musket English · revision 1541

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1587}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈmʌskət/, /ˈmʌskɪt/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|frm|mousquet]], [[m|frm|mousquette]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) from [[it|moschetto|t=arrow for a crossbow; small artillery piece; sparrowhawk]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)^(Hoad 1986) a diminutive of [[m|it|mosca|t=fly]], from [[la|musca|t=fly]].^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(Klein 1966) A doublet of [[mosquito]].^(Skeat 1911)^(Klein 1966)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A hand gun carried by infantry, originally a matchlock (c. 1587 in the OED and Barnhart; 1574 in Merriam-Webster Unabridged).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The Italian word was first a kind of sparrowhawk, so called either for its small size or because it looks speckled with flies in flight.^(Etymonline)^(Skeat 1911)^(Weekley 1921) Old guns were often named after animals, such as the [[falcon]] and [[falconet]] (light cannons), the [[basilisk]] and the [[culverin]].^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(Weekley 1921) English had already borrowed ''musket'' as the name of the male sparrowhawk (c. 1425).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995) According to Merriam-Webster's ''Word Histories'', the weapon was Spanish, and the French took it from Spain in the wars in Italy, but took its name from the Italians.^(MW Word Histories) The musket was later replaced by the [[rifle]].^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1425 – the male sparrowhawk.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1574 – first known use in Merriam-Webster Unabridged.^(MWU 2024)

+ * c. 1587 – the firearm.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 16th century – ''musketeer''.^(Hoad 1986)

+ * 17th century – ''musketry''.^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A heavy, large-calibre, usually [[smoothbore]] [[muzzle-loading]] shoulder gun used by infantry from the 16th to the 18th century, the forerunner of the [[rifle]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The male of the [[sparrowhawk]].^(RHWU)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[musketry]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[musketeer]]

+ * [[mosquito]]

+ * [[midge]]

+ * [[falconet]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}