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”; see 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

It had been the golden age of the arquebus and the viol, of sculptors and musicians, of poets and humanists, of fratricidal conflicts and of love-songs, of mignons and martyrs.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 7 "Fox, George" to "France" by Various

Master Barbot—his head covered with an iron morion, his chest protected with a brigandine, and his cutlass and dagger by his side—leaned upon the barrel of his arquebus and smiled complacently upon his invention.

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

Various dates are given for the introduction of the arquebus, which owed many of its details to the perfected crossbow which it superseded.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 6 "Armour Plates" to "Arundel, Earls of" by Various