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small arms
small arms firearms designed primarily to be carried and fired by one person and, generally, held in the hands, as distinguished from heavy arms, or artillery .
Early Small Arms
The first small arms came into general use at the end of the 14th cent. Initially they were nothing more tha...
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machine gun
machine gun an automatic gun that fires bullets in rapid succession for as long as the trigger is pressed. v. machine-gun shoot with a machine gun. machine-gunner n....
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gun
gun in general, any weapon that discharges shot, shells, or bullets by the explosion of gunpowder or some other explosive from a straight tube. See firearm ; artillery ; small arms .
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Richard Jordan Gatling
Richard Jordan Gatling 1818-1903, American inventor, b. Winton, N.C. He invented agricultural implements, which he manufactured in St. Louis, and then studied medicine in Indiana and Ohio, but he is remembered as the creator of a rapid-firing gun that was the precursor of the modern machine gun. He...
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National Rifle Association of America
National Rifle Association of America (NRA), group founded (1871) to promote shooting, hunting, firearm safety, and wildlife conservation. The NRA has nearly 3 million members. The association sponsors shooting competitions and maintains a collection of antique and modern firearms. It also lobbies ...
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firing
firing n. 1. the action of setting fire to something: the deliberate firing of 600 oil wells. 2. the discharging of a gun or other weapon: the prolonged firing caused heavy losses | no missile firings were planned....
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gun control
gun control government limitation of the purchase and ownership of firearms. The availability of guns is controlled by nations and localities throughout the world. In the United States the "right of the people to keep and bear arms" is guaranteed by the Constitution, but has been variously inte...
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ship of the line
ship of the line large, square-rigged warship, carrying from 70 to 140 guns on two or more completely armed gun decks. In the great naval wars of the 17th, 18th, and early 19th cent., ships of the line were the largest naval units employed. They passed from use with the advent of the ironclad and...
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corvette
corvette small warship, classed between a frigate and a sloop-of-war. Corvettes usually were flush-decked and carried fewer than 28 guns. They were widely employed in escorting convoys and attacking merchant ships during the great naval wars of the late 18th and early 19th cent., but corvettes pass...
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sloop
sloop fore-and-aft-rigged, single-masted sailing vessel with a single headsail jib. A sloop differs from a cutter in that it has a jibstay—a support leading from the bow to the masthead on which the jib is set. A sloop of war was a small warship, variously rigged as a barque, brig, briganti...
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