Matchlock

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /ˈmatʃlÉ’k/
• US IPA: /ˈmætʃlÉ‘k/

Origin

From match + lock.

Full definition of matchlock

Noun

1. Early type of firearm, using a smoldering piece of cord to fire the powder in the firing pan.
• 1888, Rudyard Kipling, ‘Dray Wara Yow Dee’, Black and White, Folio Society 2004, vol. 1, p. 372: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.
2. The gunlock used in such a weapon, having a slow smouldering match, see: slow match.