|məskə|ti(ə)r, -iə noun
( -s )
Etymology: modification (influenced by -eer ) of Middle French mousquetaire, from mousquet + -aire -ary
1. : a soldier armed with a musket
2.
[so called from the loyal friendship of the musketeers who are principal characters in the novel Les Trois Mousquetaires (1844) by Alexandre Dumas died 1870 French novelist]
: a boon companion