lance

lance

See also: Lance and lancé

English

Lance shape of an Egyptian bronze spear from Banha, 2nd millennium BC

Jousters with broken lances.

Etymology

From Middle English launce, from Old French lance, from Latin lancea.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: läns, IPA^(key): /lɑːns/
• (US) enPR: lăns, IPA^(key): /læns/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑːns, -æns

Noun

lance (plural lances)

1. A weapon of war, consisting of a long shaft or handle and a steel blade or head; a spear carried by horsemen.
   • c. 1591–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Third Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act II, scene iii], line 15:

     Thy brother’s blood the thirsty earth hath drunk, Broach’d with the steely point of Clifford’s lance […]

   • 1909, Charles Henry Ashdown, European Arms & Armor, page 65.

     The head of the lance was commonly of the leaf form, and sometimes approached that of the lozenge; it was very seldom barbed, although this variety, together with the others, appears upon the Bayeux Tapestry.

2. A wooden spear, sometimes hollow, used in jousting or tilting, designed to shatter on impact with the opposing knight’s armour.
   • 1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Sixt”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act III, scene ii], line 49:

     What will you do, good greybeard? Break a lance, And run a-tilt at Death within a chair?

3. (fishing) A spear or harpoon used by whalers and fishermen.
4. (military) A soldier armed with a lance; a lancer.
5. (military) An instrument which conveys the charge of a piece of ordnance and forces it home.
6. (metallurgy) A small iron rod which suspends the core of the mold in casting a shell.
7. (pyrotechnics) One of the small paper cases filled with combustible composition, which mark the outlines of a figure.
8. (medicine) A lancet.

Derived terms

• break a lance
• freelance
• lance bombardier
• lance bucket (cavalry)
• lance corporal
• lance fish (zoology)
• lance knight
• lancer
• lance sergeant
• lance snake (zoology)
• stink-fire lance (military)

 

Related terms

• lancet

Translations

weapon of war

Armenian: նիզակ (hy) (nizak), գեղարդ (hy) (gełard), տեգ (hy) (teg) Asturian: llanza f Catalan: llança (ca) f Classical Nahuatl: tepoztōpīlli Danish: lanse c Dutch: lans (nl) f Esperanto: lanco Estonian: oda (et) Faroese: lansi m, langspjót n Finnish: peitsi (fi), keihäs (fi) French: lance (fr) f Friulian: lance f Galician: lanza f Georgian: შუბი (šubi), ჰოროლი (horoli), ლახვარი (laxvari) German: Lanze (de) f Greek: λόγχη (el) f (lónchi) Ancient: λόγχη f (lónkhē) Hebrew: רֹמַח‎ (he) m (rómaẖ) Hungarian: lándzsa (hu) Ido: lanco (io) Indonesian: ganjur (id) Irish: sleá f Italian: lancia (it) Japanese: 槍 (ja) (やり, yari), 矛 (ja) (ほこ, hoko) Kurdish: Central Kurdish: نێزە‎ (nêze) Northern Kurdish: nize (ku), nîze (ku) Latin: lancea f Macedonian: ко́пје f (kópje) Malay: tombak Maori: rāti, tao Middle English: launce Mongolian: жад (mn) (žad) Persian: نیزه‎ (fa) (neyze) Polish: kopia (pl) f, lanca (pl) f Portuguese: lança (pt) f Romanian: lance (ro), suliță (ro), fuște (ro) Russian: пи́ка (ru) f (píka) Sanskrit: शल्य (sa) m or n (śalya) Sardinian: lantza f, lancia f Scottish Gaelic: sleagh f, gath m Sicilian: lanza (scn) Spanish: lanza (es) f Tagalog: tulag Thai: ทวน (th) (tuuan) Turkish: mızrak (tr), kargı (tr) Ugaritic: 𐎎𐎗𐎈 (mrḥ) Venetian: lansa f, lancia f Welsh: gwaywffon f

wooden weapon used in jousting or tilting

Bulgarian: копие (bg) n (kopie) Catalan: llança (ca) f Czech: dlouhé kopí n Dutch: lans (nl) f Esperanto: lanco Finnish: peitsi (fi) French: lance (fr) f German: Lanze (de) f Hungarian: lándzsa (hu), kopja (hu) Ido: lanco (io) Macedonian: ко́пје f (kópje) Middle English: launce Polish: kopia (pl) f Portuguese: lança (pt) f Turkish: cirit (tr) Welsh: gwaywffon f

spear or harpoon used by whalers

Bulgarian: харпун m (harpun) Dutch: lans (nl) f Finnish: harppuuna (fi) French: lance (fr) f German: Harpune (de) f Hungarian: szigony (hu) Japanese: やす (ja) (yasu) Macedonian: ко́пје n (kópje) Maori: rāti Polish: harpun (pl) m Turkish: zıpkın (tr) Welsh: tryfer f

