Carbine — Car bine, n. [F. carbine, OF. calabrin carabineer (cf. Ot. calabrina a policeman), fr. OF & Pr. calabre, OF. cable, chable, an engine of war used in besieging, fr. LL. chadabula, cabulus, a kind of projectile machine, fr. Gr. ? a throwing down,… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
carbine — index gun Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 … Law dictionary
carbine — 1580s, from Fr. carabine, used of light horsemen and also of the weapon they carried, perhaps from M.L. Calabrinus Calabrian (i.e., rifle made in Calabria ). One far fetched theory connects it to O.Fr. escarrabin corpse bearer during the plague,… … Etymology dictionary
carbine — ► NOUN 1) a light automatic rifle. 2) historical a short rifle or musket used by cavalry. ORIGIN French carabine, from carabin mounted musketeer … English terms dictionary
carbine — [kär′bīn΄, kär′bēn΄] n. [Fr carabine < carabin, mounted rifleman < OFr escarrabin, corpse bearer during the plague (lit., prob. “carrion beetle,” used as epithet for archers from Flanders) < scarabée: see SCARAB] 1. a rifle with a short… … English World dictionary
Carbine — A carbine is a firearm similar to a rifle or musket, but generally shorter and of lesser power. Many carbines, especially modern designs, were developed from rifles, being essentially shortened versions of full rifles firing the same ammunition,… … Wikipedia
carbine — /kahr been, buyn/, n. 1. a light, gas operated semiautomatic rifle. 2. (formerly) a short rifle used in the cavalry. [1595 1605; earlier carabine < MF: small harquebus, weapon borne by a carabin a lightly armed cavalryman, compared with… … Universalium
Carbine — Recorded in several forms including Carabine, Carbin, Carbine, Carben, Carbon (English), Carabin, Carabina (France), Carabini (Italian and Spanish), and others, this is a surname of appatently French origins. It is claimed to describe a horse… … Surnames reference
carbine — UK [ˈkɑː(r)baɪn] / US [ˈkɑrˌbaɪn] noun [countable] Word forms carbine : singular carbine plural carbines a short light rifle … English dictionary
carbine — [[t]kɑ͟ː(r)baɪn, AM bi͟ːn[/t]] carbines N COUNT A carbine is a light automatic rifle … English dictionary