Question

The other bank of the stream was open ground -- a gentle slope topped with a stockade of vertical tree trunks, loopholed for rifles, with a single embrasure through which protruded the muzzle of a brass cannon commanding the bridge. What is the BEST meaning of the word muzzle as it is used in this sentence? A) a leather or wire restraining appliance B) a restraint on free movement or expression C) the forward discharging end of the barrel of a firearm D) the forward projecting part of the head of certain animals

Answer 1

a cannon is a firearm - muzzle is  the forward discharging end. muzzle on a rifle, gun, cannon, etc

Answer 2

C) the forward discharging end of the barrel of a firearm

Step-by-step explanation:

Muzzle is the term that refers to the device placed at the mouth of a gun barrel or any firearm to deflect the gas flow backwards, so as to reduce the recoil caused by the shot. It is a device that can be an integral part of the gun barrel or removable.