Standard Lemma guide

handgun

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • General-American: /ˈhændˌɡʌn/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: HH AE1 N D G AH2 N Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A small gun with a relatively short barrel, designed to be held and operated with a single hand.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: pistol[Appendix:Glossary, burner, heater, gat

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: firearm, gun, ranged weapon, weapon

2

noun

Meaning 2

a firearm that is held and fired with one hand

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: pistol, side arm, shooting iron

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: firearm, piece, small-arm

Narrower terms: automatic pistol, automatic, derringer, forty-five, gat, rod, horse pistol, horse-pistol, peacekeeper, revolver, six-gun, six-shooter, Saturday night special, semiautomatic pistol, semiautomatic, Very pistol, Verey pistol, zip gun

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *handuz Proto-West Germanic *handu Old English hand Middle English hond English hand Proto-Indo-European *gwhen- Proto-Indo-European *-tis Proto-Indo-European *gwhéntis Proto-Germanic *gunþiz Old Norse gunnr Proto-Indo-European *kelh2-der. Proto-Indo-European *kelh2tís Proto-Germanic *hildiz Old Norse hildr Old Norse Gunnhildrder. Middle English gunne English gun English handgun From hand + gun.

Across languages

Translations

37 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: مُسَدَّس (musaddas) — small, hand-held gun
  • Arabic: فَرْد (fard) — small, hand-held gun
  • Arabic: كابوس (kābūs) — small, hand-held gun
  • Arabic: فردي (fardi) — small, hand-held gun
  • Armenian: ատրճանակ (atrčanak) — small, hand-held gun
  • Chinese Mandarin: 短槍 /短枪 (duǎnqiāng) — small, hand-held gun
  • Chinese Mandarin: 手槍 /手枪 (shǒuqiāng) — small, hand-held gun
  • Danish: pistol — small, hand-held gun
  • Danish: håndskydevåben — small, hand-held gun
  • Dutch: vuistvuurwapen — small, hand-held gun
  • Estonian: püstol — small, hand-held gun
  • Estonian: käsirelv — small, hand-held gun
  • Finnish: käsiase — small, hand-held gun
  • Finnish: käsituliase — small, hand-held gun
  • French: arme de poing f pistolet — small, hand-held gun
  • French: revolver — small, hand-held gun
  • Georgian: დამბაჩა (dambača) — small, hand-held gun
  • Georgian: პისტოლეტი (ṗisṭoleṭi) — small, hand-held gun
  • German: Kurzwaffe — small, hand-held gun
  • German: Pistole — small, hand-held gun
  • German: Revolver — small, hand-held gun
  • German: Meuchelpuffer — small, hand-held gun
  • Greek: πιστόλι (pistóli) — small, hand-held gun
  • Greek: περίστροφο (perístrofo) — small, hand-held gun
  • Hebrew: אקדח (ekdakh) — small, hand-held gun
  • Hungarian: kézifegyver — small, hand-held gun
  • Indonesian: beceng — small, hand-held gun
  • Indonesian: senpi tangan — small, hand-held gun
  • Ingrian: pistoletti — small, hand-held gun
  • Japanese: 拳銃 (kenjū) — small, hand-held gun
  • Persian: تپانچه (tapânče) — small, hand-held gun
  • Portuguese: arma de fogo curta — small, hand-held gun
  • Portuguese: revólver — small, hand-held gun
  • Russian: пистоле́т (pistolét) — small, hand-held gun
  • Spanish: arma corta — small, hand-held gun
  • Tibetan: ལག་མདའ (lag mda') — small, hand-held gun
  • Welsh: llawddryll — small, hand-held gun