Growing up I always heard handguns referred to as a "pistol." These days the term is used by some writers and advertisers when referring exclusively to semi-automatic handguns in contrast to revolvers.

The etymology/history of the term "pistol" (where we got the word) ......

pistol (n.)

"small firearm with a curved handle, intended to be held in one hand when aimed and fired," 1570s, from French pistole "short firearm" (1566), a word of uncertain origin, sometimes said to be from German Pistole, from Czech pis'tala "firearm," literally "tube, pipe," from pisteti "to whistle," a word of imitative origin, related to Russian pischal "shepherd's pipe."

But the earlier English form pistolet (1550) is said to be from French pistolet "a small firearm," also "a small dagger," which is said to be connected with Italian pistolese, in reference to Pistoia, the town in Tuscany noted for gunsmithing.

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Technically speaking, the term "pistol" is a hypernym generally referring to a handgun and predates the existence of the type of guns to which it is now applied as a specific term, that is: in colloquial usage it is used specifically to describe a handgun with a single integral chamber within its barrel .... In contrast with modern colloquial usage, the term is technically synonymous with any handgun type, including all revolvers and derringers. Commonwealth usage, for instance, does not usually make distinction, particularly when the terms are used by the military. For example, the official designation of the Webley Mk VI revolver was "Pistol, Revolver, Webley, No. 1 Mk VI". In contrast to the Merriam-Webster definition, the Oxford English Dictionary (a descriptive dictionary) describes "pistol" as "a small firearm designed to be held in one hand", which is similar to the Webster definition for "handgun"; and "revolver" as "a pistol with revolving chambers enabling several shots to be fired without reloading", giving its original form as "revolving pistol"...[

The English word was introduced in 1570 from the Middle French pistolet (1550). The etymology of the French word pistolet is disputed. It may be from a Czech word for early hand cannons, píštala ("whistle" or "pipe"), used in the Hussite Wars during the 1420s. The Czech word was adopted in German as pitschale, pitschole, petsole, and variants. Alternatively the word originated from Italian pistolese, after Pistoia, a city renowned for Renaissance-era gunsmithing, where hand-held guns (designed to be fired from horseback) were first produced in the 1540s. However, the use of the word as a designation of a gun is not documented before 1605 in Italy, long after it was used in French and German.

-from wikipedia-

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pistolier (n.)

also pistoleer, "one who uses a pistol, soldier armed with a pistol," 1570s from obsolete French pistolier, from pistole

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As one who uses a pistol a lot I prefer the term "shootist"

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Ele era velho.
Ele era corajoso.
Ele era feio.