1. an early type of portable firearm supported on a tripod or forked rest
Usage: historical

Examples

• The Spanish soldiers carried harquebuses into battle.
• Medieval armies began adopting the harquebus in the 15th century.
• The harquebus required a lit match to ignite the gunpowder.
• Knights found their armor less effective against harquebus fire.
• The weapon’s long barrel made the harquebus more accurate than earlier firearms.
• Soldiers needed training to properly load and fire a harquebus.