Definition of "hand-gun" [hand-gun]

• The earliest kind of firearm, made to be carried by hand and fired either without a rest or supported on a fork. Compare hand-cannon. (noun)

The Century Dictionary (Public Domain)

• "Nick056: A cop without a long gun can be fairly described as put in a situation where he can only relied on toy weapons — even though he has a holstered hand-gun."
• "A cop without a long gun can be fairly described as put in a situation where he can only relied on toy weapons — even though he has a holstered hand-gun."
• "Amidst all that hubbub about Elena Kagan and the Chicago hand-gun ban decision, one piece of Supreme Court news from the past couple weeks went ..."