musket

American  

[muhs-kit] / ˈmʌs kɪt /

noun

1. a heavy, large-caliber smoothbore gun for infantry soldiers, introduced in the 16th century: the predecessor of the modern rifle.

2. the male sparrow hawk, Accipiter nisus.

---

musket British  

/ ˈmʌskɪt /

noun

1. a long-barrelled muzzle-loading shoulder gun used between the 16th and 18th centuries by infantry soldiers

---

Etymology

Origin of musket

1580–90; < Middle French mousquet < Italian moschetto crossbow arrow, later musket, originally kind of hawk, equivalent to mosch ( a ) fly (< Latin musca ) + -etto -et

Example Sentences

A family tree hangs in the boardroom and some of the company’s oldest weapons, including a musket from 1830, are displayed in an archive of more than 1,500 pieces.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 16, 2026

I would not have walked into a coffee shop with an AR-15 and expected the reactions I got for walking in with a musket, for one thing.

From Slate • May 8, 2024

For decades speculation has been rife about whether the pillars do actually bear the scars of the musket balls from nearly two hundred years ago.

From BBC • Nov. 12, 2023

But Harvick might have to surrender his musket.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 16, 2023

A soldier at the end of the dock picked up his musket and stopped the two men carrying the walnut chest.

From "Chains" by Laurie Halse Anderson

Related Words

• carbine
• rifle