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A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)

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First published 1971 (DOST Vol. IV).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

Muscat, Musket, Moskat, n. Also: muscatt, -chat, -kat, -katt, -quat(t, mwscatt, -katt; muskett, -quet(t, -kit(t; muiskat; moscat, -quett. [e.m.E. musket(te (c 1587), mosquet (1590), F. mousquet.] A musket or (specifically match-lock) hand-gun.Also plur. without inflection.For several further examples, see Bandelier n., Hedepece n. d and Lunt n. (a) and c (2).Schot of (ane) muscat, = Muscat(t)-s(c)ho(t n.(1) 1590 Wedderb. Compt. Bk. 26.
My muskat, my pistolat 1600 4th Rep. Hist. MSS. App. 512/2.
Muscattis 1600 Aberd. B. Rec. II. 214.
Arrayit with muscatt hagbute jak [etc.] 1601 Reg. Privy C. VI. 284. 1605 Black Bk. Taymouth 344.
v screw headis for muscatis with ane sokket … iij worms for muscatis 1609 Grahame Anat. Hum. 10.
His beard grew with smook of muscats 1626 Aberd. B. Rec. III. 5. 1639 Glasgow B. Rec. I. 400.
32 musquattis at £9/16/8 the peice 1639 Aberd. B. Rec. III. 150.
For twa pund of pulder, Inglis weycht, to ilk muskat 1641 Glasgow Burgesses 104.
In skouring and dighting of the tounis muscattis 1642–3 Misc. Spald. C. V. 160. 1644 Edinb. Test. LX. 379.
xx muskattes, hagbuttes, & carrabines with restes & bandeleiris 1650 Rec. Old Aberd. I. 81. c1650 Spalding I. 136.
Thay … buskit veray advantagiouslie thair muskattis round about the dykis of the kirk yaird Ib. II. 170.
But [he] wes dung bak agane both be cannon and muskat 1652 Elgin Rec. I. 187. 1655 Rothesay B. Rec. 10. 1671 Forbes Baron Ct. 282.
Muschat(b) 1600 Crim. Trials II. 245.
The toune raise in armes with schutting of muskettis 1610 Highland P. III. 121. 1625 Reg. Great S. 355/2. 1627 Kelly Pallas Armata 26.
Sinke ȝour musquet and vnshoulder your musquet —Ib. (see Muscatere n.) — 1635 Haddington Corr. 302.
Tuo grit musketts 1638 Edinb. B. Rec. VII. 204.
Tua hundreth double muskettis 1641 Peebles B. Rec. I. 377. 1642 Caldwell P. 93.
Musquets 1650 Acts VI. ii. 599/1.
The footmen to be … armed with muskets, pikes [etc.] … the horsemen … with pistols and lances 1650 Glasgow B. Rec. II. 196.
Robert Wilsoune [etc.] … to tak chairge of the musquetis and dismunt them 1659 Boharm Kirk S. 1 May.
Two of the Englishes teimed two muskets in him Ib.
The butt of ane musket 1678 Cullen B. Rec. 4 (11 Jan.).
To present ane sufficient musket or fyre lock quhenewir [etc.] 1688 Dumfr. & Galloway Soc. 3 Ser. XXXVI. 40.
Yow are to sie the foot armed with … musketts of one bore of sextein baalles to the pounduninfl. pl. 1638 Baillie I. 65.
Other noblemen will provide … their houses with musquett, picks, powder and lead(c) 1626 Conv. Burghs III. 236.
With furneissit muskittis and pickies 1644 Melrose Reg. Rec. I. 105. 1696 Caldwell P. 172.uninfl. pl. 1602 Hist. Carnegies I. 72.
He had forty muskitt ready for the King's service(d) c1650 Spalding II. 487.
Muiskatis(e) c1650 Spalding I. 34.
Thir gallantis had dayntie moscatis, pikis [etc.] 1685 Aberd. B. Rec. IV. 306.
All healths were saluted with vollies of mosquetts and fyreing of the haill great gunnes c1615 Chron. Kings 164.
Moskattis(2) c1615 Chron. Kings 145.
Bothuell … schot at the paleiss sindry schott of mwscatt 16.. Hist. Kennedy 47.
And wes at the Lady Corse befoir the laird, quhair, thay being all reddy to meitt, the ane on the Teynd-know and the vther on the nixt, within the schott of ane mwskatt, thay beganne to flytt

b. Musket's mother, a term said to be used by Highlanders of cannon. 1639 Baillie I. 221.
Some great ordinance we had, which moved our partie to hold off when they were coming on hoping to have cleane defeate us; for their Heiland men avowed they could not abyde the musquet's mother, and so fled in troupes at the first voley a1650 Row 519.
After some two or three shot of the great cartowes, the Highlanders seeing so many men killed at so great a distance, by Muske's [? read muskets] mother, as they spake, did … flie

c. Attrib. with ball, bandrell, bollat, calm, hell (= hail), ratch, rest and stave.Also Muscat(t)-s(c)hot(t. 1645 Edinb. B. Rec. VIII. 421.
For the number of 300 weight of muscat ball 1649 Acts VI. ii. 361/2.
For … casting of musquet and pistoll ball 1679 J. Somerville Mem. II. 323.
A musquet ball … grazed up the foirpart of his scull — 1628 Linlithgow B. Rec. 21 June.
Muskat bandderellis — 1685 Soc. Ant. LVIII. 357.
2 pair of kams for casting of musket and pistoll bollat — 1619 Breadalbane Doc.
Of muskat calmes, ij pair — 1641-8 Skipper's Acc. (Smettone) 25 b.
For musket hell 1 li. 4 s. — 1594 Edinb. Test. XXVII. 227 b.
Ane half muscat ratche price xl s. … ane ratche of ane hagbut price xx s. 1645 Acts VI. i. 438/2.
To cause stocke the 800 musket ratches — 1638 Edinb. B. Rec. VII. 204.
Thriescore sex of muskett restis — c1650 Spalding I. 144.
2000 mvscatis, bandileiris and mvscat staves