Gewehr

Gewehr is the German word for rifle, referring to a long gun with a rifled barrel designed for shoulder firing. In military usage, Gewehr historically designated service rifles issued to infantry, as opposed to handguns (Pistole) or machine guns. The term dates from the 19th century and was applied to various models across the German states, including the imperial era and the later Wehrmacht.

Historically, Gewehre were primarily bolt-action rifles, chambered for standard military cartridges. Notable examples include the Gewehr 98, the standard German service rifle from the late 1890s to World War II, built around the Mauser action and chambered for the 7.92×57mm Mauser cartridge. Another example is the Gewehr 43, a semi-automatic rifle fielded during World War II.

Over the 20th century, the term began to give way to designations such as Sturmgewehr for assault rifles and Karabiner for carbine variants, but Gewehr remains in use in historical contexts and in modern German to describe rifles in general. The word continues to appear in discussing German firearms history and in the language as a generic term for rifles.