AK-47

[ ey-key-fawr-tee-sev-uhn ]

noun

1. a Soviet-designed, gas-operated, magazine-fed assault rifle with a caliber of 7.62 millimeters, used for automatic or semiautomatic fire. Compare AR-15 ( def ), M16 ( def ).

AK-47

noun

1. a type of Kalashnikov assault rifle

Word History and Origins

Origin of AK-47¹

First recorded in 1947; from Russian A(vtomat) K(alashnikova), automatic gun of Kalashnikov, after Mikhail Timofeevich Kalashnikov (1919–2013), Soviet arms engineer

Word History and Origins

Origin of AK-47¹

C20: from A(utomat) K(alashnikov)