noun
pistol; handgun
Refers to a small firearm designed to be held and fired with one hand. The term is neutral and widely understood.
犯人はピストルを持っていた。
The criminal had a pistol.
西部劇ではよくピストルが登場する。
Pistols often appear in westerns.
Borrowed from English 'pistol', likely via early modern contact. The exact route is uncertain, but it became established as the common term for a handgun.