Gun
/ɡʌn/noun
A weapon that uses explosive force to propel a projectile.
Did you know?The medieval English word gonne may have originated as the nickname of a large siege weapon called Gunilda, possibly named after the Old Norse female name Gunnhildr.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic
Proto-Germanic
*gunþiz
“Battle or combat; a possible ancestral element of the later personal name Gunnhildr.”
Old Norse
Old Norse
Gunnhildr
“A female personal name composed of gunnr, “battle,” and hildr, also “battle.””
11th–12th Century
Latin/Medieval Europe
Gunilda
“A Latinized or Germanic female name associated by some scholars with the later name of a siege weapon.”
14th Century
Middle English
gonne
“A large projectile weapon or cannon; the precise origin is uncertain, but connection with Gunilda has long been proposed.”
15th–16th Century
English
gun
“A firearm or cannon, increasingly used for portable as well as large artillery weapons.”
Modern English
English
gun
“A weapon that propels a projectile by explosive force, or more broadly a device resembling one.”