mask noun
1 a (1): a cover or partial cover for the face used for disguise (2): a person wearing a mask : masker
b (1): a figure of a head worn on the stage in antiquity to identify the character and project the voice (2): a grotesque false face worn at carnivals or in rituals
c: an often grotesque carved head or face used as an ornament (as on a keystone)
d: a sculptured face or a copy of a face made by means of a mold
2 a: something that serves to conceal or disguise : pretense, cloak <aware of the masks, facades and defenses people erect to protect themselves — Kenneth Keniston>
b: something that conceals from view
c: a translucent or opaque screen to cover part of the sensitive surface in taking or printing a photograph
d: a pattern of opaque material used to shield selected areas of a surface (as of a semiconductor) in deposition or etching (as in producing an integrated circuit)
3 a: a protective covering for the face
b: gas mask
c: a device covering the mouth and nose to facilitate inhalation
d: a comparable device to prevent exhalation of infective material
e: a cosmetic preparation for the skin of the face that produces a tightening effect as it dries
4 a: the head or face of an animal (as a fox or dog)
b: an area (as the one around the eyes) of an animal's face that is distinguished by usually darker coloring
src: Merriam-Webster
Here is an illustration: http://thisisnthappiness.com/post/33645 ... e-up-is-me
Anoth one of these common words that has a myriad of uses.
mask
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Re: mask
Yes, the verb is fascinating also. I'm surprised that Merriam-Webster said it was first used in 1534. I would have thought it was a lot older.
E:-]
E:-]
EBERNTSON
Fear less, hope more;
eat less, chew more;
whine less, breathe more;
talk less, say more,
and all good things will be yours.
--R. Burns
Fear less, hope more;
eat less, chew more;
whine less, breathe more;
talk less, say more,
and all good things will be yours.
--R. Burns
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- Great Grand Panjandrum
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Re: mask
English doesn't get much older than 1534. I understand prior to that they all sat around eating PIE.
pl
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Re: mask
PIE actually goes back a lot further. Some 7,000 years or so. Though his English is nearly incomprehensible to modern readers, Chaucer was active the the late 1300s.
Life is like playing chess with chessmen who each have thoughts and feelings and motives of their own.
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Re: mask
Sorry, I didn't explain completely 1532 Italian. So you must mean a PIZZA PIE... although I think that is redundant.
EBERNTSON
Fear less, hope more;
eat less, chew more;
whine less, breathe more;
talk less, say more,
and all good things will be yours.
--R. Burns
Fear less, hope more;
eat less, chew more;
whine less, breathe more;
talk less, say more,
and all good things will be yours.
--R. Burns
-
- Great Grand Panjandrum
- Posts: 2784
- Joined: Thu Feb 23, 2006 4:41 am
- Location: Texas
Re: mask
Last night at the church gym, the desk attendant, a high school senior, was reading Beowulf in Old English, not Beowulf in modern English. These honors classes in high school surely require more than classes did in my day. I had to learn to read Middle English (Chaucer), but not Old English. By the standard of many other languages, English is not very old. But it does go back to the time after the Anglo-Saxon invasion of England and that's a fur piece back.
Webster's 1530's origin of mask may be masked by the previous use by English writers of masque. Else, what word did they use for mask?
Webster's 1530's origin of mask may be masked by the previous use by English writers of masque. Else, what word did they use for mask?
It is dark at night, but the Sun will come up and then we can see.
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