Word of the Day -- Musket

Musket -- a heavy large caliber muzzle-loading usually smoothbore shoulder firearm.  In general terms, a shoulder gun carried by infantry.

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 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 the wheel lock by the flintlock. As the practice of rifling firearms—incising the barrel with spiral grooves to improve the bullet's accuracy—became more common, "musket" gradually gave way to the newer word "rifle" in the 18th and 19th centuries.

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 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 the wheel lock by the flintlock. As the practice of rifling firearms—incising the barrel with spiral grooves to improve the bullet's accuracy—became more common, "musket" gradually gave way to the newer word "rifle" in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Read more at http://www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day/2013/10/14/#zIm0krsi04tgohd3.99

a heavy large-caliber muzzle-loading usually smoothbore shoulder firearm; broadly : a shoulder gun carried by infantry
Read more at http://www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day/2013/10/14/#zIm0krsi04tgohd3.99a

a heavy large-caliber muzzle-loading usually smoothbore shoulder firearm; broadly : a shoulder gun carried by infantry
Read more at http://www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day/2013/10/14/#zIm0krsi04tgohd3.99

a heavy large-caliber muzzle-loading usually smoothbore shoulder firearm; broadly : a shoulder gun carried by infantry
Read more at http://www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day/2013/10/14/#zIm0krsi04tgohd3.99

a heavy large-caliber muzzle-loading usually smoothbore shoulder firearm; broadly : a shoulder gun carried by infantry
Read more at http://www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day/2013/10/14/#zIm0krsi04tgohd3.99

a heavy large-caliber muzzle-loading usually smoothbore shoulder firearm; broadly : a shoulder gun carried by infantry
Read more at http://www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day/2013/10/14/#zIm0krsi04tgohd3.99

a heavy large-caliber muzzle-loading usually smoothbore shoulder firearm; broadly : a shoulder gun carried by infantry
Read more at http://www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day/2013/10/14/#zIm0krsi04tgohd3.99

a heavy large-caliber muzzle-loading usually smoothbore shoulder firearm; broadly : a shoulder gun carried by infantry
Read more at http://www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day/2013/10/14/#zIm0krsi04tgohd3.99

a heavy large-caliber muzzle-loading usually smoothbore shoulder firearm; broadly : a shoulder gun carried by infantry
Read more at http://www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day/2013/10/14/#zIm0krsi04tgohd3.99

a heavy large-caliber muzzle-loading usually smoothbore shoulder firearm; broadly : a shoulder gun carried by infantry
Read more at http://www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day/2013/10/14/#zIm0krsi04tgohd3.99

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 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 the wheel lock by the flintlock. As the practice of rifling firearms—incising the barrel with spiral grooves to improve the bullet's accuracy—became more common, "musket" gradually gave way to the newer word "rifle" in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Read more at http://www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day/2013/10/14/#zIm0krsi04tgohd3.99