The blunderbuss is a 17th- to mid-19th-century firearm with a short, large caliber barrel which is commonly flared at the muzzle, to help aid in the loading of shot and other projectiles of relevant quantity or caliber. The blunderbuss is commonly considered to be an early predecessor of the modern shotgun, with similar military usage. It was effective only at short range, lacking accuracy at long distances. A blunderbuss in handgun form was called a dragon, and it is from this that the term dragoon evolved.
Etymology
The term "blunderbuss" is of Dutch origin, from the Dutch word donderbus, which is a combination of donder, meaning "thunder", and bus, meaning "container, tin" (Middle Dutch: busse, box, jar, from Latin buxus, box tree).
The transition from donder to blunder is thought by some to be deliberate; the term blunder was originally used in a transitive sense, synonymous with to confuse, and this is thought to describe the stunningly loud report of the large-bore, short-barreled blunderbuss. The term dragon is taken from the fact...
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