noun
or ar·que·bus ˈ(h)ärk(w)əbəs, ˈ(h)ȧk-
( -es )
Etymology: Middle French harquebuse, arquebuse, modification of Middle Dutch hakebusse, from hake hook + busse box, tube, gun, from Late Latin buxis box; akin to Middle Dutch hoec corner — more at hook , box
1. : a portable but heavy matchlock gun invented about the middle of the 15th century and fired from a support to which it was attached by a fixed hook, later wheel-lock or flintlock modifications being lightened and provided with a bent stock and a longer butt so that they could be fired from the shoulder
2. harquebuses plural , obsolete : soldiers armed with the harquebus