Musket Definition

mŭskĭt

muskets

noun

A smoothbore, long-barreled firearm, used esp. by infantry soldiers before the invention of the rifle.

Webster's New World

A smoothbore shoulder gun used from the late 1500s through the early 1800s.

American Heritage

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 This arm has been superseded by the rifle.

Soldier, soldier, won't you marry me, with your musket, fife and drum.

Wiktionary

Synonyms:

Other Word Forms of Musket

Singular:

musket

Plural:

muskets

French mousquet from Italian moschetto, moschetta a type of crossbow, musket from moschetto male sparrowhawk, bolt of a crossbow from diminutive of mosca fly (the male of the Eurasian sparrowhawk (Accipter nisus) being so called because it is smaller than the female) from Latin musca

From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
French mousquet from Italian moschetto, moschetta a type of crossbow, musket from moschetto male sparrowhawk, bolt of a crossbow from diminutive of mosca fly (the male of the Eurasian sparrowhawk (Accipter nisus) being so called because it is smaller than the female) from Latin musca

From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
French mousquet, itself from Italian moschetto, diminutive of mosca (“fly").

From Wiktionary