Obs. [a. Fr. amusette, dim. f. amuse, a little amusement, a plaything, toy, a light gun.] A light field-cannon, invented by Marshal Saxe, formerly used in mountain warfare.
1761. Ann. Reg., 172/1. A new piece of artillery was tried lately in Dublin, after the manner of Marshal Saxe’s amusette.
1776. C. Lee, in Sparks, Corr. Am. Rev. (1853), I. 202. I am furnishing myself with four-ounced rifle-amusettes, which will carry an infernal distance.
1816. C. James, Mil. Dict. (ed. 4), 13. Amusette, a species of offensive weapon … found of considerable use in the late war, especially among the French.
