Musket
Musket , noun
[French mousquet, Italian moschetto, formerly, a kind of hawk; compare Old French mousket, moschet, a kind of hawk falcon, French mouchet, prop., a little fly (the hawk prob. being named from its size), from Latin musca a fly. Compare Mosquito.]
1.
(Zoology) 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 This arm has been completely superseded by the rifle, and is now only of historical interest.