An early type of portable gun used in the 15th and 16th centuries that was heavy and required a stand or rest to fire.
From Dutch 'haakbus' or 'haagebuts,' literally 'hook gun' (from 'haak' meaning hook + 'bus' meaning gun), referring to the hook that steadied the gun. This entered English during the Renaissance military period.
The harquebus was a game-changing weapon that made plate armor obsolete—a peasant with a year of training could now kill a knight who'd trained for decades, fundamentally shifting medieval power structures forever!
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.