carbine

noun

1. A rifle with a short barrel.

   “"Caught at last, and by those rascally Roundheads, whom you call patriots and saints, in a few minutes more I shall be shot—that is, if their clumsy carbines take good aim—to be sure they can fire near enough their mark not to miss...”

   “The lock-up was upstairs, a cage surrounded by six-inch wooden bars, guarded by a constable armed with a carbine.”

   “Inside the wall they found "a small cannon aimed at the entrance of the gate, and all along the street soldiers were stationed and a few on horseback were riding up and down. One of these had his carbine strapped on his back, and swung under his arm was a three-foot beheading sword wrapped in red cloth. That section had been terrorized by robbers, and they were prepared."”

   “The man who fired the carbine, who fired the gun with the scope, who brought the lead horse down, was discovered sitting cross-legged in a cargo van.”