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Webster 1913 Edition
Derringer
Der′rin-ger
,Noun.
[From the American inventor.]
A kind of short-barreled pocket pistol, of very large caliber, often carrying a half-ounce ball.
Definition 2024
Derringer
derringer
derringer
English
John Wilkes Booth's derringer
Noun
derringer (plural derringers)
- A type of very small, concealable pistol with one or two barrels, but without any loading system or magazine.
Usage notes
The spelling and capitalisation of the word has varied since the pistols were first designed, with Deringer being the original usage. In the late 1850s, misspellings added another R to the name, Derringer, which remained capitalised. Lower case versions of both spellings were in use soon after. The fifth edition Webster's Collegiate Dictionary in 1937 lists the now common spelling of derringer with lower case D and a single R.
References
- Guns of the Old West, Charles Edward Chapel, 1961. Chapter VI.