Category:Mask

Mask, n. Etym: [F. masque, LL. masca, mascha, mascus; cf. Sp. & Pg. máscara, It. maschera; all fr. Ar. maskharat buffoon, fool, pleasantry, anything ridiculous or mirthful, fr. sakhira to ridicule, to laugh at. Cf. Masque, Masquerade.]

1. A cover, or partial cover, for the face, used for disguise or protection; as, a dancer's mask; a fencer's mask; a ball player's mask.

2. That which disguises; a pretext or subterfuge.

3. A festive entertainment of dancing or other diversions, where all wear masks; a masquerade; hence, a revel; a frolic; a delusive show. Bacon. This thought might lead me through the world's vain mask. Milton.

4. A dramatic performance, formerly in vogue, in which the actors wore masks and represented mythical or allegorical characters.

5. (Arch.)

Defn: A grotesque head or face, used to adorn keystones and other prominent parts, to spout water in fountains, and the like; -- called also mascaron.

6. (Fort.) (a) In a permanent fortification, a redoubt which protects the caponiere. (b) A screen for a battery.

7. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The lower lip of the larva of a dragon fly, modified so as to form a prehensile organ. Mask house, a house for masquerades. [Obs.]

mask Mask, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Masked; p. pr. & vb. n. Masking.]

1. To cover, as the face, by way of concealment or defense against injury; to conceal with a mask or visor. They must all be masked and vizarded. Shak.

2. To disguise; to cover; to hide. Masking the business from the common eye. Shak.

3. (Mil.) (a) To conceal; also, to intervene in the line of. (b) To cover or keep in check; as, to mask a body of troops or a fortess by a superior force, while some hostile evolution is being carried out.

mask Mask, v. i.

1. To take part as a masker in a masquerade. Cavendish.

2. To wear a mask; to be disguised in any way. Shak.