Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A gunlock in which powder is ignited by a match.
- noun A musket having such a gunlock.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun The earliest form of musket-lock, constructed so as to be fired by means of a match in the form of a cord.
- noun A musket furnished with a match-lock; a gun fired by means of a lighted match.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun An old form of gunlock containing a match for firing the priming; hence, a musket fired by means of a match.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun Early type of
firearm , using asmoldering piece ofcord tofire thepowder in the firingpan . - noun The
gunlock used in such a weapon, having a slow smouldering match, see:slow match .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun an early style of musket; a slow-burning wick would be lowered into a hole in the breech to ignite the charge
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Firing had ceased; to load a matchlock was a long affair, and though the attackers might have divided and come forward in relays with loaded weapons, they would have run the risk of hitting their own friends.
In Clive's Command A Story of the Fight for India Herbert Strang
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A bearded ruffian, whose only costume was a flannel shirt and a pair of seedy check trousers, but whose eye was as keen as a hawk's, and whose shining "matchlock" had seventeen notches [24] along its stock, caught the subaltern's query.
On the Heels of De Wet Lionel James 1913
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They were apparently fairly well supplied with them, of either the "matchlock" or "snaphance"
The Mayflower and Her Log; July 15, 1620-May 6, 1621 — Complete Azel Ames 1876
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"The firing of a matchlock was to be our signal that my men held the upper end of the pass, and were descending on our enemies.
Tales of Destiny Edmund Mitchell
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The flintlock and percussion are themselves evolutions of the wheellock and matchlock.
How many of you ladies and gents enjoy hunting with traditional blackpowder firearms? 2009
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When gunpowder warfare became general by the seventeenth century, it introduced to the battlefield men carrying explosives on their belts, holding dangerous firearms and, in the early matchlock days, smoldering cords.
George Washington’s First War David A. Clary 2011
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I am also familiar with the wheellock, Snaphaunce (early flint design with a seperate frizzen) and the matchlock.
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When gunpowder warfare became general by the seventeenth century, it introduced to the battlefield men carrying explosives on their belts, holding dangerous firearms and, in the early matchlock days, smoldering cords.
George Washington’s First War David A. Clary 2011
-
I am also familiar with the wheellock, Snaphaunce (early flint design with a seperate frizzen) and the matchlock.
-
The flintlock and percussion are themselves evolutions of the wheellock and matchlock.
How many of you ladies and gents enjoy hunting with traditional blackpowder firearms? 2009
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