Hypertext Webster Gateway: "weapon"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Weapon \Weap"on\ (?; 277), n. [OE. wepen, AS. w?pen; akin to OS.
w?pan, OFries. w?pin, w?pen, D. wapen, G. waffe, OHG. waffan,
w[=a]fan, Icel. v[=a]pn, Dan. vaaben, Sw. vapen, Goth. w?pna,
pl.; of uncertain origin. Cf. {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. --2 Cor.
x. 4.
They, astonished, all resistance lost, All courage;
down their idle weapons dropped. --Milton.
2. Fig.: The means or instrument with which one contends
against another; as, argument was his only weapon.
``Woman's weapons, water drops.'' --Shak.
3. (Bot.) A thorn, prickle, or sting with which many plants
are furnished.
{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. [Obs.] --Boyle.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
weapon
n 1: instrument used in fighting or hunting; "he was licensed to
carry a weapon" [syn: {arm}, {weapon system}]
2: a means of persuading or arguing; "he used all his
conversational weapons" [syn: {artillery}]
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