Lintstock

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A device used in historical artillery to ignite gunpowder
2. a type of fuse or wick employed in igniting explosives
3. an implement associated with early military operations for safely starting fires in cannons

Etymology: The stick that fired a cannon was once a cannon's match-holder, and its name is Dutch. The Dutch word "lontstok" joins "lont", a slow-burning match or fuse, to "stok", a stick or staff. Gunners used the long wooden pole to hold a lighted match at the end of it, so the tool kept the flame at arm's length from the powder charge. English took the word in its older form "luntstock" and later shortened it to "linstock", the form that stuck. The more striking detail is how the sound slid along the way. "Lunt" was the English form of the match itself, and as the word was reshaped by everyday speakers, the "u" softened into "i" and the "t" in the middle dropped away. "Lintstock" is an alternative spelling of the same tool, which is why dictionaries list both. The ending "-stock" still carries its original sense of a plain stick or post.

Synonyms: matchlock mechanism, firearm lock