revolver

Forms

revolver m (plural revolvers)^[1] Also spelled révolver.^[2]

Etymology

It is borrowed from English revolver, a word of American origin formed in 1835 from the verb revolve (“to turn, rotate”), which comes from Latin revolvō (“to roll back”).^[3][4][5] The name was coined by the inventor of the weapon, Samuel Colt, for the turning movement of its cylinder.^[3][4][6] The Latin verb is also behind French révolu and révolution.^[4][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Before 1848 it was quoted in French as an American word, for a kind of many-shot pistol that the Americans called revolvers; it is first recorded as a French word in 1853, in Laboulaye's Dictionnaire des arts et manufactures.^[3][4]

Semantic evolution

Rey notes that the Académie des sciences had already reported a similar French invention in 1767, a gun that fired twenty-four shots in a row by the circular movement of its barrel.^[4] Revolver properly names the pistol with a revolving cylinder, once also called revolver Colt, but everyday French uses it for any repeating firearm held in one hand, with or without a cylinder, while pistolet remains the general term.^[4][3] Larousse records this wider sense in 1904.^[8]

From the idea of turning, the word was applied in 1875 to a rotating device, as in revolver photographique,^[3] and later to the turret of a microscope that carries several objectives.^[9][2] The verb révolvériser “to shoot with a revolver” is recorded from 1894.^[3]

Timeline

• 1835 – Samuel Colt coins the English word revolver.^[3][5]
• Before 1848 – The word is quoted in French as an American term.^[3][4]
• 1853 – First record as a French word, in Laboulaye's dictionary.^[3][5]
• 1875 – Used of a rotating device, revolver photographique.^[3]
• 1894 – The verb révolvériser appears.^[3]
• 1904 – Larousse records the sense “any repeating handgun”.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. A revolver, a handgun with a revolving cylinder that brings each cartridge in turn in line with the barrel.^[3][2]
2. By extension, any repeating handgun, with or without a cylinder.^[3][2]
3. A revolving mechanism, such as the turret of a microscope carrying several lenses.^[2][8]

Word family

• révolvériser

Related words

• révolution
• révolu
• colt
• Latin revolvō
• English revolver

Usage notes

Poche revolver is the hip pocket of a pair of trousers.^[2]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
4. ^ a b c d e f g Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
9. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF