matchlock

Etymology

match + lock

noun

  1. (historical) Early type of firearm, using a smoldering piece of cord to fire the powder in the firing pan.
    I crept silently up the hill-road, but the fuse of my matchlock was wetted with the rain, and I could not slay Daoud Shah from afar. 1888, Rudyard Kipling, ‘Dray Wara Yow Dee’, Black and White, volume 1, Folio Society, published 2004, page 372
  2. The gunlock used in such a weapon, having a slow smouldering match.

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