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, wāfan, Icel. vāpn, 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.
Hear it pronounced