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gunflint

American

[guhn-flint] / ˈgʌnˌflɪnt /

noun

the flint in a flintlock.

gunflint British

/ ˈɡʌnˌflɪnt /

noun

a piece of flint in a flintlock's hammer used to strike the spark that ignites the charge

"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

Etymology

Origin of gunflint

First recorded in 1725–35; gun ¹ + flint

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.

Returning to the display of artefacts in neatly labelled zip-lock bags, Prof DeCorse points out the rusty gunflint, which he says was in use in England in the early 17th Century.

From BBC • Jul. 31, 2023

The glory of the rabbits remains, but the gunflint trade was, of course, vanished.

From Through East Anglia in a Motor Car by Vincent, J. E. (James Edmund)

"It was one of those cases in which one has to resort to the gunflint."

From Colomba by Loyd, Lady Mary Sophia (Hely-Hutchinson)

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023