Fusil
adj, noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A bearing of a rhomboidal figure, originally representing a spindle in shape, longer than a heraldic lozenge.
- 2 A light flintlock musket or firelock. historical
"[H]e out of meer wantonness attempted to trip up the heels of the soldier that stood next him, but failed in the execution, and received a blow of his breast with the butt end of a fusil, that made him stagger several paces backward."
- 3 a light flintlock musket wordnet
- 1 Obsolete spelling of fusile. alt-of, obsolete
"what might else be wrought / Fusil or grav'n in metal"
Example
More examples"[H]e out of meer wantonness attempted to trip up the heels of the soldier that stood next him, but failed in the execution, and received a blow of his breast with the butt end of a fusil, that made him stagger several paces backward."
Etymology
From Middle English fusill, from Old French fusel, fuisel, from a late Latin diminutive of Latin fūsus (“spindle”).
From Middle French fusil, ultimately from Latin focus (“hearth; fire”). Doublet of fusee.
Alternative forms.
More for "fusil"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.