lance

pronunciation

How to pronounce lance in British English: UK [lɑ:ns] word uk audio image

How to pronounce lance in American English: US [læns] word us audio image

Noun:

a long pointed rod used as a weapon
an implement with a shaft and barbed point used for catching fish
a surgical knife with a pointed double-edged blade; used for punctures and small incisions
Verb:

move quickly, as if by cutting one's way
pierce with a lance, as in a knights' fight
open by piercing with a lancet

Word Origin

lance: lance: [13] Lance is now a fairly widespread word throughout the European languages: German has lanze, for instance, Swedish lans, Italian lancia, and Spanish lanza. English acquired the word from Old French lance, which in turn came from Latin lancea, but its ultimate origin may have been Celtic. Derived words in English include élan and launch. Lance corporals [18] were not named because they carried lances. The term was based on the now obsolete lancepesade ‘officer of lowest rank’, which came via Old French from Old Italian lancia spezzata, literally ‘broken lance’, hence ‘old soldier’.=> élan, launch

lance (n.): late 13c. (late 12c. as a surname), from Old French lance (12c.), from Latin lancea "light spear, Spanish lance" (Italian lancia, Spanish lanza), possibly of Celt-Iberian origin. The French word spread into Germanic (German Lanze, Middle Dutch lanse, Dutch lans, Danish landse). Lance corporal (1786) is from obsolete lancepesade "officer of lowest rank" (1570s), from Old Italian lancia spezzata "old soldier," literally "broken lance."

lance (v.): "to pierce with a lance," c. 1300, from Old French lancier, from Late Latin lanceare "wield a lance; pierce with a lance," from lancea (see lance (n.)). The surgical sense (properly with reference to a lancet) is from late 15c. Related: Lanced; lancing.

vt.

5. The lance ceased to be an official battle weapon in the british army in 1927 .