Musketry
/ˈmʌskɪtri/noun
The use or practice of firing muskets, or musket fire collectively.
Did you know?Musketry ultimately traces back to Latin *musca* meaning “fly,” because the original *musket* was named from a word for a sparrowhawk or small bird, not from any battlefield idea at all.
Etymological Timeline
Late Latin
LL
musca
“fly”
Old French
OF
muscet
“a small hawk or sparrowhawk”
Middle French
MF
mousquet
“a small hawk; later a kind of crossbow bolt or firearm”
16th Century
French
mousquet
“a musket, a handheld firearm”
16th–17th Century
English
musket
“a handheld firearm”
17th Century
English
musketry
“the use or firing of muskets”