"firearm for infantry" (later replaced by the rifle), 1580s, from Middle French mousquette, also the name of a kind of sparrow-hawk, diminutive of mosca "a fly," from Latin musca (see midge). The hawk so called either for its size or because it looks speckled when in flight. Early firearms often were given names of beasts (compare dragoon, also falcon, a kind of cannon mentioned by Hakluyt), and the equivalent word in Italian was used to mean "an arrow for a crossbow." The French word was borrowed earlier into English (early 15c.) in its literal sense of "sparrow-hawk."
双语例句
1. I hunted with a musket two years ago.
两年前我用滑膛枪打猎。
来自辞典例句
2. Not a bough waved, not the gleam of a musket - barrel betrayed the presence of our foes.
没有一根树枝摆动, 也没有一支火枪在太阳照射下闪光,所以我们无法知道敌人的位置.
来自英汉文学 - 金银岛
3. So some seconds passed, till suddenly Joyce whipped up his musket and fired.
又过了几秒钟,突然, 乔伊斯端起枪来开了火.
来自英汉文学 - 金银岛
4. While underneath, in a corner, were fowling piece, musket, and matchlock.
下面, 角落里, 堆着鸟枪, 步枪, 和火绳枪.
来自互联网
5. In olden times one had to charge a musket before firing.
