snaphaunce

[ snap-hans, -hahns ]

/ ˈsnæp hæns, -hɑns /

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noun

an early flintlock mechanism for igniting a charge of gunpowder in a gun.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of snaphaunce

First recorded in 1580–90; from Dutch snaphaan (or German Schnapphahn ) originally, “highwayman,” equivalent to snap(pen) “to snatch” + haan “rooster” (Dutch haan, German Hahn, parallel to English cock meaning both “rooster” and “hammer of a firearm”); source of the final s sound unclear; see snap, cock¹

Words nearby snaphaunce

snap brim, Snapchat, snap course, snapdragon, snap fastener, snaphaunce, snap-in, snap judgment, snap link, snap-off, snap-on

How to use snaphaunce in a sentence

There were also matchlocks, snaphaunce pieces, pistols, swords and hangers (cutlasses).
Domestic Life in Virginia in the Seventeenth Century|Annie Lash Jester
The “snaphaunce” or fire-lock, is distinctly stated by Grose to be of Dutch origin,—hence the name.
Gunnery in 1858|William Greener
Textual remarks Page 12, snaphaunce is not a Dutch word; it is derived from the Dutch snaphaan.
Gunnery in 1858|William Greener
Cotgrave has arquebuse à fusil, "a snaphaunce," and explains fusil as "a fire-steele for a tinder-box."
The Romance of Words (4th ed.)|Ernest Weekley

I have a couple of wheel locks, to start with, and three miguelet-locks and an Italian snaphaunce.
Murder in the Gunroom|Henry Beam Piper