carbine

/kahr"been, -buyn/, n.

1. a light, gas-operated semiautomatic rifle.

2. (formerly) a short rifle used in the cavalry.

[1595-1605; earlier carabine < MF: small harquebus, weapon borne by a carabin a lightly armed cavalryman, compared with (e)scarabin gravedigger for plague victims ( < Pr, akin to F escarbot cockchafer, dung beetle L scarabaeus SCARAB), though semantic change is unclear]

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Light, short-barreled rifle.

The first carbines, from the muzzle-loading muskets of the 18th century to the lever-action repeaters of the 19th, were chiefly cavalry weapons or saddle firearms for mounted frontiersmen. During World War II carbine versions of standard bolt-action or semiautomatic infantry rifles were carried by some officers, artillerymen, and other specialists. Carbine versions of modern assault rifles (such as the Russian AK-47 or the U.S. M16 rifle) are intended for close-quarter fighting, partly replacing the submachine gun. Carbine versions of hunting and target rifles are also made.

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▪ weapon

      light, short-barrelled musket or rifle. The word, the source of which is obscure, seems to have originated in the late or mid-16th century. The carbine, in various versions corresponding to the different full-sized military arms, was chiefly a cavalry weapon until the 18th century. Then some unmounted officers, artillerymen, and other specialists began to carry carbines. By the 1980s the trend toward general use of light assault rifles (e.g., the Soviet AK-47 or the U.S. M16) was making the carbine obsolete as a military weapon. However, its light weight and short length had long made it a popular sporting arm for hunting in heavy brush and also as a scabbard weapon for horseback use.

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