Adjacent Words

Blunderbuss definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

BLUN'DERBUSS, n. [blunder.] A short gun or fire-arm, with a large bore, capable of holding a number of balls, and intended to do execution without exact aim.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a short musket of wide bore with a flared muzzle

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: by folk etymology from obsolete Dutch donderbus, from Dutch donder thunder + obsolete Dutch bus gun Date: 1654 1. a muzzle-loading firearm with a short barrel and flaring muzzle to facilitate loading 2. a blundering person

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. hist. a short large-bored gun firing balls or slugs. Etymology: alt. of Du. donderbus thunder gun, assoc. with BLUNDER

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Blunderbuss Blun"der*buss, n. [Either fr. blunder + D. bus tube, box, akin to G. b["u]chse box, gun, E. box; or corrupted fr. D. donderbus (literally) thunder box, gun, musket.] 1. A short gun or firearm, with a large bore, capable of holding a number of balls, and intended to do execution without exact aim. 2. A stupid, blundering fellow.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Short gun (with a large bore). 2. Blunderer, blunderhead, stupid fellow, dolt.

1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue

A short gun, with a wide bore, for carrying slugs; also a stupid, blundering fellow.