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Glite Dictionary
horse pistol

horse pistol

1 9.9
A large gun carried by a rider on horseback in a holster
  • noun
  • Archaic
translation icon : pistola de caballería
  • Heyward's aiming a horse pistol at Hawkeye. Hawkeye is nonplussed.

Examples

  • AMBROSE Present! # CORA covers Alice with her body, holding the reins of their bolting horses. # HEYWARD from horseback aims his horse pistol, FIRES ...

    Fiction book (1992)

  • I grew up with guns—rifles, shotguns, and a big old horse pistol.

    Blog text (11)

  • And I reached across for the horse pistol and shot Dermot, dead.

    Under Capricorn (1949)

  • Out of view was a charged horse pistol that could calm even the most unsatisfied of customers.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • Who always like to be busy, and he was cleaning and reloading, the big horse pistol we had brought with us.

    Under Capricorn (1949)

  • The cowboy holstered his horse pistol after the long ride through the desert.

  • During the reenactment, each soldier demonstrated how to wield a horse pistol effectively.

  • The museum displayed a beautifully crafted horse pistol that once belonged to a famous cavalry officer.

Synonyms

pistol
vshorse pistol
268 2.1

A small gun you hold and fire with one hand

is larger and carried in a holster by horsemen
sidearm
vshorse pistol
20 4.6

A small gun carried at a person's side for protection

is carried by horsemen in a holster rather than for side personal defense
horse-pistol
vshorse pistol
  • Archaic
9.9

A large pistol carried by soldiers on horses in the past

is the same term written without a hyphen
pistole
vshorse pistol
  • Archaic
9.9

A small gun that often appears in old stories

refers to an actual large holstered firearm used historically, not an archaic term

Surface Forms

horse pistol singular
horse pistols plural

Morphology

horse + pistol

The noun–noun compound 'horse pistol' transparently means a pistol associated with horses or horsemen because 'horse' modifies 'pistol' to indicate type/use. This follows common English compounding patterns (and similar patterns in other languages), so a B1 learner who knows 'horse' and 'pistol' can reasonably infer the intended meaning despite the term being somewhat historical.

Etymology

The noun horse pistol comes from the simple image of a large pistol kept for use by people on a horse. Because it was carried in a holster on the saddle and could be drawn while riding, the phrase means 'a large pistol carried by horsemen'.