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.

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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