Mus"ket (?), n. [F. mousquet, It.
moschetto, formerly, a
kind of hawk; cf. OF. mousket,
moschet, a kind of hawk falcon, F. mouchet, prop., a little fly (the hawk prob. being named from its size), fr. L. musca a
fly. Cf. Mosquito.]
[Sometimes written also musquet.]
1. (Zoöl.) The male of the sparrow hawk.
2. A species of
firearm formerly carried
by the infantry of an army. It was originally fired by means of a match, or matchlock, for which several mechanical appliances (including the flintlock, and finally the percussion lock) were successively substituted. This arm has been
generally superseded by the rifle.
Hear it pronounced