Gewehr

Gewehr is the German word for a long barreled firearm, such as a rifle or shotgun.[1] Prior to the 1840s, rifled guns were not widespread, usually muzzle-loading and termed Büchse, as they are still in German hunting jargon today. Etymologically Gewehr is related to "fighting", and so became the standard term for military-type weapons.[2]

The term "Gewehr" can be encountered in the context of 19th and 20th century military history for nonspecific rifles from German-speaking countries, e.g. in arms trade, in particular for types produced before German unification in 1871.

Specific types, sorted chronologically from 1841 to 1997 and with designer given, are:

• Gewehr 41 (Dreyse, 1841)
• Gewehr 71 (Mauser, 1871)
• Gewehr 88 (state committee, 1888)
• Gewehr 98 (Mauser, 1898)
• T-Gewehr (Mauser, 1918)
• Gewehr 41 (Walther, 1941)
• Gewehr 43 (Walther, 1943)
• Sturmgewehr 44 (CITEFA/Schmeisser, 1944)
• Gewehr 36 (Heckler & Koch, 1997)

See also

• German military rifles

References

1. "Gewehr". Collins English Dictionary. Retrieved September 9, 2024.
2. "Gewehr, das". Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache (in German).