DictionaryRoot: rifler
Old French
rifler
to strip, plunder
3 / 3
noun / verb
rifle
RY-ful/ˈraɪfl/
A gun whose barrel has spiral grooves.
Etymology
The gun-making verb probably comes from rifler, “to scratch or groove.” The firearm takes its name from spiral grooves cut inside its barrel, which spin the projectile and improve accuracy.