Kilo Lingo

Line drawing of pistolo
Coloured illustration of pistolo
#1486 of 5,000 Core 5000

Translation

pistol

Word origin

The origin is genuinely disputed, and the two standard accounts sit side by side in the dictionaries.

Origin
French
Root
pistole
English cognates
pistol

Other proposed origins

  • The account most etymologists now prefer traces it to Czech pistala, a pipe or whistle, the name of a Hussite hand-gun that reached western Europe through German Pistole and French pistole. (pistala)
  • The older account derives it from Pistoia, the Tuscan town known for metalworking, on the assumption that the weapon was named for where it was made. (Pistoia)

Examples

.

The officer put the pistol on the table.

.

A pistol is a small weapon.

.

He did not want to shoot with the pistol.

is the handgun specifically. The general word for any weapon is , and a rifle is . The verb for firing one is , so per is to shoot with a pistol and o is the generic firearm built from that same root.

Where this fits

Add to review queue

Track this word in your spaced-repetition queue and be tested on it at the right interval.

Go to my review queue

Esperanto · Free printables

pistolo: worksheet, infographic and listicle

Free printable study downloads for the Esperanto word "pistolo" (pistol): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.

Free for members

The printable worksheets, infographics and PDFs are free with an account. Start a free week and download as many as you like.

Start your free week

This word is part of lesson 30.