noun
- Plural of harquebus; portable firearms with long barrels used by infantry soldiers from the 15th to 17th centuries.
Usage: historical; also spelled arquebus or arquebuse
Examples
- The soldiers carried harquebuses into battle during the Renaissance.
- Harquebuses required a long time to load and fire compared to bows.
- The regiment was armed with harquebuses and pikes.
- Medieval armies gradually replaced crossbows with harquebuses.
- Training soldiers to use harquebuses effectively took considerable time.