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| pet·ro·nel [ péttrən'l ] (plural pet·ro·nels) |
noun |
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| Definition: |
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short 16C and 17C firearm: a short firearm with a curved butt whose length was between that of a long pistol and a short carbine, used mostly by cavalry in the 16th and 17th centuries
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| [Late 16th century. < French petrinal, variant of poitrinal< poitrine "chest" < Latin pectus; because the butt rested against the chest when the gun was fired] |
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