Weapon

Pronunciation

• IPA: /wÉ›pÉ™n/
• Rhymes: -É›pÉ™n

Origin

From Middle English wepen, from Old English wǣpen ("weapon, sword, arms"), from Proto-Germanic *wēpną ("weapon"), of unknown origin, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *wēbnom. Cognate with Scots wapyn, wappen ("weapon"), West Frisian wapen ("weapon"), Dutch wapen ("weapon"), Low German wapen ("weapon"), German Waffe ("weapon"), Swedish vapen ("weapon"), Icelandic vopn ("weapon").

Full definition of weapon

Noun

1. An instrument of attack or defense in combat or hunting, e.g. most guns, missiles, or swords.
   The club that is now mostly used for golf was once a common weapon.
• 2013-07-20, Old soldiers?, Whether modern, industrial man is less or more warlike than his hunter-gatherer ancestors is impossible to determine....One thing that is true, though, is that murder rates have fallen over the centuries, as policing has spread and the routine carrying of weapons has diminished. Modern society may not have done anything about war. But peace is a lot more peaceful.
2. An instrument or other means of harming or exerting control over another.
   Money is the main weapon of modern oligarchs.
• 1910, Emerson Hough, The Purchase Price Chapter 1, “… it is not fair of you to bring against mankind double weapons ! Dangerous enough you are as woman alone, without bringing to your aid those gifts of mind suited to problems which men have been accustomed to arrogate to themselves.”
• 2011, January 15, Phil Dawkes, Stoke 2-0 Bolton, Rory Delap's long throw-ins are a familiar weapon to the Potters' opponents but this does not make them any easier to defend against.

Synonyms

Derived terms