lace
pronunciation
How to pronounce lace in British English:
UK [leɪs]
How to pronounce lace in American English:
US [leɪs]
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- Noun:
- a cord that is drawn through eyelets or around hooks in order to draw together two edges (as of a shoe or garment)
- a delicate decorative fabric woven in an open web of symmetrical patterns
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- Verb:
- spin or twist together so as to form a cord
- make by braiding or interlacing
- do lacework
- draw through eyes or holes
- add alcohol beverages
Word Origin
- lace
- lace: [13] Lace originally meant ‘noose’ or ‘snare’, and its underlying semantic connections are not with ‘string’ or ‘thread’ but with ‘entrapment’ or ‘enticement’. Its ultimate source was Latin laqueus ‘noose’, which was related to the verb lacere ‘lure, deceive’ (source of English delicious and elicit). This passed into Vulgar Latin as *lacium, which in due course diversified into Italian laccio, Spanish lazo (source of English lasso [19]), and French lacs.It was the latter’s Old French predecessor, laz or las, that gave English lace. The sense ‘noose’ had died out by the early 17th century, but by then it had already developed via ‘string, cord’ to ‘cord used for fastening clothes’. ‘Open fabric made of threads’ emerged in the mid-16th century. Latch [14] is thought to be distantly related.=> delicious, elicit, lasso, latch
- lace (n.)
- early 13c., laz, "cord made of braided or interwoven strands of silk, etc.," from Old French laz "a net, noose, string, cord, snare" (Modern French lacs), from Vulgar Latin *lacium, from Latin laqueum (nominative laqueus) "noose, snare" (source also of Italian laccio, Spanish lazo), a trapping and hunting term, probably from Italic base *laq- "to ensnare" (compare Latin lacere "to entice"). Later also "net, noose, snare" (c. 1300); and "piece of cord used to draw together the edges of slits or openings in an article of clothing" (late 14c., as in shoelace). The "ornamental net pattern" meaning is first recorded 1550s. As an adjective, lace-curtain "middle class" (or lower-class with middle-class pretensions), usually is used in reference to Irish-Americans, is attested by 1928.
- lace (v.)
- c. 1200, "fasten (clothing, etc.) with laces and ties," from Old French lacier, from laz (see lace (n.)). Also "tighten (a garment) by pulling its laces" (early 14c.). To lace coffee, etc., with a dash of liquor (1670s) originally was used of sugar, and comes via the notion of "to ornament or trim." Related: Laced; lacing. Laced mutton was "an old word for a whore" [Johnson].
Example
- 1. Chiffon with lace trim dress , kate moss for topshop , $ 145 ; topshop.com .
- 2. She adorned her dress with a lace .
- 3. Just lace up your shoes and get out the door .
- 4. We need a lace and 2 pencils .
- 5. A photograph on www.maximonline.ru shows red-haired chapman dressed in nylon and lace and posing with a handgun .