arquebus
/'ɑ:kwibəs/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Noun:
- An obsolete firearm with a long barrel: An early type of portable gun, supported on a tripod or a forked rest, used from the 15th to the 17th centuries. It was a precursor to the musket.
Usage Examples
- Noun:
- The museum displayed a 16th-century arquebus alongside other early firearms.
- Soldiers armed with arquebuses formed the front line of the infantry.
- Loading an arquebus was a slow and meticulous process.
Advanced Usage
- Historical Context: The term is primarily used in historical, military, or museum contexts to describe early gunpowder weaponry.
- The effectiveness of the Spanish tercio was partly due to its integrated use of pikes and arquebuses.
Variants and Related Words
- Harquebus: An alternative spelling of "arquebus."
- Arquebusier (noun): A soldier armed with an arquebus.
- The arquebusiers took up their positions behind the earthworks.
Synonyms
- Matchlock: A type of firearm ignition mechanism, often used synonymously with early arquebuses, though technically a specific mechanism.
- Culverin: A term for an early cannon or firearm; can sometimes refer to a heavier type of early gun.
- Musket: A later, more developed type of long-barreled firearm that succeeded the arquebus.
Related Phrases
- To discharge an arquebus: To fire an arquebus.
- The order was given to discharge their arquebuses.
Noun
- an obsolete firearm with a long barrel