Etymologically
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gunman

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 31 October 2026 at 23:04. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • /ˈɡʌnmən/[1]

Etymology

It is a compound from English gun + man.[2][3][4] The OED compares the older names of soldiers by their weapon, pikeman, bowman and swordman.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A soldier armed with a gun rather than another weapon: 1590, in J. Thorie's translation of F. de Valdés, Sergeant Maior.[2] Etymonline dates the word to the 1620s,[3] Merriam-Webster to 1624[5] and Dictionary.com to 1615–25.[4]

Semantic evolution

In early use the word mostly named a member of a fighting force armed with a gun,[2] and in early American English especially a Native American warrior with a gun.[3] It then came to mean any man armed with or skilled at using a gun,[2][5] and in American use a man noted for his speed and skill in gunfights,[5][6] and a criminal who uses a gun, especially one hired to kill.[5][6] Collins notes that the armed man is usually armed unlawfully.[7] A rare 19th-century sense, a worker in a gun factory, is recorded from 1874.[2]

Timeline

  • 1590 – a soldier armed with a gun.[2] Etymonline dates the word to the 1620s.[3]
  • 1624 – a man armed with or firing a gun.[5]
  • 1874 – a man who works in the making of guns (rare).[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A man armed with a gun, especially one who uses it to commit a crime: Police are searching for the gunman who held up the bank.[7][5][2]
  2. A hired killer who uses a gun.[5][6]
  3. A man noted for his speed or skill with a gun; a gunslinger.[7][5][6]
  4. A guard armed with a gun.[5][6]
  5. (US) A person who makes or repairs guns, or knows them well.[7][2]

Word family

  • gunmanship

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d e Gove, Philip Babcock, ed. (1961), Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam
  7. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins