pounce

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /paʊns/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aʊns

Etymology 1

From French ponce, from Latin pūmex. Doublet of pumice.

Noun

pounce (usually uncountable, plural pounces)

1. (historical) A type of fine powder, as of sandarac, or cuttlefish bone, sprinkled over wet ink to dry the ink after writing or on rough paper to smooth the writing surface.
   • 2021, A. K. Blakemore, The Manningtree Witches, Granta Books, page 120:

     At the Thorn, or at a meagre kitchen table, or even on the carpenter’s workbench, he spreads open the portfolio, lights a candle stub, slices a fresh quill, and arranges pounce pot and ink well.

2. (historical) Charcoal dust, or some other coloured powder for making patterns through perforated designs, used by embroiderers, lacemakers, etc.

Derived terms

• pounce wheel

Translations

powder thrown onto the paper to make the ink dry

• Catalan: arena assecant f, sorra assecant f
• Danish: radérpulver
• Dutch: please add this translation if you can
• Finnish: hiekka (fi) (literally “sand”), sandarakki (fi) (literally “sandarac”)
• French: poudre (fr) f (literally “powder”), sable (fr) m (literally “sand”)
• German: Löschsand (de) m, Schreibsand m
• Greek:

  Ancient Greek: σήπιον n (sḗpion)

• Polish: no equivalent term in Polish, but see proszek na atrament m
• Russian: please add this translation if you can
• Serbo-Croatian: please add this translation if you can
• Spanish: arena secante f
• Swedish: skrivsand c

Verb

pounce (third-person singular simple present pounces, present participle pouncing, simple past and past participle pounced)

1. (transitive) To sprinkle or rub with pounce powder.

   to pounce paper, or a pattern

Etymology 2

From Middle English pounce, probably akin to punch. Possibly from Old French ponchonner (compare French poinçonner).

Noun

pounce (plural pounces)

1. A sudden leaping attack.
   • 1999, Niki Anderson, Inspurrrational Stories for Cat Lovers:

     Again the cat jolted the bed with a pounce.

2. (archaic) The claw or talon of a bird of prey.
   • March 22 1775, Edmund Burke, speech in the House of Commons on conciliation with America

     You have , indeed , winged ministers of vengeance, who carry your bolts in their pounces to the remotest verge of the sea

   • 1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book V, Canto IV”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:

     And from her griping pounce the greedy prey doth quarry

3. A punch or stamp.
   • 1602, John Withals, A Dictionarie in English and Latine for Children:

     a pounce to print money with

4. Cloth worked in eyelet holes.
   • 1571, John Jewel et al., “An Homily Against excess of apparel”, in The Second Tome of Homilees […] :

     one spendeth his patrimony upon pounces and cuts

Verb

pounce (third-person singular simple present pounces, present participle pouncing, simple past and past participle pounced)

1. (intransitive) To leap into the air intending to seize someone or something.

   The kitten pounced at the ball I threw to it.

   She pounced on the young man, because she loved him and wanted him for herself.

2. (intransitive) To attack suddenly by leaping.

   I was awakened from a dead sleep by my child pouncing on top of me from out of nowhere.

3. (intransitive) To eagerly seize an opportunity.

   I pounced on the chance to get promoted.

   While he was out of town on vacation, I pounced, leaking the photos.

   Why would I talk to the press and give them a chance to pounce on me?

   • 2011 March 2, Chris Whyatt, “Arsenal 5 - 0 Leyton Orient”, in BBC‎^[1]:

     Irish debutant Conor Henderson - another ball-playing midfielder - probed for a gap through the back-line and the 19-year-old's deflected pass was pounced on by Tomas Rosicky, who sped to the byeline to clip a square ball through the legs of Charlie Daniels across the box.

4. (transitive) To strike or seize with the talons; to pierce, as with the talons.
   • 1782, William Cowper, Table Talk:

     Stooped from his highest pitch to pounce a wren.

   • 1621, John Fletcher, The Pilgrim (play):

     Now pounce him lightly, / And as he roars and rages, let's go deeper.

5. (transitive) To stamp holes in; to perforate.

Synonyms

• (instance of propelling oneself into air): leap, jump, bounce
• (instance of causing oneself to fall from an elevated place): strike, attack

Translations

To leap into the air intending to seize someone or something

• Dutch: opspringen (nl)
• Esperanto: alsalti
• French: sauter sur
• Greek:

  Ancient: ἐπιπηδάω (epipēdáō)

• Hungarian: nyakába ugrik
• Portuguese: dar o bote
• Spanish: brincar (es)
• Tagalog: sagpangin

To attack suddenly

• Bulgarian: връхлитам (bg) (vrǎhlitam), нахвърлям се (nahvǎrljam se)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 突襲／突袭 (zh) (tūxí, túxí)

• Dutch: bespringen (nl)
• Finnish: syöksyä kimppuun (+ illative), iskeä kyntensä (+ illative)
• French: fondre sur (fr)
• German: überfallen (de), angreifen (de), (plötzlich) zuschlagen
• Greek:

  Ancient: ἐπιπηδάω (epipēdáō)

• Portuguese: dar o bote
• Spanish: atacar (es), abalanzarse (es), embestir (es), acometer (es), arremeter (es)

To eagerly seize an opportunity

• Bulgarian: възползвам се (vǎzpolzvam se)
• Dutch: grijpen (nl)
• Finnish: tarttua tilaisuuteen
• German: ausnutzen (de)
• Hungarian: lecsap (hu)
• Persian: بل گرفتن (fa) (bol gereftan)
• Portuguese: dar o bote
• Spanish: aprovechar (es)

To stamp holes in

• French: trouer (fr), faire un trou, perforer (fr)
• German: perforieren (de), durchlöchern (de)

References

• “pounce”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Anagrams

• Cupeño

Middle English

Noun

pounce

1. Alternative form of paunche