🧂 A pepper shaker 🔫 A multi-barrel gun

pepperbox

9.9

An old small gun with several barrels that turn to fire many shots

noun
/ˈpɛpərˌbɑks/

Archaic

: revólver

During the historical reenactment, the actor fired his pepperbox to demonstrate how it worked in battle.

Examples

Look, uh, I got me a .22 pepperbox here.

Rooster Cogburn (1975)
The old cowboy pulled out his pepperbox revolver, ready for a showdown in the dusty street.
In the museum, I was fascinated by the display of a vintage pepperbox handgun from the 19th century.

Synonyms

pistol

vspepperbox

268 2.1

A small gun you hold and fire with one hand

is an older design with several rotating barrels rather than one barrel

revolver

vspepperbox

71 3.6

A small gun with a cylinder that holds several bullets so you can fire many times without reloading

has multiple rotating barrels instead of a single cylinder

six-shooter

vspepperbox

7 6.1

A small gun with a round part that holds six bullets

is an older design using several separate barrels that rotate to fire

repeater

vspepperbox

Specialized

2 8.1

A gun that can fire several shots in a row without reloading

relies on many rotating barrels rather than a single repeating part

repeating firearm

vspepperbox

Specialized

8.3

A gun that can fire several shots before reloading

uses multiple rotating barrels rather than a single firing channel

Surface Forms

pepperbox singular

pepperboxes plural

Morphology

pepperbox = pepper + box (opaque) = pepper + box

Although the form is a clear compound of 'pepper' and 'box', the handgun sense is a metaphorical naming based on resemblance and is not guessable from the parts alone.

Etymology

Pepperbox for the old gun got its name because the many barrels looked like a small pepper 'box' or shaker that you 'shake' to spread pepper. That's why pepperbox also means an old handgun with several barrels that turn or sit together to fire more than one shot.