laser rifle n.

a long shoulder weapon that fires a laser

Weaponry

  • 1963 R. Zelazny Nine Starships Waiting in Fantastic Stories Mar. 111/2 page image Roger Zelazny bibliography

    Soot-barrelled laser rifles protruding through ink-dipped fronts.

  • 1966 P. Anderson Door to Anywhere in Galaxy Magazine Dec. 23/1 Poul Anderson bibliography

    The Iranian reached back into the locker and got a pair of laserifles.

  • 1969 H. Harrison Captive Universe 134 Harry Harrison

    Chimal pried the laser rifle from his fingers and went out, moving at the fastest speed the eskoskeleton would permit.

  • 1972 A. D. Foster Tar-Aiym Krang xix. 216 Alan Dean Foster

    I have a fully operational six millimeter laser rifle here, and plenty of charges, but I don’t see anything worth fighting over.

  • 1981 T. Pratchett Strata 60 page image Terry Pratchett bibliography

    Marco loped in, tugging at his helmet with two hands. Another one held a laser rifle, salvage from the other half of the ship.

  • 1983 D. Brin Startide Rising xlii. 221 David Brin

    K'tha-Jon’s laser rifle could kill at long range, while the welder/torch on Akki’s harness was, like all sidearm-tools, of use only up close.

  • 1987 J.B. Stine Spaceballs xvii. 90

    Two uniformed guards patrolled the wall at Prison Ball Twenty-eight, laser rifles on their shoulders.

  • 1997 W. Shatner Avenger i. 6 William Shatner

    He looked up…expecting to stare into the glowing barrel of a laser rifle.

  • 2001 A. Reynolds Chasm City xx. 307 Alastair Reynolds

    Swearing, I opened the door on my side, jogged round to the back of the vehicle and unracked a laser-rifle for myself.

  • 2003 I. M. Banks Look To Windward x. 196 Iain M. Banks

    There they had taught him fencing, trained him with a crossbow and with projectile weapons and early laser rifles.

Research requirements

antedating 1966
Earliest cite

Poul Anderson, Door to Anywhere
Research History
Enoch Forrester submitted a cite from a 1983 reprint of Alan Dean Foster's "The Tar-Aiym Krang".
Douglas Winston submitted a 1980 cite from Barry B. Longyear's "Manifest Destiny".
Douglas Winston submitted a 1969 cite from Harry Harrison's "Captive Universe".
Douglas Winston submitted a 1966 cite for "laserifle" from Poul Anderson's "Door to Anywhere".
Douglas Winston submitted a 1983 cite from David Brin's "Startide Rising".
Douglas Winston submitted a 2001 cite from Alastair Reynolds' "Chasm City".
Jeff Prucher submitted a 2000 cite from Iain M. Banks' 2000 "Look to Windward".
Bill Mullins submitted a cite from a 1963 Los Angeles Times headline.
Jesse Sheidlower submitted a 1963 cite from Roger Zelazny.
Clive Shergold submitted a 1981 cite from Terry Pratchett.

Last modified 2023-08-21 12:27:39
In the compilation of some entries, HDSF has drawn extensively on corresponding entries in OED.