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flintlock

[flint-lok]
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noun
  1. an outmoded gunlock in which a piece of flint striking against steel produces sparks that ignite the priming.
  2. a firearm with such a lock.
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Origin of flintlock

First recorded in 1675–85; flint + lock1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for flintlock

piece, rifle, cannon, pistol, shotgun, revolver, mortar, hardware, handgun, ordnance, musket, rod, difference, equalizer, Uzi, howitzer, persuader, blaster, magnum, flintlock

Examples from the Web for flintlock

Historical Examples of flintlock

  • The parted edges disclosed also the butts of two flintlock pistols.

    The Rescue

    Joseph Conrad

  • Silver glittered about the flintlock and the hardwood stock of his gun.

    The Rescue

    Joseph Conrad

  • Dave took the shotgun an' pap has grandpap's flintlock, but Billy didn't have a gun.

    The Long Roll

    Mary Johnston

  • If not he knows nothing of flintlock guns, and I must explain.

    The Big Brother

    George Cary Eggleston

  • And old Flintlock has voiced the sentiments of the entire party.

British Dictionary definitions for flintlock

flintlock

noun
  1. an obsolete gunlock in which the charge is ignited by a spark produced by a flint in the hammer
  2. a firearm having such a lock
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for flintlock

n.

1680s as a type of musket-firing mechanism, from flint + lock (n.1).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper