Definition of "firelock"

firelock

/ˈfaɪəlɒk/

noun
plural firelocks
1. (historical) A form of gunlock, in which the priming is ignited by a spark.
2. (by extension, historical) A firearm using such a gunlock.
  Quotations
  He looked round for his gun, but in place of the clean well-oiled fowing-piece, he found an old firelock lying by him, the barrel encrusted with rust, the lock falling off, and the stock worm-eaten.
  1819 June 23, Geoffrey Crayon [pseudonym; Washington Irving], “Rip Van Winkle”, in The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent., number I, New York, N.Y.: […] C. S. Van Winkle, […], pages 76–77
  Alfred, surprised to meet his father, whom he thought absent from home, […] stood, holding his firelock in one hand, and his hat in the other […]
  1824, Town and Country Tales, page 115
  Before we were out of the forest, however, we saw about ten peasants, some armed with firelocks [translating Feuer-rohren], others busy burying something.
  1999, Jakob Grimmelshausen, translated by Mike Mitchell, Simplicius Simplicissimus, Dedalus, published 2016, page 48