's head
- quaker gun, Quaker gun
- radar gun
- rail gun, railgun
- railroad gun
- railway gun
- ray gun, ray-gun, raygun
- rivet gun
- robogun
- Rodman gun
- run and gun, run-and-gun
- sandgun
- scattergun
- scatter gun, scatter-gun
- scrub gun
- shotgun, shot-gun
- six-gun
- slam gun
- sleeve gun
- slum gun
- smoking gun
- snake gun
- snap gun
- snowgun
- snow gun
- son of a gun → son-of-a-gun stew
- space gun
- speargun
- spear gun
- spike someone's guns
- splatter gun, splatter-gun
- spray gun
- spring gun
- spud gun
- squirt gun
- staple gun
- starting gun
- steam gun
- Sten gun
- stick by/to one's guns
- studgun
- stun gun
- stutter gun
- submachine gun
- supergun
- sure as a gun
- swivel gun
- tattoo gun
- temperature gun
- Thompson submachine gun
- time gun, time-gun
- Tommy gun
- top gun
- under the gun
- up-gun
- wall gun
- watch gun
- water gun
- wheelgun
- Whitworth gun
- wire gun
- Woolworth gun
- you get more with a kind word and a gun than you do with a kind word alone
- young gun
- zip gun, zipgun
Related terms
Descendants
- Sranan Tongo: gon
Translations
portable, short weapon, for hand use
|
less portable, long weapon
|
military: cannon with relatively long barrel, operating with relatively low angle of fire, and having a high muzzle velocity
|
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long surfboard designed for surfing big waves
|
expert — see expert
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
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Verb
gun (third-person singular simple present guns, present participle gunning, simple past and past participle gunned)
- (transitive) To cause to speed up.
- He gunned the engine.
- (informal) To offer vigorous support to (a person or cause).
- We're all gunning for you.
- (informal) (gunning for something or gunning to do something) make a great effort.
- 2023, George Ramsay, Amy Woodyatt, “‘Like a chairlift up Everest’: Once running’s supreme challenge, has the value of a four-minute mile diminished?”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name), CNN:
- Australian John Landy, one of Bannister’s rivals also gunning to break the four-minute barrier, took more than a second off the Briton’s time in Turku, Finland, a few weeks later.
- To seek to attack someone; to take aim at someone; used with for.
- He's been gunning for you ever since you embarrassed him at the party.
- To practice fowling or hunting small game; chiefly in participial form: to go gunning.
- (transitive, intransitive, US, prison slang, of a male prisoner) Synonym of gun down (“to masturbate while making sustained eye contact with someone — typically a female prison officer — as a form of intimidation”).
- 2010, BNA's Employment Discrimination Report:
- […] all inmates participated in such conduct, and […] "the inmates gunned only female staff, not the all-male security staff," he said.
Derived terms
Translations
speed something up
offer vigorous support
Etymology 2
Related to ganef.
Noun
gun (plural guns)
- (obsolete, slang) A magsman or street thief.
- 1863, Blanchard Jerrold, Signals of Distress in Refuges and Homes of Charity (etc.), page 2:
- To discover […] how the honest poor are compelled to hob-and-nob with the “shoful pitcher” and the “gun,” it is necessary to visit the vast nursery-grounds of crime.
References
- John Camden Hotten (1873) The Slang Dictionary
Etymology 3
From gunna, from gonna, from going to.
Verb
gun
- Nonstandard spelling of going to.
- I'm gun go get my coat from da closet.
References
- JP 1-02. Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms, 8 November 2010 (As Amended Through 15 March 2012), p.142. (Searchable online version)
Anagrams
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