Posted: 12/13/2006 6:07:11 AM EDT
|
Would somebody please tell me about when and who redefined "Pistol" as a semi-automatic handgun only? It certainly doesn't fit history nor any dictionary on the market. I'm seeing this a lot on ARFCOM and have no idea where this notion came from. Hollywood? Gangsta culture? If we want to change the English language maybe someone should write a note to the dictionary companies and advise all the history/fiction books to be changed. Tj |
Well that's the traditonal definition which is a gun that can be fired with one hand. Still I have been seeing quite few people on the forum correcting folks calling a revolver a pistol as being wrong which makes one think well then what the hell to call this?  Tj |
|
We had this war here a little over a year ago and you missed it... archive.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=5&f=4&t=22318 ... but I fear you and I are going to be on opposite sides of this one, old friend. 
|
Not really for I could really care less. I'm more interested in where notion came from, when, and why? I rarely use the the term myself, however I grew up on cowboy flicks and it was a common term for revolvers back then. Just curious why the change? Popularity? Tj |
I don't know how it started. In my case, the usage I describe in that thread from last year simply appeals to my borderline-O/C need to categorize things neatly. (Yes, I am a big fan of Venn diagrams. It's a disease.  )It fits nicely with my compulsion, so I use it. Now, if I can just get the rest of y'all to go along we can go about getting the dictionaries all updated accordingly, as you mentioned... 
|
|
Judging by the definitions that I can find, a semi-auto and revolver are sub categories of a pistol or handgun. A muzzleloading pistol would also be an example. I did however find one definition that stated a pistol is any weapon able to be fired and aimed with a single hand, except for a revolver but that distinction is often lost. EDIT: No one is really sure where the term pistol even originated. The term pistol actually dates back to early English times when it was used to define a small knife or dagger concealed on ones person. |
Here's why, Tj, according to Merriam-Webster's online dictionary.
|
|
Same thing with the 'clip' versus 'magazine' debate. Obviously, magazine is preferred. My father in law was in the Navy during the Vietnam era and told me that on Navy ships, the ammo holder inserted into a rifle was called a 'clip' by everyone because to call it a 'magazine' would cause confusion because ammo was stored in the ship's 'magazine.' As in, "Sailor, go down into the magazine and retrieve a dozen clips for the rifles." I bring this up in those threads hoping that someone could shed some light on whether that is true or not, but everyone just goes back to yelling "CLIP!!" "MAGAZINE!" at each other, then posting pictures, etc. |
That is because the proper term is "detachable ammunition box" 
|
This is going in a very frightening direction...  I think I'll just sit back and eat my popcorn...
|
|
I don't really care. If someone says, "hand me that clip over there," I know what they mean, and won't hand them a paperclip or give them a condescending lecture on nomenclature. If someone challenges me to pistols at dawn, I'm not going to ask them to verify that the chamber is integral with the barrel. The types of people who go out of their way to show how much they know about a subject generally don't know as much as they think they do. |
You have admit that's weird. By this difinition, a flintlock handgun is a pistol, a Glock is a pistol, and even a pump shotgun with a handgrip is a pistol but not a Colt Peacemaker. 
|
Yeah.. I never actually put a thought toward why it was called a pistol. Now that I looked it up, I suppose I can see the difference. I guess it's akin to using the term "soy milk" instead of "soy juice" which is actually is. |