mousquet

musket

noun moos-KEH Rare

Origin: from Italian moschetto, a type of sparrowhawk

Usage Note

Mousquet is the historical muzzle-loading firearm of the 16th–18th centuries. The armed foot soldiers who carried it were called mousquetaires (m), immortalised in Dumas's Les Trois Mousquetaires. The final -t is silent. Not to be confused with mousqueton (a carabiner clip or carbine).

Examples

"Le soldat chargeait son mousquet lentement."

Natural Translation

The soldier loaded his musket slowly.

Free starter pack

Building your French vocabulary?

Get the 100 most common French words as a free PDF — one email, no spam.

Related Words

Explore French by topic

FrenchNow

Telling Time in French: Hours, Quarters, 24-Hour

Telling time in French means Il est cinq heures, et quart, et demie, and the 24-hour clock like quatorze heures trente. Read any French schedule.

June 4, 2026 5 min read

FrenchNow

Faire in French: To Make, To Do, and More

Faire in French means more than make and do: master faire vs rendre, weather and sports idioms, the causative, and the mistakes English speakers make.

June 4, 2026 6 min read

FrenchNow

Passé Composé vs Imparfait: When to Use Each

Passé composé tells the story; imparfait paints the scene. Use this 2-second flowchart, trigger words, and paired examples to pick the right French tense.

June 3, 2026 6 min read

FrenchNow

Le, La, Un, Du: French Articles Made Simple

Le, la, un, du, des made simple: pick the French article family by meaning, the form by gender, and dodge the two mistakes English speakers always make.

June 4, 2026 5 min read