lance
/læns/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.94 in modern English
7
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
1
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A weapon of war, consisting of a long shaft or handle and a steel blade or head; a spear carried by horsemen.
noun
A wooden spear, sometimes hollow, used in jousting or tilting, designed to shatter on impact with the opposing knight’s armour.
noun
An instrument which conveys the charge of a piece of ordnance and forces it home.
noun
One of the small paper cases filled with combustible composition, which mark the outlines of a figure.
noun
A lancet.
Example Sentences
- "Thy brother’s blood the thirsty earth hath drunk, Broach’d with the steely point of Clifford’s lance[…]"
- "The head of the lance was commonly of the leaf form, and sometimes approached that of the lozenge; it was very seldom barbed, although this variety, together with the others, appears upon the Bayeux Tapestry."
- "What will you do, good greybeard? Break a lance, And run a-tilt at Death within a chair?"
- "Seiz'd the due Victim, and with Fury lanch'd Her Back"
- "to lance a vein or an abscess"
- "He lanced my drink and spiked it!"
Etymology
From Middle English launce, from Old French lance, from Latin lancea.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /læns/
- British English: /lɑːns/