See also:

• MUSKET (Fr. mousquet, Ger. Muskete, &c.)

MUSKET (Fr. mousquet, Ger. Muskete, &c.)  , the See also:

• TERM

term generally applied to the firearm of the See also:

• INFANTRY

infantry soldier from about 1550 up to and even beyond the universal See also:

• ADOPTION (Lat. adoptio, for adoptalio, from adoptare, to choose for oneself)

adoption of rifled small arms about 1850-186o . The word originally signified a male sparrowhawk (See also:

• ITALIAN

Italian moschetto, derived perhaps ultimately from Latin musca, a See also:

• FLY (formed on the root of the supposed original Tent. fleugan, to fly)

fly) and its application to the weapon may be explained by the practice of naming firearms after birds and beasts (cf. See also:

• FALCON
• FALCON (Lat. Falco;' Fr. Faucon; Teutonic, Falk or Valken)

falcon, See also:

• BASILISK (the /3aathtaios of the Greeks, and Tsepha (cockatrice)

basilisk) . Strictly speaking, the word is inapplicable both to the See also:

• EARLY
• EARLY, JUBAL ANDERSON (1816-1894)

early See also:

• HAND
• HAND (a word common to Teutonic languages; cf. Ger. Hand, Goth. handus)
• HAND, FERDINAND GOTTHELF (1786-185r)

hand-guns and to the arquebuses and calivers that superseded the hand-guns . The " See also:

• MUSKET (Fr. mousquet, Ger. Muskete, &c.)

musket " proper, introduced into the See also:

• SPANISH

Spanish See also:

• ARMY
• ARMY (from Fr. armee, Lat. armata)

army by the See also:

• DUKE (corresponding to Fr. duc, Ital. duca, Ger. Herzog)

duke of See also:

• ALVA
• ALVA, or ALBA, FERNANDO ALVAREZ DE TOLEDO, DUKE OF, (1508-1583)

Alva, was much heavier and more powerful than the See also:

• ARQUEBUS (also called harquebus, hackbut, &c.)

arquebus . Its See also:

• BULLET (Fr. boulet, diminutive of boule, ball)

bullet retained sufficient striking See also:

• ENERGY (from the Gr. ivipyela; iv, in, ipyov, work)

energy to stop a See also:

• HORSE (a word common to Teutonic languages in such forms as hors, hros, ros; cf. the Ger. ross)

horse at 500 and 600 yards from the muzzle . A writer in 1598 (quoted s.v. in the New See also:

• ENGLISH

English See also:

• DICTIONARY

Dictionary) goes so far as to say that " One See also:

• GOOD, JOHN MASON (1764-1827)

good musket may be accounted for two callivers." Unlike the arquebus, it was fired from a See also:

• REST (O. Eng. rest, reste, bed, cognate with other Teutonic forms, e.g. Ger. Rast, Riiste, rest, and probably Gothic Rasta, league, i.e. resting or stopping place)

rest, which the " musketeer " See also:

• STUCK, FRANZ (1863— )

stuck into the ground in front of him . But during the 17th See also:

• CENTURY (from Lat. centuria, a division of a hundred men)

century the musket in use was so far improved that the rest could be dispensed with (see Gux) . The musket was a matchlock, weapons with other forms of See also:

• LOCK (from the O. Eng. loc.; the word appears, in different forms, in many Teutonic languages, but with such various meanings as " hole," Ger. Loch, " lid," Swed. lock, &c.; probably the original was a root meaning " to enclose ")
• LOCK, MATTHIAS

lock being distinguished as See also:

• WHEEL (0. Eng. hweol, hweohl, &c., cognate with Icel. hjol, Dan. hiul, the Indo-European root is seen in Sanskrit chakra, Gr. r in Aos, circle, whence " cycle ")
• WHEEL, BREAKING ON THE

wheel-locks, firelocks, snaphances, &c., and soldiers were similarly distinguished as musketeers and fusiliers . On the disuse, about 1690-1695, of this See also:

• FORM (Lat. forma)

form of firing mechanism, the term " musket " was, in See also:

• FRANCE
• FRANCE, ANATOLE (1844– )

France at least, for a See also:

• TIME (0. Eng. Lima, cf. Icel. timi, Swed. timme, hour, Dan. time; from the root also seen in " tide," properly the time of between the flow and ebb of the sea, cf. O. Eng. getidan, to happen, " even-tide," &c.; it is not directly related to Lat. tempus)
• TIME, MEASUREMENT OF
• TIME, STANDARD

time discontinued in favour of " fusil," or See also:

• FLINT
• FLINT, AUSTIN (1812-1886)
• FLINT, or FLTNTSHTRE (sir Gallestr)
• FLINT, ROBERT (1838- )
• FLINT, TIMOTHY (1780-1840)

flint-lock, which thenceforward reigned supreme up to the introduction of a practicable percussion lock about ' 1830—1840 . But the term " musket " survived the thing it originally represented, and was currently used for the firelock (and afterwards for the percussion weapon) . To-See also:

• DAY (O. Eng. dreg, Ger. Tag; according to the New English Dictionary, " in no way related to the Lat. dies")
• DAY, JOHN (1574-1640?)
• DAY, THOMAS (1748-1789)

day it is generically used for military firearms anterior to the See also:

• MODERN

modern See also:

• RIFLE

rifle . The See also:

• ORIGINAL

original meaning of the word musketry has remained almost unaltered since 1600; it signifies the See also:

• FIRE (in O. Eng. f j'r; the word is common to West German languages, cf. Dutch vuur, Ger. Feuer; the pre-Teutonic form is seen in Sanskrit pu, pavaka, and Gr. irup; the ultimate origin is usually taken to be a root meaning to purify, cf. Lat. purus)

fire of infantry small-arms (though for this " rifle fire " is now a far more usual term), and in particular the See also:

• ART

art of using them (see INFANTRY and RIFLE) .

Of the derivatives, the only one that is not self-explanatory is musketoon . This was a See also:

• SHORT, FRANCIS JOB (1857– )

short, large-See also:

• BORE

bore musket somewhat of the See also:

• BLUNDERBUSS (a corruption of the Dutch dander, thunder, and the Dutch bus; cf. Ger. Biichse, a box or tube, hence a thunder-box or gun)

blunderbuss type, originally designed for the use of See also:

• CAVALRY (Fr. cavalerie, Ger. Kavallerie or Reiterei, derived ultimately from late Lat. caballus, horse)

cavalry, but afterwards, in the 18th century, chiefly a domestic or coachman's weapon .