English Explanatory Dictionary

bullpup

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A bullpuppy, a bulldog puppy (of either sex).
  2. A handgun smaller than a bulldog.
  3. A firearm configuration in which the trigger is located forward of the magazine and breech, as opposed to a conventional configuration in which the trigger is located rear of the magazine and breech.

Pronunciation

/ˈbʊlpʌp/

Word forms

bullpup bullpups bull pup bull-pup

Etymology

From bull + pup. The firearms sense originated from firearm designers in the United States during the 1930s. The unconventional configuration of bullpup rifles was compared by analogy to bulldog puppies, which were considered "squat, ugly, but still aggressive and powerful".

This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
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