matchlock
nounUK /ˈmatʃlɒk/ · US /ˈmæt͡ʃlɑk/
Etymology From match + lock.
1
Historical Early type of firearm, using a smoldering piece of cord to fire the powder in the firing pan.
- I crept silently up the hill-road, but the fuse of my matchlock was wetted with the rain, and I could not slay Daoud Shah from afar.1888, Rudyard Kipling, ‘Dray Wara Yow Dee’, Black and White, volume 1, Folio Society, published 2004, page 372:
2
The gunlock used in such a weapon, having a slow smouldering match.