Gatling gun
4
8.9
- noun
- /ˈɡæt.lɪŋ ɡʌn/
:
ametralladora Gatling
- The historian explained how the Gatling gun revolutionized warfare in the 19th century with its rapid rate of fire.
- Gatling gun fires
- invention of the Gatling gun
- Gatling gun chattered
They stole weapons from company stores, including at least one Gatling gun.
- They stole weapons from company stores, including at least one Gatling gun.
- He's the one in the Wild Bunch who, when they have wired with dynamite the Gatling gun, he's the one who smiles and says, pretty smart.
Examples
-
We'd better get the Gatling gun out.
Fiction book (2002) -
Only one hundred and fifty years ago this coming November, Richard Gatling patented his Gatling gun, which would revolutionize warfare...
Blog text (23) -
I got your Gatling gun, and I got it set up.
-
You saw the Gatling gun?
-
Sir, would you really have killed those men with the Gatling gun?
-
This Gatling gun's a little heavy.
-
Took out the Gatling gun and the cannon all by himself.
-
Atop it are two men in masks, firing a Gatling gun into the crowd.
Fiction book (1992) -
The Gatling gun fires.
Fiction book (1996) -
The British camp is shrouded in gunsmoke, flashes of orange light bursting through, the Gatling gun wreaking havoc.
Fiction book (2002)
Synonyms
∞
1.0
A weapon that fires bullets or shells at high speed
101
3.5
A large gun that fires many bullets very quickly, often used by soldiers
3
8.7
An early rapid-fire gun used in the 1800s
A gun that can fire several shots before reloading
Surface Forms
Morphology
This is a transparent noun–noun compound: 'Gatling' names the particular type (inventor/type) and 'gun' denotes a firearm, so a learner who knows both constituents can infer it is a gun of the Gatling type. Although 'Gatling' is a proper name, the compositional pattern is common and the overall meaning is predictable from the parts.
Etymology
Gatling gun is named after its inventor Richard Gatling and refers to an early 'machine gun' that used several barrels in a circle turned by a hand crank. Picture a wheel of barrels that turn and fire one after another, and that image explains why the name means a fast, continuous firing gun today.