firelock


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fire·lock

 (fīr′lŏk′)
n.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

firelock

(ˈfaɪəˌlɒk)
n
1. (Firearms, Gunnery, Ordnance & Artillery) an obsolete type of gunlock with a priming mechanism ignited by sparks
2. (Firearms, Gunnery, Ordnance & Artillery) a gun or musket having such a lock
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

fire•lock

(ˈfaɪərˌlɒk)

n.
a gun having a lock in which the priming is ignited by sparks struck from flint and steel, as the flintlock musket.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.firelock - a muzzle loader that had a flintlock type of gunlockfirelock - a muzzle loader that had a flintlock type of gunlock
flintlock - an obsolete gunlock that has flint embedded in the hammer; the flint makes a spark that ignites the charge
muzzle loader - an obsolete firearm that was loaded through the muzzle
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
References in classic literature ?
One of them snatched my firelock up and levelled it at my head, while the other held a great knife to my throat and swore between his teeth that he would plunge it into me if I moved a step.
"'It is well,' he answered, handing me back my firelock. 'You see that we trust you, for your word, like ours, is not to be broken.
I cast my firelock between his legs as he raced past, and he rolled twice over like a shot rabbit.
Perceiving the bird was flown, at least despairing to find him, and rightly apprehending that the report of the firelock would alarm the whole house, our heroe now blew out his candle, and gently stole back again to his chamber, and to his bed; whither he would not have been able to have gotten undiscovered, had any other person been on the same staircase, save only one gentleman who was confined to his bed by the gout; for before he could reach the door to his chamber, the hall where the centinel had been posted was half full of people, some in their shirts, and others not half drest, all very earnestly enquiring of each other what was the matter.
I gave each of them a musket, with a firelock on it, and about eight charges of powder and ball, charging them to be very good husbands of both, and not to use either of them but upon urgent occasions.
But he was very much deceived in this conclusion, for daylight had hardly begun to appear when there came up to the inn four men on horseback, well equipped and accoutred, with firelocks across their saddle-bows.
"The trouble is," resumed the captain, "that all our firelocks, great and little, are in the round-house under this man's nose; likewise the powder.
As it happened, we had twine or packthread enough about us, which we used to tie our firelocks together with; so we resolved to attack these people first, and with as little noise as we could.
One soldier then fired, and a townsman with a cudgel struck him over the hands with such force that he dropped his firelock; and, rushing forward, aimed a blow at the Captain's head which grazed his hat and fell pretty heavy upon his arm.
Victaulic, the world's leading manufacturer of mechanical pipe joining and fire protection systems, has introduced the new FireLock NXT Series 768N Dry Valve.
with a musket or firelock, with a bayonet, a cartouch box to contain twenty three cartridges, a priming wire, a brush and six flints, all in good order, on or before the first day of April next, under the penalty of forty shillings, and shall keep the same by him at all times, ready and fit for service, under the penalty of two shillings and six pence for each neglect or default thereof on every muster day").