the.com/matchlock
the gun that needed a lit string to fire, weather permitting.
means A matchlock is an early firearm in which a slow-burning cord (the 'match') is lowered by a trigger-operated lever to ignite the gunpowder in the firing pan.
from From 'match,' meaning a wick or cord soaked to burn slowly (from Old French 'meche,' a lamp wick, possibly traceable to Latin 'myxa'), plus 'lock,' the firing mechanism of a gun — likely named for its resemblance to a door lock, a self-contained working assembly of parts. So a matchlock is literally the 'lock' that holds and lowers a lit 'match,' the first mechanism to free a soldier's hand from manually touching flame to powder.
- slow match
- A burning cord ignited the powder via a lever.
- rain problem
- Damp weather could leave it useless in battle.
- night giveaway
- Glowing matches revealed soldiers to the enemy after dark.
- first trigger
- Among the earliest guns fired with a true trigger.
- Japan's twist
- Samurai armies fielded matchlocks by the tens of thousands.
arquebus — spanish musket with matchlock mechanism, widespread in 16th century warfare
musket brown bess — british matchlock musket used from 1722-1838, standard infantry weapon
tanegashima — japanese matchlock rifle introduced 1543, transformed samurai warfare