Emily Dickinson Lexicon

MUSK'ET, n. [It. moschetto; Sp. mosquete; Fr. mousquet. It seems to be formed from Sp. mosca, L. musca, a fly.]

1. A species of fire-arms used in war, and fired by means of a lighted match. This manner of firing was in use as late as the civil war in England. But the proper musket is no longer in use. The name, however, in common speech, is yet applied to fuses or fire-locks fired by a spring lock. Encyc.
2. A male hawk of a small kind, the female of which is the sparrow-hawk. Dryden. Hanmer.