lance

See also Lance, and lancé

English

Wikipedia ^en

Lance shape of an Egyptian bronze spear from Banha, 2nd millennium BC

Jousters with broken lances.

Pronunciation

• (RP) enPR: läns, IPA: /lɑːns/, X-SAMPA: /lA:ns/
• (US) enPR: lăns, IPA: /læns/, X-SAMPA: /l{ns/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑːns

Etymology

From Old French lance, from Latin lancea.

Noun

lance (plural lances)

1. A weapon of war, consisting of a long shaft or handle and a steel blade or head; a spear carried by horsemen.
   • 1590, William Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part III, Act II, Scene III, line 15.

     Thy brother’s blood the thirsty earth hath drunk, Broach’d with the steely point of Clifford’s lance...

   • 1909, Charles Henry Ashdown, European Arms & Armor, page 65.

     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.

2. A wooden spear, sometimes hollow, used in jousting or tilting, designed to shatter on impact with the opposing knight’s armour.
   • 1591, William Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part I, Act III, Scene II, line 49.

     What will you do, good greybeard? Break a lance, And run a-tilt at Death within a chair?

3. (fishing) A spear or harpoon used by whalers and fishermen.
4. (military) A soldier armed with a lance; a lancer.
5. (military) An instrument which conveys the charge of a piece of ordnance and forces it home.
6. (founding) A small iron rod which suspends the core of the mold in casting a shell.
7. (pyrotechnics) One of the small paper cases filled with combustible composition, which mark the outlines of a figure.
8. (medicine) A lancet.

Derived terms

free lance lance bucket (cavalry) lance corporal lance fish (zoology) lance knight

lance sergeant lancer lance snake (zoology) stink-fire lance (military)

Related terms

• lancet

Translations

weapon of war

• Armenian: նիզակ (hy) (nizak), գեղարդ (hy) (geġard), տեգ (hy) (teg)
• Catalan: llança (ca) f
• Danish: lanse (da) c
• Dutch: lans (nl) f
• Estonian: oda (et)
• Faroese: lansi (fo) m, langspjót (fo) n
• Finnish: peitsi (fi), keihäs (fi)
• French: lance (fr) f
• German: Lanze (de) f
• Greek: λόγχη (el) (lónchi) f (lónchi)

• Hungarian: lándzsa (hu)
• Italian: lancia (it)
• Japanese: 槍 (ja) (やり, yari)
• Macedonian: копје (mk) (kópje) f
• Malay: tombak (ms)
• Romanian: lance (ro), suliță (ro), fuște (ro)
• Russian: пика (ru) (pika) f
• Scottish Gaelic: sleagh (gd) f, gath (gd) m
• Turkish: mızrak (tr)

wooden weapon used in jousting or tilting

• Czech: dlouhé kopí (cs) n
• Dutch: lans (nl) f
• Finnish: peitsi (fi)
• French: lance (fr) f

• German: Lanze (de) f
• Hungarian: lándzsa (hu), kopja (hu)
• Macedonian: копје (mk) (kópje) f

spear or harpoon used by whalers

• Dutch: lans (nl) f
• Finnish: harppuuna (fi)
• French: lance (fr) f
• German: Harpune (de) f

• Hungarian: szigony (hu)
• Japanese: やす (ja) (yasu)
• Macedonian: копје (mk) (kópje) n

(military) soldier armed with a lance

• Finnish: peitsimies (fi), keihäsmies (fi)
• French: lance (fr) f
• German: Lanzer (de) m

• Hungarian: lándzsás (hu)
• Macedonian: копјаник (mk) (kópjanik) m

(military) instrument which conveys the charge of a piece of ordinance

• German: Harpune (de) f mit Sprenggeschoss (de) n

(founding) a small iron rod which suspends the core of the mold in casting a shell

(pyrotechnics) one of the small paper cases filled with combustible composition, which mark the outlines of a figure

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

• Catalan: llança (ca) f
• Mandarin: 長矛 (cmn), 长矛 (cmn) (changmao)
• Italian: lancia (it) f

• Korean: 창 (ko) (chang)
• Latin: lancea (la) f
• Spanish: lanza (es) f

Verb

lance (third-person singular simple present lances, present participle lancing, simple past and past participle lanced)

1. To pierce with a lance, or with any similar weapon.

   Seized the due victim, and with fury lanced Her back. Dryden.

2. To open with a lancet; to pierce; as, to lance a vein or an abscess.
3. To throw in the manner of a lance; to lanch.

Quotations

• For usage examples of this term, see the citations page.

See also

• javelin
• pike
• spear

Anagrams

• ancle, clane, clean

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French

Etymology

From Old French, from Latin lancea.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /lɑ̃s/

Noun

lance f (plural lances)

1. a spear, lance
2. (military) a soldier armed with a lance; a lancer
3. a hose

Derived terms

lance-roquette lancette lancement lanceur, lanceuse

lancier relance relancement relancer

Verb

lance

1. first-person singular present indicative of lancer
2. third-person singular present indicative of lancer
3. first-person singular present subjunctive of lancer
4. first-person singular present subjunctive of lancer
5. second-person singular imperative of lancer

Related terms

• lancement
• lancer
• lancier

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Italian

Noun

lance f pl

1. Plural form of lancia

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Middle French

Noun

lance f (plural lances)

1. lance (weapon)
2. lancer; lance

Descendants

• French: lance

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Old French

Etymology

From Latin lancea

Noun

lance f (oblique plural lances, nominative singular lance, nominative plural lances)

1. lance (weapon)

Descendants

• English: lance (borrowed)
• French: lance
• German: Lanze

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Portuguese

Verb

lance

1. first-person singular present subjunctive of lançar
2. third-person singular present subjunctive of lançar
3. first-person singular imperative of lançar
4. third-person singular imperative of lançar

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Romanian

Etymology

From Italian lancia (18th century).

Noun

lance f (plural lănci)

1. spear, lance

Synonyms

• suliță

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Spanish

Verb

lance (infinitive lanzar)

1. First-person singular (yo) present subjunctive form of lanzar.
2. Formal second-person singular (usted) present subjunctive form of lanzar.
3. Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted^?) present subjunctive form of lanzar.