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Semiautomatic pistol
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James Watt as a young man, c1769. Scottish engineer and instrument maker. Invented the modern steam engine which became the main source of power in Britain's textile mills. His engine had a separate condenser in which steam from the cylinder; (see notes)
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Semiautomatic pistol
Semiautomatic pistol Glock .40-calibre semiautomatic pistol.

gun

weapon
Also known as: firearm
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Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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gun, weapon consisting essentially of a metal tube from which a missile or projectile is shot by the force of exploding gunpowder or some other propellant. In military science, the term is often limited to cannon larger than a howitzer or mortar, although these latter two types, like all tube-fired artillery pieces, also fall within the general definition of a gun.

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Guns also include such military small arms as the musket, rifle, machine gun, and pistol, as well as such nonmilitary sport firearms as the shotgun. Bazookas and other rocket launchers, which launch self-propelled projectiles, are not guns, though they perform many of the same functions. (See also military technology.)

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