Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition


Lace

Lace

(lās)
,
Noun.
[OE.
las
, OF.
laz
, F.
lacs
, dim.
lacet
, fr. L.
laqueus
noose, snare; prob. akin to
lacere
to entice. Cf.
Delight
,
Elicit
,
Lasso
,
Latchet
.]
1.
That which binds or holds, especially by being interwoven; a string, cord, or band, usually one passing through eyelet or other holes, and used in drawing and holding together parts of a garment, of a shoe, of a machine belt, etc.
His hat hung at his back down by a
lace
.
Chaucer.
For striving more, the more in
laces
strong
Himself he tied.
Spenser.
2.
A snare or gin, especially one made of interwoven cords; a net.
[Obs.]
Fairfax.
Vulcanus had caught thee [Venus] in his
lace
.
Chaucer.
3.
A fabric of fine threads of linen, silk, cotton, etc., often ornamented with figures; a delicate tissue of thread, much worn as an ornament of dress.
Our English dames are much given to the wearing of costly
laces
.
Bacon.
4.
Spirits added to coffee or some other beverage.
[Old Slang]
Addison.
Alençon lace
,
a kind of point lace, entirely of needlework, first made at Alençon in France, in the 17th century. It is very durable and of great beauty and cost.
Bone lace
,
Brussels lace
,
etc. See under
Bone
,
Brussels
, etc.
Gold lace
, or
Silver lace
,
lace having warp threads of silk, or silk and cotton, and a weft of silk threads covered with gold (or silver), or with gilt.
Lace leather
,
thin, oil-tanned leather suitable for cutting into lacings for machine belts.
Lace lizard
(Zool.)
,
a large, aquatic, Australian lizard (
Hydrosaurus giganteus
), allied to the monitors.
Lace paper
,
paper with an openwork design in imitation of lace.
Lace piece
(Shipbuilding)
,
the main piece of timber which supports the beak or head projecting beyond the stem of a ship.
Lace pillow
, and
Pillow lace
.
See under
Pillow
.

Lace

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Laced
(āst)
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Lacing
.]
1.
To fasten with a lace; to draw together with a lace passed through eyelet holes; to unite with a lace or laces, or, figuratively. with anything resembling laces.
Shak.
When Jenny’s stays are newly
laced
.
Prior.
2.
To adorn with narrow strips or braids of some decorative material;
as, cloth
laced
with silver
.
Shak.
3.
To beat; to lash; to make stripes on.
[Colloq.]
I'll
lace
your coat for ye.
L'Estrange.

Lace

,
Verb.
I.
To be fastened with a lace, or laces;
as, these boots
lace
.

Webster 1828 Edition


Lace

LACE

,
Noun.
[L. laqueus.]
1.
A work composed of threads interwoven into a net, and worked on a pillow with spindles or pins. Fine laces are manufactured in France, Italy and England.
2.
A string; a cord.
3.
A snare; a gin.
4.
A plaited string with which females fasten their clothes.
Doll ne'er was called to cut her lace.

LACE

, v.t.
1.
To fasten with a string through eyelet holes.
When Jenny's stays are newly laced -
2.
To adorn with lace; as cloth laced with silver.
3.
To embellish with variegations or stripes.
Look, love, what envious streaks.
Do lace the severing clouds in yonder east.
4.
To beat; to lash; [probably to make stripes on.]
I'll lace your coat for ye.

Definition 2024


lace

lace

See also: lacé and láce

English

Noun

lace (countable and uncountable, plural laces)

  1. (uncountable) A light fabric containing patterns of holes, usually built up from a single thread.W
    • Francis Bacon (1561-1626)
      Our English dames are much given to the wearing of costly laces.
    • 1918, W. B. Maxwell, chapter 2, in The Mirror and the Lamp:
      She was a fat, round little woman, richly apparelled in velvet and lace, […]; and the way she laughed, cackling like a hen, the way she talked to the waiters and the maid, […]all these unexpected phenomena impelled one to hysterical mirth, and made one class her with such immortally ludicrous types as Ally Sloper, the Widow Twankey, or Miss Moucher.
    • 1977, Agatha Christie, An Autobiography, Part II, chapter4:
      Mind you, clothes were clothes in those days. []  Frills, ruffles, flounces, lace, complicated seams and gores: not only did they sweep the ground and have to be held up in one hand elegantly as you walked along, but they had little capes or coats or feather boas.
  2. (countable) A cord or ribbon passed through eyelets in a shoe or garment, pulled tight and tied to fasten the shoe or garment firmly.W
  3. A snare or gin, especially one made of interwoven cords; a net.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Fairfax to this entry?)
  4. (slang, obsolete) Spirits added to coffee or another beverage.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Addison to this entry?)

Derived terms

Synonyms

Translations

Verb

lace (third-person singular simple present laces, present participle lacing, simple past and past participle laced)

  1. (transitive) To fasten (something) with laces.
  2. (transitive) To add alcohol, poison, a drug or anything else potentially harmful to (food or drink).
  3. (transitive) To interweave items.
    • 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 8, in The Celebrity:
      Now we plunged into a deep shade with the boughs lacing each other overhead, and crossed dainty, rustic bridges over the cold trout-streams, the boards giving back the clatter of our horses' feet: or anon we shot into a clearing, with a colored glimpse of the lake and its curving shore far below us.
    • Rudyard Kipling
      The Gond [] picked up a trail of the Karela, the vine that bears the bitter wild gourd, and laced it to and fro across the temple door.
    to lace one's fingers together
  4. (transitive) To interweave the spokes of a bicycle wheel.
  5. To beat; to lash; to make stripes on.
  6. To adorn with narrow strips or braids of some decorative material.
    cloth laced with silver
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Shakespeare to this entry?)

Translations

Derived terms

Anagrams


Esperanto

Adverb

lace

  1. wearily

Related terms


French

Verb

lace

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

Anagrams


Latin

Verb

lace

  1. second-person singular present active imperative of laciō

Portuguese

Verb

lace

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

Spanish

Verb

lace

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