Holsters

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A device designed to hold or carry a handgun securely, typically attached to a belt or worn on the body
2. An item used for holding pistols safely and conveniently, often worn on the waist or leg
3. A protective container shaped to carry guns, allowing easy access and secure storage

Etymology: "Holsters" is the plural of "holster," and the word began as something much broader than a gun case: its ancestor meant any covering or case at all. The Proto-Germanic root, reconstructed as "hulastrą or "hulistrą, meant "hull, case, covering," the same family as the English word "hull" in the sense of a husk or outer shell. Old English had a cognate, "heolstor," meaning a covering, a veil, or a hiding-place, so the sense of concealment was there early on. The word reached modern English through Dutch "holster," meaning a pistol case, which in turn came from Middle Low German. Its narrowing to a pistol case happened on the Continent before English took it up, and English kept that specific sense. Related words in other Germanic languages show the same pattern: Danish "hylster" means a pistol case or envelope, Icelandic "hulstur" means a sheath, and German "Halfter" also means a pistol case.

Synonyms: sheaths, cases