Meanings
plural culverins
- Any of a range of early gunpowder-fired guns of various sizes, from firearm to artillery.
- historicalA kind of handgun.
- historicalA large cannon.
This had been discharged from a culverin on the opposite side of the valley.
1895, R. D. Blackmore, Slain By The Doones, Dodd, Mead and Company, page 61 more example
Let Sacars, Culuerings, and Cannons ſound / In honour of their bones, and rock the ground / With all your deafning terrors: for behold / The Balſum for your wounds, are rich mens gold, / Powder the world with wonder, and thus crie, / The Camel now may paſſe the needles eie.
1616, M. Robert Anton, “The Philosophers fovrth Satyr of Mars”, in The Philosophers Satyrs, London: Printed by T[homas] C[reede] and B[ernard] A[lsop] for Roger Iackſon, page 36
Origin
- Latincolubra
- Old Frenchcoulevrine
- Middle Englishculveryne
- Englishculverin
From Middle English culveryne, from Old French coulevrine, from couleuvre (“snake”) (or from Latin colubrīnus), ultimately from Latin colubra, coluber (“snake”). Doublet of colubrine.
More words from Middle English, Old French, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Catalan colobrina
- colobrinahandgun
Czech kulverina
- kulverinahandgun
Dutch veldslang, culverin
- veldslanghandgun
- culverinhandgun
Finnish kulveriini
- kulveriinicannon
French couleuvrine
- couleuvrinehandgun
German Feldschlange, Kolubrine
- Feldschlangehandgun
- Kolubrinehandgun
Italian colubrina
- colubrinahandgun
Polish kolubryna
- kolubrynacannon
Portuguese colubrina
- colubrinahandgun
Romanian culevrină
- culevrinăhandgun
Spanish culebrina
- culebrinahandgun
Cite this entry
culverin. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/culverin
“culverin.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/culverin. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “culverin,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/culverin.
Source: culverin on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.