weapon

Etymology

From Middle English wepen, from Old English wǣpn, from Proto-West Germanic *wāpn, from Proto-Germanic *wēpną (“weapon”), of unknown origin, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *wēbnom. Cognate with Scots wapyn, wappen (“weapon”), West Frisian wapen (“weapon”), Dutch wapen (“weapon; coat of arms”), Low German wapen (“weapon”), German Waffe (“weapon”) and Wappen (“coat of arms”), Danish våben (“weapon; coat of arms”) Swedish vapen (“weapon; coat of arms”), Norwegian Bokmål våpen (“weapon”), Icelandic vopn (“weapon”).

noun

1. An instrument of attack or defense in combat or hunting, e.g. most guns, missiles, or swords; arm.
   The club that is now mostly used for golf was once a common weapon.
   Whether modern, industrial man is less or more warlike than his hunter-gatherer ancestors is impossible to determine.[…]One thing that is true, though, is that murder rates have fallen over the centuries, as policing has spread and the routine carrying of weapons has diminished. Modern society may not have done anything about war. But peace is a lot more peaceful. 2013-07-20, “Old soldiers?”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845
2. An instrument or other means of harming or exerting control over another.
   Money is the main weapon of modern oligarchs.
   Rory Delap's long throw-ins are a familiar weapon to the Potters' opponents but this does not make them any easier to defend against. January 15, 2011, Phil Dawkes, “Stoke 2-0 Bolton”, in BBC
3. (informal, humorous) A tool of any kind.
   Choose your weapon.
4. (Britain, slang, derogatory) An idiot, an oaf, a fool, a tool; a contemptible or incompetent person.
5. (Australia, slang) A very skilled, competent, or capable person or thing worthy of awe.
   It has a whopping 5.4-litre V8, with a supercharger bolted to the top of it to help low-end pulling power. In short, it's a weapon and will happily dust a Porsche as easy as brushing your teeth. 12 May 2006, Joshua Dowling, “Brains or brawn”, in The Sydney Morning Herald
   We played Endless Heights' record release show earlier this year and during their set Christian from Endless Heights' lung collapsed, but he finished the set like an absolute weapon. 21 November 2016, Marcus Tamp, “Hardcore 2016 Focus: Vices”, in The Music
   I adore her in Easter Parade and Meet Me in St. Louis, but my favourite performance of hers is her concert at [New York’s] Carnegie Hall. She’s a total weapon on that stage. October 2020, Alley Pascoe, “Megan Washington's Love Letter To RuPaul”, in Marie Claire
   American teenager Caroline Marks was trotting across the sand on her dream day at North Narrabeen when Luke Egan called out to her: "You weapon!" … Egan was mentoring Marks in between commentary stints. He was one of the people to chair the weapon up the beach, calling out to her: "What did I tell you!" 20 April 2021, Will Swanton, “From one goofy-footer to another: American Caroline Marks 'stoked' to win Narrabeen Classic”, in The Australian
6. (rare, slang) The human genital organ.
   Young motherfucking legend, niggas just pretending I spit my shit, infectious, don't come in my section Or get wet bitch with that weapon Lift the pussy, yeah I bench press it, and I been stressing since a adolescent 2013-12-03, Beamon (lyrics and music), “Lord Love Me” (track 2), in The BeamGod: Lost Files
   Weh you get da pussy deh from? Hey, gyal me love you Md love the way you use your weapon Gyal, your pussy tight like a vice grip (please add an English translation of this quotation) 2017-04-13, Mavado (lyrics and music), “Ride All Night (My Kinda Girl)” (in Jamaican Creole)
   Bring my baby a present Put your head on the dresser She open her legs, then I whip out my weapon Sj immortal, the fuck is checking 2019-02-14, “Jimmy Neutron” (track 4), in NQTATS aka CAVIN KON (lyrics), A Taste Of My Heart
   I bust a bitch down in forty-five seconds If it's good, Imma pop two Percs, and come back for seconds She probably got a felony, that's an illegal weapon Stick my whole hand in her pussy, I was tryna stretch it 2019-06-29, “3 Minutes”, Rio Da Yung OG (lyrics)

verb

1. (transitive) To equip with a weapon; to arm.
   […] the friends of the country and of the equal rights of all men, the friends of enfranchising the black man and of weaponing his hand for defense; the friends of taking the governments of these rebel States out of the hands of their rebel possessors, […] 1868, Henry Wilson, History of the Reconstruction Measures of the Thirty-ninth and Fortieth Congresses, 1865-68, page 425