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Webster 1913 Edition

Weapon

Weap′on

(wĕp′ŭn; 277)
,
Noun.
[OE.
wepen
, AS.
wǣpen
; akin to OS.
wāpan
, OFries.
wēpin
,
wēpen
, D.
wapen
, G.
waffe
, OHG.
waffan
,
wāfan
, Icel.
vāpn
, Dan.
vaaben
, Sw.
vapen
, Goth.
wēpna
, pl.; of uncertain origin. Cf.
Wapentake
.]
1.
An instrument of offensive of defensive combat; something to fight with; anything used, or designed to be used, in destroying, defeating, or injuring an enemy, as a gun, a sword, etc.
The
weapons
of our warfare are not carnal.
2 Cor. x. 4.
They, astonished, all resistance lost,
All courage; down their idle
weapons
dropped.
Milton.
2.
Fig.: The means or instrument with which one contends against another;
as, argument was his only
weapon
.
“Woman’s weapons, water drops.”
Shak.
3.
(Bot.)
A thorn, prickle, or sting with which many plants are furnished.
Concealed weapons
.
See under
Concealed
.
–
Weapon salve
,
a salve which was supposed to cure a wound by being applied to the weapon that made it.
[Obs.]
Boyle.

Webster 1828 Edition

Weapon

WEAPON

,
Noun.
[G., L.]
1.
Any instrument of offense; any thing used or designed to be used in destroying or annoying an enemy. The weapons of rude nations are clubs, stones and bows and arrows. Modern weapons of war are swords, muskets, pistols, cannon and the like.
2.
An instrument for contest, or for combating enemies.
The weapons of our warfare are not carnal. 2 Corinthians 10.
3.
An instrument of defense.
4.
Weapons, in botany, arms; thorns, prickles, and stings, with which plants are furnished for defense; enumerated among the fulcres by Linne.

Definition 2024

weapon

weapon

English

Noun

weapon ‎(plural weapons)

  1. An instrument of attack or defense in combat or hunting, e.g. most guns, missiles, or swords.
    The club that is now mostly used for golf was once a common weapon.‎
    • 2013 July 20, “Old soldiers?”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845:
      Whether modern, industrial man is less or more warlike than his hunter-gatherer ancestors is impossible to determine. […] One thing that is true, though, is that murder rates have fallen over the centuries, as policing has spread and the routine carrying of weapons has diminished. Modern society may not have done anything about war. But peace is a lot more peaceful.
  2. An instrument or other means of harming or exerting control over another.
    Money is the main weapon of modern oligarchs.‎
    • 1915, Emerson Hough, The Purchase Price, chapterI:
      “[…] it is not fair of you to bring against mankind double weapons ! Dangerous enough you are as woman alone, without bringing to your aid those gifts of mind suited to problems which men have been accustomed to arrogate to themselves.”
    • 2011 January 15, Phil Dawkes, “Stoke 2-0 Bolton”, in BBC:
      Rory Delap's long throw-ins are a familiar weapon to the Potters' opponents but this does not make them any easier to defend against.
  3. (informal, humorous) A tool of any kind.
    Choose your weapon.

Synonyms

  • See also Wikisaurus:weapon

Hyponyms

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Etymology

From Middle English wepen, from Old English wǣpen ‎(“weapon, sword, arms”), from Proto-Germanic *wēpną ‎(“weapon”), of unknown origin, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *wēbnom. Cognate with Scots wapyn, wappen ‎(“weapon”), West Frisian wapen ‎(“weapon”), Dutch wapen ‎(“weapon”), Low German wapen ‎(“weapon”), German Waffe ‎(“weapon”), Swedish vapen ‎(“weapon”), Icelandic vopn ‎(“weapon”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /wɛpən/
  • Rhymes: -ɛpən

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