musket

noun

mus·​ket ˈmə-skət How to pronounce musket (audio)
: a heavy large-caliber muzzle-loading usually smoothbore shoulder firearm
broadly : a shoulder gun carried by infantry

Did you know?

In the early era of firearms, cannons of lesser size such as the falconet were sometimes named for birds of prey. Following this pattern, Italians applied moschetto or moschetta, meaning "sparrow hawk," to a small-caliber piece of ordnance in the 16th century. Spaniards borrowed this word as mosquete, and the French as mosquet, but both applied it to a heavy shoulder firearm rather than a cannon; English musket was borrowed soon thereafter from French. The word musket was retained after the original matchlock firing mechanism was replaced by a wheel lock, and retained still after the wheel lock was replaced by the flintlock. As the practice of rifling firearms—incising the barrel with spiral grooves to improve the bullet's accuracy—became more common, the term musket gradually gave way to the newer word rifle in the 18th century.

Examples of musket in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The best marksmen at the time could manage at most three or four rounds a minute from their muzzle-loading muskets. Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 11 Jan. 2024 The site also boasted musket parts and 1,200 pieces of lead shot—mostly hunting ammunition—as well as stone and glass beads that colonists likely traded with Native Americans. Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Mar. 2024 Roger eventually discovers that the musket balls in the secret chest are gold, but that doesn't keep his face from shifting as Bree asks him to wish her luck. Lincee Ray, EW.com, 8 July 2023 In 2012 she was still involved in archaeological work and had 18 students (sixth-eighth graders) uncovering objects as diverse as bones, animal teeth, glass bottles, and musket balls. Mary Ann Ashcraft, Baltimore Sun, 27 Jan. 2024 The illustration’s design features three concentric circles: The defensive stockade of the Pequot village is surrounded by two rings of tiny figures, the inner composed of colonists armed with smoking muskets, the outer of Native American warriors wielding bows and arrows. Stephen Brumwell, WSJ, 4 Oct. 2023 Guns and Ammo Musketeer preparing to fire musket at reenactment festival. Stephen C. George, Discover Magazine, 7 Dec. 2023 Military music played through speakers and more than 30 soldiers carrying muskets and wearing tricorn hats and meticulously tailored Revolutionary War-era uniforms stood at attention as Washington, portrayed by Dan Shippey, walked past. Mary Claire Molloy, Washington Post, 4 July 2023 The soldiers loosed a volley or two of musket fire at the mass of agitated native inhabitants and made a hasty retreat to their longboat. Adam Goodheart, Smithsonian Magazine, 25 Sep. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'musket.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle French mousquet, from Old Italian moschetto small artillery piece, sparrow hawk, from diminutive of mosca fly, from Latin musca — more at midge

First Known Use

1574, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of musket was in 1574

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Cite this Entry

“Musket.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/musket. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

musket

noun
mus·​ket ˈməs-kət How to pronounce musket (audio)
: a muzzle-loading firearm that was once used by soldiers

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