Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A short-barreled pistol that has a large bore and is small enough to be carried in a pocket.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A short-barreled pistol of large caliber, very efficient at short range.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun A kind of short-barreled pocket pistol, of very large caliber, often carrying a half-ounce ball.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A type of very small,
concealable pistol with one or twobarrels , but without any loading system ormagazine .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a pocket pistol of large caliber with a short barrel
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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On this side of the Atlantic, nearly any small pocket pistol is now called a derringer, from Henry Deringer's short-barreled muzzle-loader.
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a pair of pistols; the word, which is still popular, being a corruption of the Persian "Tabáncheh" = a slap or blow, even as the French call a derringer coup de poing.
Arabian nights. English Anonymous 1855
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When a steamboat known to be carrying smallpox attempted to unload its passengers, Dumont aimed her derringer pistol at the captain and fired two shots into the deck just inches from his feet.
A Renegade History of the United States Thaddeus Russell 2010
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Here's the exact replica of the .44-caliber derringer Booth used.
Movie on Lincoln assassination has second life in D.C. crime museum 2011
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In the theater's museum is the real Booth derringer.
Movie on Lincoln assassination has second life in D.C. crime museum 2011
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How about a derringer chambered for a 105mm howitzer round.
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He found a loaded two shot .22 derringer pistol as part of the buckle.
What A Load Of Pants! « POLICE INSPECTOR BLOG Inspector Gadget 2009
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As for that final rite of "centrism" - the hit job - Mr. Schoen's editorial demonstrates that he'll happily don the ankle holster and squeeze off a round from his derringer whenever the signal's given.
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So instead, a 12ga derringer with an 8 ceramic barrel.
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So instead, a 12ga derringer with an 8 ceramic barrel.
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