arquebus

American  

[ahr-kwuh-buhs] / ˈɑr kwə bəs /

Also harquebus,

noun

plural

arquebuses

1. any of several small-caliber long guns operated by a matchlock or wheel-lock mechanism, dating from about 1400.

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arquebus British  

/ ˈɑːkwɪbəs /

noun

1. Also called: hackbut.   hagbut.  a portable long-barrelled gun dating from the 15th century: fired by a wheel-lock or matchlock

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Etymology

Origin of arquebus

First recorded in 1525–35; from Middle French harquebusche (with intrusive -r- ), from Middle Dutch hākebusse, equivalent to hāke “hook“ + busse “gun” (literally, “box”), from Late Latin buxis for Latin buxus “box tree, boxwood; flute made from boxwood”; box ¹

Example Sentences

By the fifteenth century, the Janissary corps of the Ottoman Empire were using firearms like the arquebus, an early long gun, in battle.

From Textbooks • Dec. 14, 2022

FOR all the centuries of refinement that separate a modern rifle from a Renaissance arquebus, the basic idea has not changed.

From Economist • May 7, 2015

The King held a long arquebus in his hand; a page carried another of identical shape and stood behind his master ready to pass it over to him.

From The Pocket Bible or Christian the Printer A Tale of the Sixteenth Century by Sue, Eug?ne

His brown and threadbare coat, patched up in a score of places, was held around his waist by a cord from which hung a chaplet of arquebus balls with a small crucifix of lead.

From The Pocket Bible or Christian the Printer A Tale of the Sixteenth Century by Sue, Eug?ne

Whenever the child woke up, the Franc-Taupin would drop the barrel of the arquebus on his knees and smile to the baby—at least as hard as the Franc-Taupin could smile.

From The Pocket Bible or Christian the Printer A Tale of the Sixteenth Century by Sue, Eug?ne