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Glite Dictionary
wheel lock

wheel lock

9.9
A gun device with a rotating wheel that makes sparks to light powder
  • noun
  • /ˈwiːl lɒk/
  • Archaic
translation icon : cerrojo de rueda
  • The soldier used a wheel lock mechanism to fire his old musket accurately.

Examples

  • A wheel lock provides a unique method of ignition that differs from modern firearms.

  • This is a wheel lock pistol and it is a very early kind of pistol.

  • Early firearms, like the wheel lock, represented a significant technological advancement in weaponry.

Synonyms

flintlock
vswheel lock
  • Archaic
3 9.9

A gun that uses a piece of flint to make a spark and fire

is an earlier mechanism using a rotating metal part instead of struck stone
gunlock
vswheel lock
  • Archaic
9.4

A part of a gun that makes the gunpowder burn to fire a shot

is an early specific form that uses a rotating metal part to make sparks

Surface Forms

wheel lock singular
wheel locks plural

Morphology

wheel + lock

The compound is compositionally interpretable as a ‘lock that uses a wheel,’ so a B1 learner who knows 'wheel' and 'lock' can infer it denotes a mechanical device involving a wheel. However, the specific historical/technical sense — an early firearm ignition mechanism that produces sparks — is specialized and not predictable from the constituents alone, so full understanding requires extra domain knowledge.

Etymology

Wheel lock comes from how the device worked: a turning wheel made sparks that lit the gunpowder in a small lock, the part that made the gun 'fire'. That's why the name means an early type of gun part that made a firearm go off.