pistol

Forms

pistol n (plural pistoale)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Modern Greek πιστόλι (pistóli), also borrowed from German Pistole, as DEX 2009 and the DLR give it; the DLR and MDA2 also name Hungarian pistoly.^[2][3][4][5] Ciorănescu and Tiktin start instead from French pistole, which according to Ciorănescu reached Romanian by way of Polish pistol, the Russian word, a Greek form and Bulgarian.^[6][7] Wiktionary names only the Greek word.^[1]

The Greek word is a diminutive of medieval πιστόλα (pistóla), from Italian pistola.^[8][9] The Western word goes back to the German one, which the DHLF and Babiniotis derive from Czech píšťala (“whistle, pipe”), a name transferred to a hand firearm.^[10][8] The French word is recorded from 1544.^[10] Scriban instead connects the Italian word with pistone or with the town of Pistoia, where the weapon was said to have been invented: his view only.^[11]

The word has spread south of the Danube: Aromanian piștoală and Megleno-Romanian piștol, which Ciorănescu and Capidan take from Bulgarian.^[6][12]

Earliest recorded meaning

MDA2's first record is in Miron Costin's chronicle of Moldavia, of about 1675, where the plural pistoale occurs.^[4] Tiktin's first date is 1693, a record in a register he calls Condica.^[7]

Semantic evolution

The sense has stayed “hand firearm”; by extension the word also names the shots fired with one, and in sport an event of shooting with it.^[2][4] It also names hand-held tools shaped like a pistol, used for spraying paint, metallizing, riveting or welding.^[2][3]

A set of folk phrases compares a person to the bare weapon: gol pistol or îmbrăcat pistol “stark naked”, by extension “penniless”, and sărac pistol “very poor”.^[2][7][11] The DLR also records the regional forms pișcol, piștol and pestol, and the old plural pistoli.^[3]

Timeline

• c. 1675 – pistoale in Miron Costin's chronicle.^[4]
• 1693 – a record in a register cited by Tiktin as Condica.^[7]
• 1839 – the homograph pistol “pistole”, the gold coin, in Vaillant's dictionary.^[13]

Meanings

Noun

1. A pistol: a small firearm held and fired with one hand; a revolver;^[2][4][1] pistol-mitralieră “submachine gun”.^[2][4][1]
2. The shots or bullets fired from a pistol.^[2]
3. (sports) A shooting event fired with a pistol, at fixed or moving targets.^[2]
4. (technology) A hand-held device shaped like a pistol, used for spraying paint, metallizing, riveting or welding: pistol de vopsit “spray gun”.^[2][5]

Related words

• Aromanian piștoală
• French pistole

Usage notes

DEX 2009 and MDA2 have a homograph, pistol “pistole”, a masculine noun with the plural pistoli: an old gold coin of Spain, France, Italy and England, of varying value, first minted in the 16th century.^[2][13] It is from French pistole.^[2][14][3] The older dictionaries also have it as a feminine, pistolă.^[3][13]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 823
3. ^ a b c d e Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. pistol
4. ^ a b c d e f Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 2, 392
5. ^ a b Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual
6. ^ a b Ciorănescu, Alexandru (1958–1966), Diccionario etimológico rumano, La Laguna: Universidad de La Laguna (Romanian ed.: Dicționarul etimologic al limbii române, București: Saeculum, 2001), p. s.v. pistol
7. ^ a b c d Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. pistol
8. ^ a b Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
9. ^ Kriaras, Emmanuel, Επιτομή του Λεξικού της μεσαιωνικής ελληνικής δημώδους γραμματείας 1100–1669, Κέντρο Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, https://www.greek-language.gr
10. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
11. ^ a b Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună
12. ^ Capidan, Theodor (1935), Meglenoromânii III: Dicționar meglenoromân, București: Academia Română, p. 224
13. ^ a b c Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 2, 393
14. ^ Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România