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Glite Dictionary
Sten gun

Sten gun

1 6.3
A small, light gun used by British soldiers in World War II
  • noun
  • /stɛn ɡʌn/
  • Archaic
translation icon : pistola Sten

Examples

  • If you look, you can find the plans for a Sten gun.

    Blog text (4)

  • If you want to worry about someone making an arsenal, restrict information on the British Sten gun.

    Blog text (4)

  • The soldiers lined up to receive their Sten gun before heading out to the front lines.

  • During World War II, many British troops carried a Sten gun due to its lightweight design.

  • The museum displayed a historic Sten gun, highlighting its significance in British military history.

Synonyms

submachine gun
vsSten gun
8 4.6

A small automatic weapon that uses pistol bullets

is a specific British lightweight model widely used during World War II

How Heavy

machine gun
  • NSFW
101 3.5
assault rifle
  • Specialized
36 4.8
Sten gun
  • Archaic
1 6.3
pistol
268 2.1

Surface Forms

Sten gun singular
Sten guns plural

Morphology

Sten + gun

The noun 'gun' is literal, so a learner who knows the constituents will correctly infer this is a type of firearm. However, 'Sten' is a proper name/model label and does not transparently convey the subtype (a lightweight WWII-era submachine gun) or its historical use, so full meaning requires extra lexical/historical knowledge.

Etymology

Sten gun may come from the first letters of its makers and the place it was made: Shepherd, Turpin and Enfield. Soldiers started using the short name Sten for this simple, light, cheap submachine gun, and that is why we still call it the Sten gun today.