pistole

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French pistole, of uncertain origin. Probably ultimately from Czech píšťala (“whistle”), from Proto-Slavic *piščalь, from *piskati, *piščati (“to squeak, whistle”), from Proto-Balto-Slavic *pīṣk-.

Alternatively, perhaps from Pistoia (a city in Tuscany).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈpɪstəʊl/, /pɪˈstəʊl/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈpɪstoʊl/, /pɪˈstoʊl/

Noun

pistole (plural pistoles)

1. (historical) A Spanish gold double-escudo coin of the mid-sixteenth century, or any of various gold coins derived from or based on this.
   • 1793, Benjamin Franklin, The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin‎, §21:

     Ralph and I were inseparable Companions. We took Lodgings together in Little Britain at 3/6 per Week, as much as we could then afford. He found some Relations, but they were poor & unable to assist him. He now let me know his Intentions of remaining in London, and that he never meant to return to Philadelphia. He had brought no Money with him, the whole he could muster having been expended in paying his Passage. I had 15 Pistoles: So he borrowed occasionally of me, to subsist while he was looking out for Business. [...]

2. (by extension) A disc-shaped piece of chocolate, the size of a coin, designed for melting when cooking.
   • 2008, Flo Braker, “Say It with Cookies”, in Baking for All Occasions: A Treasury of Recipes for Everyday Celebrations, Chronicle Books, →ISBN, Chocolate Chip Cookie Logs, page 275:

     They were exceptional semi-sweet chocolate chips, with a flat shape that I’ve recreated here with chocolate pistoles, flat wafers or disks each about ⅞ inch in diameter. The pistoles disperse randomly through the dough, so that slicing the logs into cookies creates an attractive mosaic, with little spokes of chocolate scattered here and there.

   • 2008, Warren Brown, “Pound Cakes”, in CakeLove: How to Bake Cakes from Scratch, Stewart, Tabori & Chang, →ISBN, Chocolate-Apricot Pound Cake:

     The chocolate that I prefer for most recipes for this book is bittersweet chocolate pistoles. I like their flavor, size, and convenience.

   • 2017, R. Andrew Chlebana, The Advanced Art of Baking & Pastry, Wiley, →ISBN, page 430:

     Chocolate pistoles from the manufacturer work best, as they arrive tempered and are uniform in size.

Usage notes

A pistole of chocolate is larger than a callet, but the two terms are often used interchangeably.

Anagrams

• Polites, elispot, piolets, polites, topiles

Czech

Etymology

Borrowed from German Pistole, from French pistole, probably ultimately from Czech píšťala (“whistle”), from Proto-Slavic *piščalь, from *piskati, *piščati (“to squeak, whistle”), from Proto-Balto-Slavic *pīṣk-. Doublet of píšťala.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

pistole f

1. pistol

Declension

Further reading

• pistole in Příruční slovník jazyka českého, 1935–1957
• pistole in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého, 1960–1971, 1989

French

Etymology

1544. Uncertain. Probably ultimately from Czech píšťala (“whistle, flute”), from Proto-Slavic *piščalь, from *piskati, *piščati (“to squeak, whistle”), from Proto-Balto-Slavic *pīšk-.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pis.tɔl/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

pistole f (plural pistoles)

1. handgun, pistol
2. (historical) pistole (coin)

Further reading

• “pistole”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé , 2012.

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /piˈstɔ.le/
• Rhymes: -ɔle
• Hyphenation: pi‧stò‧le

Noun

pistole f

1. plural of pistola

Anagrams

• poliste, sepolti, stipole

Middle French

Etymology

First attested 1544, of uncertain origin. Probably ultimately from Czech píšťala (“whistle”), from Proto-Slavic *piščalь, from *piskati, *piščati (“to squeak, whistle”), from Proto-Balto-Slavic *pīṣk-.

Noun

pistole f (plural pistoles)

1. pistol (small gun)

References

• Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l’ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IX^e au XV^e siècle (1881) (pistole)

Portuguese

Verb

pistole

1. inflection of pistolar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative