Brown Bess

English

Short land service musket, a Brown Bess

Etymology

From an archaic meaning of brown, meaning plain or ordinary, and Bess, a nickname for Elizabeth associated with the lower class and prostitutes.

Noun

Brown Bess (plural Brown Besses)

1. (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

• John Camden Hotten (1873) The Slang Dictionary
• History of the Term 'Brown Bess'