firearmn.
/ˈfʌɪərɑːm/, U.S. /ˈfaɪ(ə)rˌɑrm/ A weapon from which a missile can be propelled at speed by means of an explosive charge; (in later use) esp. one that is small and portable, as a pistol, rifle, shotgun, or musket.Originally usually in plural; cf. arms n. 2.
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society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > device for discharging missiles > firearm > [noun]
cane of fire1550
shota1578
fire1590
fire piece1592
fireweapon?1592
powder instrument1613
firearm1643
firegun1677
bulldog1700
nail driver1823
peacemaker1840
thunder stick1918
1643 Assoc., Agreement & Protestation of Cornwall & Devon 4 That there be provided a Thousand Barrells of Powder, and ten Thousand Fire-Armes at the charge of both Counties.
1677 G. Miege New Dict. French & Eng. ii. sig. Sv/1 A fire-arm, arme à feu.
a1684 J. Evelyn Diary anno 1646 (1955) II. 489 Here I purchasd my fine Carabine..this Citty being famous for these fire Armes.
1702 Clarendon's Hist. Rebellion I. ii. 92 Nor had they Ammunition to supply their few Fire-Arms.
1719 D. Defoe Life Robinson Crusoe 329 I left them my Fire Arms, viz. Five Muskets.
1735 Mil. Dict. in tr. A. de Pas Mem. Marquis de Feuquieres II Musquet, is the most commodious and useful Fire-Arm used in the Army.
1840 W. M. Thackeray Paris Sketch Bk. II. 162 He heard the report of a fire-arm.
1870 C. C. Black tr. A. Demmin Weapons of War viii. 550 This latter country has held an important place in the manufacture of heavy fire-arms ever since the invention of cannons.
1899 Daily News 12 June 3/4 Kennerley was not aware that the firearm was loaded, and it discharged in his face.
1929 D. Hammett Red Harvest xvi. 159 I runs right to the door after them and cut loose with the old firearm.
2012 Atlantic Dec. 78/2 Pink Pistol clubs sprang up across America, in which gays and lesbians learn to use firearms in self-defense.
Compounds
C1. With the first element in singular form.
a. General attributive and objective, as firearm certificate, firearm owner, etc.
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1798 G. F. Koehler tr. C. de Warnery Remarks on Cavalry i. 15 Frederick abolished all fire-arm exercise [Fr. maniement des armes] on horseback.
1837 W. J. Neale Gentleman Jack II. xxii. 266 In the fore and main-top, were stationed the best fire-arm men, with particular and most positive orders not to fire in-board.
1853 G. S. Measom Official Illustr. Guide South-eastern Railway 134 Those persons who are unacquainted with the operations of fire-arm manufacture.
a1877 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. II. 1037/2 Gun-lock Hammer, the cock or striker of a fire-arm lock.
1928 Decatur (Illinois) Evening Herald 14 Nov. 6/3 In 1925 the firearm industry produced but $15,000,000 worth of pistols, rifles and shotguns.
1937 Life 26 July 23/2 They had heard that German-Americans, ‘undoubtedly Nazis’, were regularly engaging in uniformed parades, firearm practice, mounted drill.
1941 Syracuse (N.Y.) Herald-Jrnl. 5 Feb. 24/1 A joint bill which would make firearm owners report to local police the number of guns and rounds of ammunition in their possession.
1967 Harvard Law Rev. 80 1329 The sponsors intended that the law eliminate firearm sales to criminals without restricting or inconveniencing the law-abiding citizen.
1976 Evening Standard (Uniontown, Pa.) 2 July 29/1 Despite her objections, the 29-year-old hunter and firearm enthusiast pursued his favorite hobby.
1996 Guardian (Nexis) 17 Oct. 3 If you own a valid firearm certificate you will still be able to keep a shotgun or rifle in the home.
2007 Atlanta Jrnl.-Constit. (Nexis) 18 Feb. a11 Mere firearm ownership does not turn one into a drooling, raving madman.
b.
firearm officer n. (a) a police officer responsible for enforcing laws relating to firearms; = firearms officer n. (b) at Compounds 2b; (b) British a police officer who is trained and authorized to carry and use a firearm; = firearms officer n. (c) at Compounds 2b.
