blunderbuss
English
editEtymology
editFrom Dutch donderbus (“blunderbuss”, literally “thunder gun”), which was altered under the influence of blunder.
Pronunciation
edit- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈblʌn.dəˌbʌs/
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈblʌn.dɚˌbʌs/
Audio (General American): (file) Audio (General Australian): (file) - Hyphenation: blun‧der‧buss
Noun
editblunderbuss (plural blunderbusses)
- An old style of muzzleloading firearm and early form of shotgun with a distinctive short, large caliber barrel that is flared at the muzzle, therefore able to fire scattered quantities of nails, stones, shot, etc. at short range.
- 1817, Merriweather Lewis, William Clark, Travels to the Source of the Missouri River, and Across the American Continent to the Pacific Ocean[1], Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, page 354:
- We fired the blunderbuss several times by way of salute, and soon after landed at the bank near the village of the Mahahas, or Shoe Indians, and were received by a crowd of people, who came to welcome our return.
- June 1942, Carl G. Erich, “Flintlock Blunderbuss”, in Popular Science[2]:
- One of the most picturesque of the old flintlock guns is the blunderbuss, which was often carried by coach guards for protection against highwaymen.
Translations
editold style of firearm with a distinctive large opening at the muzzle
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Verb
editblunderbuss (third-person singular simple present blunderbusses, present participle blunderbussing, simple past and past participle blunderbussed)
- (transitive) To shoot with a blunderbuss.
References
edit- Michael Quinion (2004) “Blunderbuss”, in Ballyhoo, Buckaroo, and Spuds: Ingenious Tales of Words and Their Origins, Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Books in association with Penguin Books, →ISBN.
Further reading
edit- blunderbuss on Wikipedia.Wikipedia