240 
THE CALIVER. 
Henry IV where Falstaff speaks of cowards “such as 
fear the report of a ‘ caliver ’ worse than a struck fowl or 
a hurt wild-duck.”— Henry IV. Part I. Act iv. Sc. 2. 
The derivation of the word “ caliver ” is not quite clear, 
unless it be the same weapon as the “ culverin,” in which 
case it may be derived from the French couleuvrin , adder¬ 
like. In Cotgrave’s French and English Dictionary, 1660, 
the word is spelled “caloever,” and translated “harque- 
buse.” In Bailey’s “ Dictionarium Britannicum,” 1736, 
the caliver is described as “ a small gun used at sea.” In 
Worcester’s “ Dictionary of the English Language,” 1859, 
“ caliver ” is said to be corrupted from caliber , and de¬ 
scribed as—1. a hand-gun or large pistol, an arquebuse ; 
2. a kind of light matchlock. I11 Scheler’s “ Dictionnaire 
d’Etymologie Frangaise,” 1862, we find—“ couleuvre du 
L. colubra ; It. colubro ; Prov. colobre; du L. masc. coluber , 
bri; D. couleuvreau , couleuvrine , ou coulevrine, piece d’ar- 
tillerie ; cp. les termes serpen tin, et All. feldschlange. ’ ’ 
From these various explanations, as well as from that 
given by Archdeacon Nares in his “ Glossary,” it would 
seem to have been a military rather than a sporting 
weapon. The best description which we have met with is 
that given by Sir S. D. Scott.* He says :— 
“ The Caliver was a kind of short musket or harquebus, 
fired by a matchlock, and from its lightness did not re¬ 
quire a rest.” 
* “ The British Army : its Origin, Progress, and Equipment,” vol. ii. p. 286. 
