A handgun is a firearm designed to be held and operated by one hand, with the other hand optionally supporting the shooting hand. This characteristic differentiates handguns as a general class of firearms from their larger counterparts: long guns such as rifles and shotguns (which are held in both hands and usually braced against the shoulder), mounted weapons such as machine guns and autocannons, and larger weapons such as artillery.

Some handgun subtypes include derringers, single-shot pistols, revolvers, semi-automatic pistols, pepperboxes, and machine pistols.

The overlapping variations in meaning of the words "pistol" and "handgun" are discussed below]].

Multiple senses of the word "pistol"

The word "pistol" is often synonymous with the word "handgun". Some handgun experts make a technical distinction that views pistols as a subset of handguns. In American usage, the term "pistol" refers to a handgun whose chamber is integral with the barrel, making pistols distinct from the other main type of handgun, the [[revolver, which has a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers. However, Commonwealth usage makes no distinction at a technical level—"pistol" may refer to revolvers, semi-automatics, or muzzle-loading/cap-&-ball handguns. For example, the official designation of the Webley Mk VI was "Pistol, Revolver, Webley No. 1 Mk VI", and the designation "Pistol No. 2 Mk I" was used to refer to both the Enfield Revolver and the later Browning Hi-Power semi-automatic.^,,,

The first pistols were made as early as the 15th century, but their creator is unknown. By the 18th century, the term came to be used often to refer to handheld firearms. Practical revolver designs appeared in the 19th century, and it was in that century that the (sometimes-observed) technical differentiation in usage of the words "pistol" and "revolver" developed.Fact: date=June 2007

Etymology of "pistol"

• From the Czech pistole and this one from the Czech píšťala (flute or pipe, referring to the shape of a Hussite firearm), from Middle High German pischulle or from Middle French pistole.
• From the city of Pistoia, Italy, where hand-held guns (designed to be fired from horseback) were first produced in the 1540s.
• That early pistols were carried by cavalry in holsters hung from the pommel (or pistallo in medieval French) of a horse's saddle.