musket
Etymology
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Etymology
First attested around 1210 as a surname, and later in the 1400s as a word for the sparrowhawk (Middle English forms: musket, muskett, muskete), from Middle French mousquet, from roa-oit moschetto (a diminutive of mosca ("fly"), from Latin musca) used to refer initially to a sparrowhawk (given its small size or speckled appearance) and then a crossbow arrow.
Pronunciation- IPA: /ˈmʌskət/, /ˈmʌskɪt/
musket (plural muskets)
- A kind of firearm formerly carried by the infantry of an army, originally fired by means of a match, or matchlock, for which several mechanical appliances (including the flintlock, and finally the percussion lock) were successively substituted; ultimately superseded by the rifle.
- Soldier, soldier, won't you marry me, with your musket, fife and drum.
- Sam, Sam, pick up thy musket.
- (falconry) A male Eurasian sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus).
- French: mousquet
- German: Muskete
- Italian: moschetto
- Portuguese: mosquete
- Russian: мушке́т
- Spanish: mosquete
This text is extracted from the Wiktionary and it is available under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license | Terms and conditions | Privacy policy 0.001
