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matchlock

   Also found in: Encyclopedia, Wikipedia 0.03 sec.
match·lock  (mchlk)
n.
1. A gunlock in which powder is ignited by a match.
2. A musket having such a gunlock.
matchlock [ˈmætʃˌlɒk]
n
1. (Military / Firearms, Gunnery, Ordnance & Artillery) an obsolete type of gunlock igniting the powder by means of a slow match
2. (Military / Firearms, Gunnery, Ordnance & Artillery) a gun having such a lock
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.matchlockmatchlock - an early style of musket; a slow-burning wick would be lowered into a hole in the breech to ignite the charge
musket - a muzzle-loading shoulder gun with a long barrel; formerly used by infantrymen


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? Mentioned in ? References in classic literature
 
In the interior was displayed a stuffed alligator, a rattlesnake's skin, a bundle of Indian arrows, an old-fashioned matchlock gun, a walking-stick of Governor Winthrop's, a wig of old Cotton Mather's, and a colored print of the Boston massacre.
Grandfather's Chair by Hawthorne, Nathaniel View in context
One-third of it was an old muzzle-loading fowling-piece with ragged rust holes where the nipples should have been; one-third a wirebound matchlock with a worm-eaten stock, and one-third a four-bore flint duck-gun, without a flint.
From Mine Own People by Kipling, Rudyard View in context
A double rank of soldiers made their appearance, occupying the whole breadth of the passage, with shouldered matchlocks, and matches burning, so as to present a row of fires in the dusk.
From Twice Told Tales by Hawthorne, Nathaniel View in context
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