# magnum

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈmæɡnəm/ · frequency rank #17,406

## Definitions
1. A bottle containing 1.5 liters of fluid, double the volume of a standard wine bottle.
2. A powerful firearm cartridge, often derived from a shorter, less powerful cartridge calibre that uses the same bullet.
3. A handgun that fires a cartridge of this calibre; chiefly a revolver, but rarely an autoloader firing an unusually powerful calibre.

## Etymology
From Latin magnum, neuter of magnus (“great”).
* (bottle): Ellipsis of magnum bonum.
* (handgun): Name registered 1935 by Smith & Wesson Inc., of Springfield, Massachusetts.

## Easily confused with
- **manu** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/magnum-vs-manu)
- **manus** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/magnum-vs-manus)
- **magus** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/magnum-vs-magus)
- **Magnus** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/magnum-vs-magnus)
- **magna** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/magna-vs-magnum)
- **magnet** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/magnet-vs-magnum)

## Common misspellings (9)
`amgnum`, `maggnum`, `magnmu`, `magnnum`, `magnumm`, `magunm`, `mangum`, `mganum`, `mmagnum`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/magnum