Etymologically
Log in

shotgun

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 22 October 2026 at 21:24. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˈʃɒtɡʌn/[1]
  • US: /ˈʃɑtɡʌn/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English shot (“small lead pellets”) + gun, originally American.[2][3][4][5][6] The noun shot had been used for lead in small pellets since 1770, according to Etymonline.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A smooth-bore gun for firing small shot, as distinguished from a rifle, which fires a bullet.[2][3] Merriam-Webster dates it to 1776 and Dictionary.com to 1770–80;[5][6] Etymonline's first record is from 1821 and the OED's from 1828, in J. Hall's Letters from the West.[3][2]

Semantic evolution

Because a shotgun scatters its shot at close range, the word came to describe anything forced or hasty: the shotgun wedding, a marriage forced on the couple, is recorded in American English by 1903,[3] and the adjective "made or done hastily or under pressure" from 1937.[2][7] Merriam-Webster also records a sense "covering a wide field with hit-or-miss effectiveness".[5][8] The custom of an armed guard sitting next to the driver of a stagecoach in the American West gave ride shotgun (by 1905).[3][8] Since 1940 shotgun alone has named the front passenger seat of a car, or the call by which someone claims it.[2][9] A shotgun house, with its rooms opening off a long central hall in a line, is recorded from 1938,[2][3] and the shotgun formation in American football by 1966.[3] The verb, "to shoot with a shotgun", is found from about 1880, and "to force as if at gunpoint" from about 1961;[2][5] in student slang to shotgun a beer is to drink a whole can in one go (1986).[9]

Timeline

  • 1776 – the gun, in Merriam-Webster's dating;[5] 1821 in Etymonline's, 1828 in the OED's.[3][2]
  • a1880 – the verb, to shoot with a shotgun.[2]
  • 1903 – shotgun wedding.[3]
  • 1905 – ride shotgun.[3]
  • 1937 – done hastily or under pressure.[2]
  • 1938 – a shotgun house.[2][3]
  • 1940 – the front passenger seat of a vehicle.[2]
  • 1966 – the football formation.[3]
  • 1986 – to drink a can of beer in one swallow.[9]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A smooth-bore gun, often double-barrelled, that fires shot over short ranges.
  2. (American football) An offensive formation in which the quarterback stands several yards behind the line of scrimmage to receive the snap.
  3. (North America, informal) The front passenger seat of a car; also used as an exclamation to claim it: Shotgun! she called as they reached the van.

Adjective

  1. Of, relating to, or using a shotgun.
  2. Obtained or carried out under coercion or in haste: a shotgun deal between the two firms.
  3. Covering a wide range in a haphazard way.
  4. (US) Of a house: with its rooms in a line along a long central passage.

Verb

  1. To shoot with a shotgun.
  2. To force as if by threat of arms.
  3. (slang) To drink (a can of beer) in one swallow.

Word family

  • shotgunner
  • shotgun wedding
  • shotgun marriage
  • shotgun microphone

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  7. ^ Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
  8. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  9. ^ a b c Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com