Definition

1. Noun:
   • An early firearm mechanism: A "matchlock" is a type of gunlock used in early muskets and arquebuses. It uses a slow-burning cord (a "match") to ignite the gunpowder charge.
   • The firearm itself: The term can also refer to the entire musket or gun that uses this specific firing mechanism.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The museum displayed a 16th-century matchlock from Europe.
  • The soldier carefully lowered the smoldering match to the touch hole of his matchlock.

Advanced Usage

• Historical context: The term is primarily used in historical or military contexts to describe early firearms technology, predating the flintlock and wheellock.
  • The introduction of the matchlock revolutionized infantry warfare in its time.

Variants and Related Words

• Matchlock musket: A more specific term for the firearm.
  • The matchlock musket was a common weapon during the Sengoku period in Japan.

Synonyms

• Arquebus: A type of early, portable long gun, many of which used a matchlock mechanism.
• Musket: A general term for a type of long gun; early muskets were often matchlocks.

Notes on Meaning

• The core meaning refers to the ignition mechanism (the lock) that uses a burning cord. By extension, it refers to the firearm equipped with such a mechanism.
• It is an obsolete technology and the word is not used for modern firearms.

Noun

1. an early style of musket; a slow-burning wick would be lowered into a hole in the breech to ignite the charge