Brown Bess
English
editEtymology
editFrom an archaic meaning of brown, meaning plain or ordinary, and Bess, a nickname for Elizabeth associated with the lower class and prostitutes.
Noun
editBrown Bess (plural Brown Besses)
- (informal) The British Army's Land Pattern Musket or any of its derivatives, standard-issue weapons for British soldiers in the American Revolution.
- Synonym: Black Bess
References
edit- John Camden Hotten (1873) The Slang Dictionary
- History of the Term 'Brown Bess'