(military) soldier armed with a lance

Bulgarian: улан m (ulan) Catalan: llança (ca) f Finnish: peitsimies, keihäsmies French: lance (fr) f Georgian: შუბოსანი (šubosani) German: Lanzer m Hungarian: lándzsás Macedonian: ко́пјаник m (kópjanik) Persian: نیزه‌ور‎ (neyzevar) Polish: ułan (pl) m, lansjer m Portuguese: lanceiro (pt) m Romanian: lăncier (ro) m Spanish: lancero (es) m Turkish: mızraklı (tr), kargılı, mızrakçı

(military) instrument which conveys the charge of a piece of ordinance

German: Harpune mit Sprenggeschoss f

(founding) a small iron rod which suspends the core of the mold in casting a shell

(pyrotechnics) one of the small paper cases filled with combustible composition, which mark the outlines of a figure

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

Italian: (please verify) lancia (it) f Korean: (please verify) 창 (ko) (chang) Latin: (please verify) lancea f Mandarin: (please verify) 長矛／长矛 (zh), (please verify) 长矛 (zh) (changmao) Spanish: (please verify) lanza (es) f

Verb

lance (third-person singular simple present lances, present participle lancing, simple past and past participle lanced)

1. To pierce with a lance, or with any similar weapon.

   Seized the due victim, and with fury lanced Her back. Dryden.

2. To open with a lancet; to pierce.

   to lance a vein or an abscess

3. To throw in the manner of a lance; to lanch.

Quotations

• For quotations using this term, see Citations:lance.

Translations

to pierce with a lance

Bulgarian: пронизвам (bg) (pronizvam) Georgian: განგმირვა (gangmirva) Italian: infilzare Maori: , rāti Turkish: mızraklamak, kargılamak

to pierce or open an abscess

Italian: incidere (it) Maori: oka

See also

• javelin
• pike
• spear

Anagrams

• Calne, Lenca, ancle, clane, clean

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French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lɑ̃s/
• Homophones: lancent, lances

Etymology 1

From Old French lance, from Latin lancea.

Noun

lance f (plural lances)

1. a spear, lance
2. (military) a soldier armed with a lance; a lancer
3. a hose

Derived terms

• fer de lance
• lancette
• lancier

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

lance

1. inflection of lancer:
   1. first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
   2. second-person singular imperative

Derived terms

• lance-roquette
• relance (form of verb relancer)

Related terms

• lancement
• lancer
• lanceur, lanceuse

 

Further reading

• “lance”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

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Friulian

Etymology

From Latin lancea.

Noun

lance f (plural lancis)

1. lance, spear

Related terms

• slançâ

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Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlan.t͡ʃe/
• Rhymes: -antʃe
• Hyphenation: làn‧ce

Noun

lance f pl

1. plural of lancia

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Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈlan.ke/, [ˈɫ̪äŋkɛ]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈlan.t͡ʃe/, [ˈlän̠ʲt͡ʃe]

Noun

lance

1. ablative singular of lanx

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Middle English

Noun

lance

1. Alternative form of launce

Verb

lance

1. Alternative form of launcen

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Middle French

Etymology

From Old French lance.

Noun

lance f (plural lances)

1. lance (weapon)
2. lancer; lance

Descendants

• French: lance

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Old French

Etymology

From Latin lancea.

Noun

lance f (oblique plural lances, nominative singular lance, nominative plural lances)

1. lance (weapon)

Descendants

• Middle French: lance
  • French: lance
• → Middle English: launce
  • English: lance
• → Middle High German: lanze
  • German: Lanze

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Portuguese

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈlɐ̃.si/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈlɐ̃.si/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈlɐ̃.se/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈlɐ̃.s(ɨ)/

Etymology 1

Deverbal from lançar.

Noun

lance m (plural lances)

1. throw (act of throwing something)

   Synonyms: arremesso, jogada, lançamento

2. bid (offer at an auction)

   Synonym: lanço

3. (sports) a series of actions carried out during a game

   Synonym: jogada

4. (informal) thing (only used for non-physical things)
5. flight (series of stairs between landings)

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

lance

1. inflection of lançar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative

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Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian lancia (18th century).

Noun

lance f (plural lănci)

1. spear, lance

   Synonym: suliță

Declension

Declension of lance

	singular		plural
	indefinite articulation	definite articulation	indefinite articulation	definite articulation
nominative/accusative	(o) lance	lancea	(niște) lănci	lăncile
genitive/dative	(unei) lănci	lăncii	(unor) lănci	lăncilor
vocative	lance, lanceo		lăncilor

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Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Spain) /ˈlanθe/ [ˈlãn̟.θe]
• IPA^(key): (Latin America) /ˈlanse/ [ˈlãn.se]
• (Spain) Rhymes: -anθe
• (Latin America) Rhymes: -anse
• Syllabification: lan‧ce

Etymology 1

From the verb lanzar.

Noun

lance m (plural lances)

1. launch (act of launching)

   Synonym: lanzamiento

2. throw
3. cast (fishing)
4. situation
5. telling-off; scolding

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

lance

1. inflection of lanzar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative

Further reading

• “lance”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014