gun English · revision 3170

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=borrowing|attested=mid-14th century|origins=non Gunnhildr}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ɡʌn/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|gunne]], gonne,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) apparently a shortening of the woman's name Gunilda,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) found in Middle English gonnilde “cannon” and in an Anglo-Latin record of 1330 that calls a great engine of war at Windsor Castle Domina Gunilda, “Lady Gunilda”.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) The name is [[bor|non|Gunnhildr]],^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) a compound of gunnr and hildr, both meaning “war, battle”;^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(NODE 1998) gunnr is cognate with Old English gūþ and goes back to [[ine-pro|*gʷʰen-|t=to strike, kill]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) Giving women's names to weapons is common: Mons Meg, Brown Bess and Big Bertha are examples.^(Cresswell 2021)^(Etymonline) Etymonline also considers a direct borrowing of Old Norse gunnr “battle”, or an influence of Old French engon, a dialect form of engin “engine”.^(Etymonline) The verb is from the noun.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ An engine of war throwing rocks, arrows or other missiles: probably before 1300, in ''Kyng Alisaunder'',^(Barnhart 1988) or the mid-14th century;^(Etymonline) the OED's first example is from 1339.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The meaning grew with the technology, from cannons to the portable firearms that developed in the 15th century;^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) the OED records a portable gun, first called a ''hand-gun'', from 1409.^(OED 1989) The word was applied to pistols and revolvers from 1744, first in American English.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) In modern military use ''gun'' is restricted to cannons, especially long ones with high velocity and a flat trajectory.^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) The verb, “to shoot with a gun”, is from about 1622,^(MWU 2024)^(Barnhart 1988) and ''gun for'', to go after with determination, came from it.^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate) “To accelerate an engine” is from 1930, from the earlier phrase ''give her the gun'' (1917), apparently pilots' jargon from the First World War.^(Etymonline) ''Stick to one's guns'' comes from the battlefield, where it meant staying at one's post under bombardment.^(Cresswell 2021) ''Jump the gun'' is from 1912, in American English,^(Etymonline) after the starting pistol of athletics, called the gun from 1900.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1300 – an engine of war.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1339 – a cannon.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1409 – a portable firearm.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1622 – verb, to shoot with a gun.^(MWU 2024)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1744 – a pistol or revolver.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1858 – a thief, rascal.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1900 – a starting pistol.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1912 – ''jump the gun''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1930 – verb, to accelerate an engine.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A weapon with a metal tube from which a projectile is fired at high speed, especially a portable [[firearm]] such as a [[rifle]] or [[pistol]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A [[cannon]] with a long barrel and a flat trajectory.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A device that discharges something through a tube: ''a staple gun''.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # The firing of a gun as a [[salute]] or signal, especially the [[signal]] to start a race.^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)

+ # A person armed with a gun; a gunman or hunter.^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To shoot (a person), often with ''down''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To open the [[throttle]] of (an engine) so as to accelerate.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # To hunt with a gun.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # ''gun for'': To pursue or aim at with determination.^(MW Collegiate)^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[gunned]]

+ * [[gunless]]

+ * [[outgun]]

+ * [[gun room]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[gunner]]

+ * [[gunpowder]]

+ * [[gunwale]]

+ * [[bane]]

+ * [[shotgun]]

+ * [[handgun]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Gun'' is also an old past tense of the verb gin, “to begin”.^(OED 1989) In Pembrokeshire dialect to ''gun'' was to watch or spy.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}