▪ I. lance, n.1
(lɑːns, -æ-)
Forms: 3–8 launce, (4 lancie), 5 lans, launse, lence, 6 lanse, (launch), lawnce, 8 Sc. lanss, 4– lance. See also launce.
[a. F. lance = Pr. lansa, Catal. llansa, Sp. lanza, Pg. lan{cced}a, It. lancia:—L. lancea. The F. word has been adopted in all the Teut. langs.: MDu. lanse, lancie (Du. lans), MHG., mod.G. lanze, Da. landse, Sw. lans.
According to Varro the L. word was from a Spanish (? Iberian) source. Connexion with the synonymous Gr. λόγχη is phonologically improbable.]
1. a. A weapon, consisting of a long wooden shaft and an iron or steel head, held by a horseman in charging at full speed, and sustained formerly by a rest, now by a strap, through which the arm is passed. to break a lance (see break v. 3). lance in rest (see rest).
| c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 281/118 Þreo launcene he heold in is hond. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. iii. 303 Alle that bereth baslarde, brode swerde or launce..Shal be demed to the deth. c 1473 G. Ashby Active Policy Prince 541 Youre Comyns shude nat bere dagger, ne Lance, Ne noon other wepins defensife. 1580 Sidney Ps. xxxv. i, O Lord..take thy launce, and stoppe the way of those That seeke my bane. 1604 E. G[rimstone] D'Acosta's Hist. Indies iv. 303 The Indians kil them with launces and crossebowes. 1673 Ray Journ. Low C. 234 The combatants being mounted on horseback with Launces in their hands, run one at another a full gallop. 1777 Watson Philip II (1839) 43 The count's lance broke on Henry's corslet. 1781 Gibbon Decl. & F. lviii. III. 434 The lance was the..peculiar weapon of the knight. 1815 Elphinstone Acc. Caubul (1842) II. 193 Their arms are a long and heavy lance and a shield. |
b. transf. and
fig.| 1390 Gower Conf. III. 351 And in his hond with many a firy launce He [Cupid] woundeth ofte. 1430–40 Lydg. Bochas i. iv. (1494) b ij b/1 Tyme..all consumith with his sherpe launce. 1713 Young Last Day i. 128 And death might shake his threat'ning launce in vain. 1825 Longfellow Sunrise on Hills 10 Many a pinnacle Through the gray mist thrust up its shattered lance. 1880 C. & F. Darwin Movem. Pl. 79 Their [the leaves] laminæ were..pressed against each other, forming a lance or wedge by which means they had broken through the ground. 1887 F. H. Burnett Little Ld. Fauntleroy v. 86 He liked the big broad-branched trees, with the late afternoon sunlight striking golden lances through them. |
† c. fig. Career as a soldier.
Obs. rare—1.
| a 1635 Naunton Fragm. Reg. (Arb.) 29 Hitherto I have only touch'd him in his Courtship. I conclude him in his Lance. |
† d. As a unit of measurement.
Obs. rare—1.
| 1604 E. G[rimstone] D'Acosta's Hist. Indies iv. xxxvii. 311 It riseth many elles, yea, many launces in height. |
2. A similar weapon, used for various purposes,
e.g. for spearing fish; also in the whale-fishery, with modifying prefixes, as
bomb-lance,
gun-lance,
hand-lance, an instrument for killing the whale, after he has been harpooned and wearied out.
| 1727–41 Chambers Cycl. s.v. Fishery, [Whale-Fishery.] Thrusting a long steeled lance under his gills into his breast. 1790 Asiatic Res. II. 342 When a man dies, all his live stock, cloth, hatchets, fishing lances, and in short every moveable thing he possessed is buried with him. 1883 Fisheries Exhib. Catal. 199 Earliest types of the hand-lances, formerly..used for killing whales..the old-fashioned, non-explosive gun-lance, and the bomb-lance. |
3. = lancet. Now
rare.
