A violent confrontation between people armed with guns, often depicted in Westerns and action stories.
Compound of 'gun' (from Old Norse 'gunnr' meaning war, applied to cannons, then firearms) and 'fight' (Old English 'feohtan'). Became common in American Western literature and film in the 19th-20th centuries.
The word 'gun' originally meant 'war' itself in Old Norse, and cannons were sometimes called 'guns' because they were literally the embodiment of warfare. So 'gunfight' is almost redundant—it means 'war-fight,' echoing ancient warrior terminology.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.