firelock
Americannoun
noun
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an obsolete type of gunlock with a priming mechanism ignited by sparks
-
a gun or musket having such a lock
Etymology
Origin of firelock
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
I am apprehensive about the use of the firelock, and pray I acquit myself well in the day of trial.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
Paulding went on to say that on that he got up, presented his firelock at the breast of the traveler, told him to stand, and then asked him which way he was going.
From Elsie on the Hudson by Finley, Martha
This aspiration had the effect of fastening O'Flynn's eye and mind to the sighting of his firelock and obliterating his speculations concerning the cravat as spoil stripped from some slain officer of rank.
From The Story of Old Fort Loudon by Murfree, Mary Noailles
"No; I caught his firelock; it exploded in my hand."
From Cardigan by Chambers, Robert W. (Robert William)
Almost completely so; now and then some idle fellow with a half-bred greyhound might run down a hare, or with a rusty firelock knock over a rabbit, but there it ended.
From The Martins Of Cro' Martin, Vol. I (of II) by Lever, Charles James
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
