derringer means A type of very small, concealable pistol with one or two barrels, but without any loading system or magazine. It carries an Arena rating of 1333, earned across 15 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, derringer ranks #364 of 17,142 for Most Ingenious Words, #1,773 of 17,127 for Most Vivid Words, #2,512 of 17,131 for Scariest Words, #3,782 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books.
derringer is pronounced /ˈdɛɹɪndʒə(ɹ)/.
Why “derringer” is a great word
A very small, concealable pistol with one or two fixed barrels, lacking any repeating action or magazine. Named after American gunsmith Henry Deringer (1786–1868), with the spelling 'derringer' becoming standard; first attested in the 1850s. Unlike a "revolver," with its cylinder of potential salvos, or a "semi-automatic pistol," with its mechanical hunger for the next round, the derringer is a singular proposition, a weapon of stark and final intimacy. It is the cold weight against a silk garter, the glint of oiled iron in a gambler's palm, the decisive crack that leaves only smoke and consequence—an instrument not of war, but of irrevocable personal conclusion.
Etymology
Named after American gunsmith Henry Deringer Junior (1786–1868).
noun
- A type of very small, concealable pistol with one or two barrels, but without any loading system or magazine.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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