carbine

[ kahr-been, -bahyn ]

noun

1. a light, gas-operated semiautomatic rifle.
2. (formerly) a short rifle used in the cavalry.

carbine

/ ˈkɑːbaɪn /

noun

1. a light automatic or semiautomatic rifle of limited range
2. Also calledcarabincarabine a light short-barrelled shoulder rifle formerly used by cavalry

Word History and Origins

Origin of carbine¹

1595–1605; earlier carabine < Middle French: small harquebus, weapon borne by a carabin a lightly armed cavalryman, compared with ( e ) scarabin gravedigger for plague victims (< Provençal, akin to French escarbot cockchafer, dung beetle ≪ Latin scarabaeus scarab ), though semantic change is unclear

Word History and Origins

Origin of carbine¹

C17: from French carabine, from Old French carabin carabineer, perhaps variant of escarrabin one who prepares corpses for burial, from scarabée, from Latin scarabaeus scarab

Example Sentences

With its flair for guerrilla theater, the SLA picked the Hibernia Bank to rob, knowing that security cameras would capture Hearst storming the lobby with a military-style M1 carbine, under no apparent coercion.

From Los Angeles Times

But any of them might point to Don Hogan Charles’ photo of him peering out of his window while holding an M1 carbine.

From Salon

Lloyd returned in a moment, bearing a small package wrapped in twine—the binoculars—and a loaded Spencer repeating carbine.

From Literature

Two German sailors, who were armed with light submachine guns and carbines, were with them.

From Literature

They included an automatic rifle that was not registered, a carbine with optics, a pistol and four hand grenades.

From New York Times

Related Words

• rifle