mask
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[edit] English
[edit] Etymology
From Middle French masque, from Italian maschera 'mask, disguise', from Medieval Latin masca, mascha, mascus 'mask, nightmare, ghost', of uncertain origin. Replaced Old English grīma (“mask”).
Medieval Latin masca, mascha, mascus may represent the merger of two or more words: one related to Old French mascurer 'to blacken, cover the face' (compare Occitan mascarar, Catalan mascarar), a conflation of a Germanic source (from assumed Frankish *maska, *maskra) represented by Old English mæscre (“mesh; discoloration, spot”), Old English masc (“net, mesh netting”), Old High German māsca (“mesh, ties”), all from Proto-Germanic *maskōn (“mesh”), from Proto-Indo-European *mezgʷ- (“to knit, twist”), from the practice of wearing mesh netting over the face as a mask to filter air, keeping soot and dust particles from entering the lungs (compare surgical mask, gas mask, etc.), and a stem *maska, *mask- 'black' believed to be of Pre-Indo-European origin giving rise to words meaning 'witch, wizard, sorcerer' (compare Old Provençal masco 'witch', Occitan masca 'witch', French masque 'brothel-keeper, witch'); and another perhaps from Arabic مسخرة (maskhara(t)) “buffoon, fool, pleasantry, anything ridiculous”, from سخرة (sakhira) “to ridicule, to laugh at”.
- Derived from the -r- form: Italian maschera, Spanish and Portuguese máscara, Dutch masker, English masquerade.
- Derived from the form lacking -r-: German Maske and Swedish mask.[1]
[edit] Pronunciation
[edit] Noun
mask (plural masks)
- A cover, or partial cover, for the face, used for disguise or protection.
- a dancer's mask; a fencer's mask; a ball player's mask
- That which disguises; a pretext or subterfuge.
- A festive entertainment of dancing or other diversions, where all wear masks; a masquerade; hence, a revel; a frolic; a delusive show - Francis Bacon
- (Can we date this quote?) John Milton:
- This thought might lead me through the world's vain mask.
- (Can we date this quote?) John Milton:
- (obsolete) A dramatic performance, formerly in vogue, in which the actors wore masks and represented mythical or allegorical characters.
- (architecture) A grotesque head or face, used to adorn keystones and other prominent parts, to spout water in fountains, and the like; -- called also mascaron.
- (fortification) In a permanent fortification, a redoubt which protects the caponiere.
- (fortification) A screen for a battery
- (zoology) The lower lip of the larva of a dragonfly, modified so as to form a prehensile organ.
- (Puebloan, anthropology) A ceremonial object used in Puebloan kachina cults that resembles a Euro-American masks. (The term is objected as an appropriate translation by Puebloan peoples as it emphasizes imitation but ignores power and representational intent.)
- (computing, programming) A pattern of bits used in bitwise operations; bitmask.
- (computer graphics) A two-color (black and white) bitmap generated from an image, used to create transparency in the image.
[edit] Derived terms
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[edit] Translations
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- 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.
[edit] Verb
mask (third-person singular simple present masks, present participle masking, simple past and past participle masked)
- (transitive) To cover, as the face, by way of concealment or defense against injury; to conceal with a mask or visor.
- (Can we date this quote?) Shakespeare, Merry Wives of Windsor, IV,vi:
- They must all be masked and vizarded
- (Can we date this quote?) Shakespeare, Merry Wives of Windsor, IV,vi:
- (transitive) To disguise; to cover; to hide.
- (Can we date this quote?) Shakespeare, Macbeth, III-i:
- Masking the business from the common eye
- (Can we date this quote?) Shakespeare, Macbeth, III-i:
- (transitive, military) To conceal; also, to intervene in the line of.
- (transitive, military) To cover or keep in check.
- to mask a body of troops or a fortess by a superior force, while some hostile evolution is being carried out
- (intransitive) To take part as a masker in a masquerade
- (intransitive) To wear a mask; to be disguised in any way
- (Can we date this quote?) Shakespeare.
[edit] Translations
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- 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.
[edit] References
- ^ Friedrich Kluge, “Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache” , 22. Auflage, 1989, bearbeitet von Elmar Seebold, ISBN 3-11-006800-1
[edit] Anagrams
[edit] Swedish
[edit] Etymology 1
From Old Norse maðkr (Old Swedish maþker). Cognate with English mawk, Danish maddike and Finnish matikka.
[edit] Pronunciation
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audio (file)
[edit] Noun
mask c.
[edit] Declension
[edit] Derived terms
[edit] Etymology 2
From French masque, from Latin masca. Details: see above, mask.
[edit] Pronunciation
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audio (file)
[edit] Noun
mask c.
[edit] Declension
[edit] Derived terms
- English terms derived from Middle French
- English terms derived from Italian
- English terms derived from Medieval Latin
- English terms derived from Germanic languages
- English terms derived from Frankish
- English nouns
- English terms with obsolete senses
- en:Architecture
- en:Zoology
- en:Anthropology
- en:Computing
- en:Programming
- en:Computer graphics
- English verbs
- en:Military
- en:Headgear
- Swedish terms derived from Old Norse
- Swedish terms derived from Old Swedish
- Swedish nouns
- Swedish terms derived from French
- Swedish terms derived from Latin
