An improved hand-gun, either a match-lock or wheel-lock. (Davis, H.W. C. (ed.) Medieval England, 615) A matchlock firearm originally manufactured in Germany in the mid-fifteenth century (from hakenbĂ1/4sche). (Wise, Terence. Medieval Warfare, 246)
The Arquebus (sometimes spelled harquebus, harkbushttp://www.ultralingua.com/ Ultralingua 4.49 or hackbut- possibly related to German 'Hakenbuechse' or Dutch 'Haakbus') was a primitive firearm used in the 15th to 17th centuries. Like its successor, the musket, it was a smoothbore firearm although somewhat smaller than its predecessors, which made it easier to carry. It was a forerunner of the rifle and other longarm firearms.