"firearm for infantry," c.1587, from M.Fr.
mousquette, a kind of sparrow-hawk, dim. of
mosca "a fly," from L.
musca (see
midge). The hawk so called either for its size or because it looks speckled when in flight. Early firearms were often given names of beasts (cf.
dragoon), and the equivalent word was used in It. to mean "an arrow for a crossbow." The M.Fr. word was borrowed earlier (c.1425) in its literal sense of "sparrow-hawk."
Musketeer "soldier armed with a musket" is 1590, from Fr.
mousquetaire, from
mousquette.
[muhs-kit] 
