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As far as I've ever been concerned, pistol and handgun are the same thing. Technically a pistol is a type of handgun where the barrel and chamber are fixed together. So, most revolvers are not pistols. All handguns are defined by the ATF as a firearm designed to be fired with one hand.
I don't know if this makes any difference to the point, and correct me if anyone speaks Spanish and knows different, but the word "pistola" means handgun OR pistol and has been a word in use since handguns were invented, and presumably before they ever had separate chambers like a modern revolver. So how this was later changed to the current definition, I couldn't say.
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