- pistole (n.)
- former Spanish coin (not called that in Spanish), 1590s, from French pistole, from Italian piastola, diminutive of piastra "plate or leaf of metal" (see piaster). Compare earlier pistolet (1550s) "foreign coin," which OED says is from French pistolet "short firearm" (see pistol) and so called for being smaller and thinner than other coins.
