harquebus
/ˈhɑɹkɪbʌs/
"harquebus" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“harquebus” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 9
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An obsolete matchlock firearm.
Corpus desk
Index EN-harquebus · harquebus · English
harquebus · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 9 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "H" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | harquebus |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈhɑɹkɪbʌs/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “harquebus” in English
Rare enough to double-check
harquebus is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈhɑɹkɪbʌs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
harquebus doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: From French harquebuse, borrowed from Middle Low German hakebusse or Middle Dutch hakebus, hagebus (modern Dutch haakbus), from hôk (“hook”) + busse (“box; firelock”), from Old Saxon hōk + *buhsa, from Proto-Germanic *hōkaz + *buhsā. The correct English form is harquebus, spelled H-A-R-Q-U-E-B-U-S.
Definition
- 1An obsolete matchlock firearm.
- 2A portable gun, varying in size from a small cannon to a musket. When used in the field it was supported upon a tripod or trestle.
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how harquebus appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
All the while they had their eye and foot so quicke and readie, that as soone as ever they saw the harquebuse raised to the cheeke, so soon were they on the ground, and eftsoone to answer with their bowes, and to the their way, if by chance they perceived that we were about to take them.
Etymology
From French harquebuse, borrowed from Middle Low German hakebusse or Middle Dutch hakebus, hagebus (modern Dutch haakbus), from hôk (“hook”) + busse (“box; firelock”), from Old Saxon hōk + *buhsa, from Proto-Germanic *hōkaz + *buhsā.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.