A small cannon, or a small falcon used in falconry; a light artillery piece that was portable and maneuverable.
From falcon plus the diminutive suffix -et. As a weapon, it represented a lighter version of larger cannons, developed in the 15th-16th centuries.
Falconets were the drone strikes of the Renaissance—small enough to move quickly but deadly enough to change battles, and they revolutionized how armies could be mobile in warfare!
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