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1977 tr. A. Caouette in Deb. House of Commons (Canada) 18 July III. 7761/1 It will be left to officials to decide whether or not citizens will be allowed to possess or use firearms... Decisions of the firearm officer are presumed to be valid.
1993 Guardian 6 Feb. (Weekend Suppl.) 10/2 The same officer was also instrumental in forcing the Metropolitan Police to supply female firearm officers with body armour which was tailored for women.
2002 G. L. Carter Guns in Amer. Society I. 99/2 A firearm officer had to certify that the applicant was competent in handling firearms safely.
2007 Times 2 Nov. 16/2 A team of specialist firearm officers should have been outside the property early on the morning in question..but poor internal communications meant that they turned up hours later.
C2. With the first element in plural form.
a.
(a) General attributive and objective, as firearms law, firearms dealer, etc.
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1846 W. Gresley Coniston Hall (1849) xvii. 190 Not a few of the fire-arms men found themselves amongst the hedge-stakes and pitchforks.
1880 Standard 7 Sept. 6/2 The disarmament of the Basutos under the firearms law.
1888 Daily Evening Bull. (San Francisco) 6 Feb. 1/3 1,000 revolvers were sold to citizens by one firearms-dealer..during one week.
1904 Virginia Law Rev. 18 905 A police officer may demand from any person suspected of being in possession of..any firearms.., the production of his firearms certificate.
1949 Times 17 Feb. 2/1 The Home Secretary was adamant that the firearms law could not be altered.
1950 Artibus Asiae 13 139/2 Firearms enthusiasts will regret the lack of detail concerning the discharge mechanisms of the guns.
1965 Financial Times 22 Jan. 1/1 A firearms amnesty to recover weapons illegally held.
1973 R. A. Lee Hist. of Regulatory Taxation xi. 176 With the NRA campaign, firearms controls became an either-or proposition in the minds of many gun advocates.
1989 Independent (Nexis) 4 Mar. 3 Offences including..causing grievous bodily harm and a minor firearms charge.
1996 W. Clarkson Deadly Seduction 231 An expert firearms witness examined the bear and found no trace of firearms residue.
2009 P. Baldwin Narcissism Minor Differences iv. 74 Firearms ownership, though highest in the United States per capita.., is not as far beyond European numbers as one might expect.
(b)
firearms licence n.
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1867 Laws of Jamaica 179 Firearms License... The respective registrations or licenses to keep and to use firearms shall be personal.
1903 N.Y. Times 5 Dec. 8/2 All firearms licenses are to be revocable at the pleasure of the Mayor.
2010 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 26 June 1382/1 Doctors should tell police if a patient with a firearms licence poses a risk to public safety.
firearms offence n.
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1922 Manch. Guardian 6 May 10/3 (heading) Three months for firearms offence.
2007 A. J. Davis Arbitrary Justice vi. 101 They were also charged with various firearms offenses.
b.
firearms officer n. (a) a police officer responsible for managing the use of firearms by a police department; (b) a police officer responsible for enforcing laws relating to firearms; (c) British a police officer who is trained and authorized to carry and use a firearm (frequently with modifying word, esp. as authorized firearms officer).
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1957 Washington Post 30 Aug. a12/4 The veteran policeman holds a variety of positions in the department. He is training officer, firearms officer, explosive disposal officer, armorer.
1975 Times 25 Jan. 1/6 The firearms officer for one force said: ‘I have bought the bullets, and a lot of other police forces have done the same.’
1979 Guardian 27 Mar. 3/2 The [possibility]..that the incidents..were recorded, noticed by the firearms officers, but not considered serious enough to have Mr Williams declared unfit to possess a gun.
1983 Observer 10 Apr. 9/4 The time normally required to obtain the assistance of authorised firearms officers at the scene of an incident.
2001 Vancouver Province (Nexis) 4 Feb. a10 He's livid about the idea that firearms officers can come into his home to inspect his guns.
2011 J. Cornelissen Corporate Communication (ed. 3) xi. 209 Two of the firearms officers and one of the surveillance officers stormed into the train carriage.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2015; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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