1. a portable firearm with a long barrel, used from the 15th to 17th centuries, typically supported by a forked rest when firing
Usage: historical; also spelled 'arquebuse' or 'harquebus'

Examples

• The Spanish conquistadors were armed with arquebuses when they arrived in the New World.
• Soldiers trained for months to master the arquebus, which required a slow and deliberate loading process.
• The arquebus gradually replaced the crossbow as the primary infantry weapon in European armies.
• A skilled arquebusier could fire several rounds per minute during battle.
• The arquebus was heavier and more cumbersome than earlier hand cannons.