Weapon
Weapon (wep"un; 277) , noun
[Old English wepen, Anglo-Saxon wapen; akin to Old Saxon wāpan, OFries. wēpin, wēpen, Dutch wapen, German waffe, Old High German waffan, wāfan, Icelandic vāpn, Danish vaaben, Swedish vapen, Gothic wēpna, pl.; of uncertain origin. Compare Wapentake.]
1.
An instrument of offensive of defensive combat; something to fight with; anything used, or designed to be used, in destroying, defeating, or injuring an enemy, as a gun, a sword, etc.
The weapons of our warfare are not carnal.
They, astonished, all resistance lost,
All courage; down their idle weapons dropped.
2.
Figuratively: The means or instrument with which one contends against another; as, argument was his only weapon.
Woman's weapons, water drops.
3.
(Botany) A thorn, prickle, or sting with which many plants are furnished.
Collocations (2)
Concealed weapons , See under Concealed.
Weapon salve , a salve which was supposed to cure a wound by being applied to the weapon that made it. [Obsolete] — Boyle