matchlock

M3A1T1C3H4L1O1C3K5
UK/ˈmatʃlɒk/US/ˈmæt͡ʃlɑk/

noun

Early type of firearm, using a smoldering piece of cord to fire the powder in the firing pan.

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Meanings

nounmatchlock (plural matchlocks)

plural matchlocks

  1. historicalEarly 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.

Origin

From match + lock.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Finnish lunttupyssy, lunttulukko
  • lunttupyssyfirearm
  • lunttulukkogunlock
French platine à mèche
  • platine à mèchegunlock
Cite this entry
APA

matchlock. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/matchlock

MLA

“matchlock.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/matchlock. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “matchlock,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/matchlock.

Source: matchlock on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.