| 1575 Turberv. Faulconrie 346 If the pin open not of it selfe, slit it and open it with a little sharp launce of steele made whot. 1576 Newton Lemnie's Complex. i. x. 83 The veynes..swel out..offfering themselues to the Launce, by incision hansomly to be cut. 1681 Glanvill Sadducismus ii. 181 [He] took a Launce and launc't one of her hands. 1769 R. Griffith Gordian Knot II. 122 By..the surgeon's lance I was dragged back to life and wretchedness again. 1878 L. P. Meredith Teeth 180 If the lance is sharp, it generally does not hurt at all. |
4. a. A horse-soldier armed with a lance; a lancer.
| 1602 Segar Hon. Mil. & Civ. iv. xiv. 224 Esquires..able at the Musters to present a Launce or light horse, for the Prince's seruice. 1633 T. Stafford Pac. Hib. ii. xxvi. (1810) 467 There is now in readinesse 150 Launces, which shall be presently embarqued. 1724 De Foe Mem. Cavalier (1840) 227 Those lances..were brave fellows. 1831 Scott Cast. Dang. ii, A lance, in other words, a belted knight, commands this party. |
b. Hist. A man-at-arms with his attendant archers, foot-soldiers, etc.
Cf. F.
lance fournie.
| 1818 Hallam Mid. Ages (1872) I. 468 A lance in the technical language of those ages included the lighter cavalry attached to the man at arms, as well as himself. 1864 Kirk Chas. Bold II. iv. iii. 413 The ‘lance’ was simply the feudal family—the baron, or knight, with his wonted retinue of kinsmen and dependents. |
† 5. A branch of a tree, a shoot.
Obs.| 13.. E.E. Allit. P. A. 977 Lurked by launcez so lufly leued. 1523 Fitzherb. Husb. §138 Thou muste get thy graffes of the fayrest lanses, that thou canste fynde on the tree. 1669 Worlidge Syst. Agric. (1681) 132 Those [Graffs] you find to shoot up in one Lance, pinch off their tender tops. |
6. In technical uses:
a. Carpentry. ‘A pointed blade, usually employed to sever the grain on each side of the intended path of a chipping-bit or router’ (Knight
Dict. Mech. 1875).
b. Mil. (
a) ‘An iron rod which is fixed across the earthen mould of a shell, and which keeps it suspended in the air when it is cast’. (
b) ‘An instrument which conveys the charge of a piece of ordnance and forces it home into the bore’ (James
Milit. Dict. 1802).
c. Pyrotechny. (See
quots.) [F.
lance à feu.]
| 1878 Kentish Pyrotechn. Treas. 112 Lances. These are little cases charged with white or coloured star composition. 1879 W. H. Browne Pyrotechny vii. 81 Lances are..small, thin cases, containing compositions which burn with a white or coloured flame. |
7. = lance-corporal (
lance n.1 10).
colloq.| 1888 Kipling Wee Willie Winkie (1889) 74 The reg'ment don't go 'ome for another seven years. I'll be a Lance then or near to. 1961 Partridge Dict. Slang Suppl. 1164/1 Lance, lance-corporal: coll. late C. 19–20. |
8. In full,
oxygen lance.
a. A thin metal pipe through which oxygen under pressure may be passed in order to burn away metal, concrete, or the like using heat generated by the burning of either the metal to be cut or the pipe itself.
| 1925 Iron Trade Rev. 24 Sept. 749/1 The oxygen lance is a means of burning a hole quickly through steel, slag or brick. Essentially it is nothing but a stream of pure oxygen flowing through a small iron pipe. If the oxygen strikes hot iron or steel, the metal burns rapidly... If the oxygen strikes non-metallic substances, like firebrick or slag, the lance pipe itself burns, produces the necessary heat and flux to melt the way through. 1926 Blast Furnace & Steel Plant XIV. 19/1 If a layer of slag is encountered, the lance pipe itself burns. 1944 Ibid, XXXII. 1077/1 The oxygen lance..has been used..for opening tap holes in blast furnaces and open-hearth furnaces, for tapping slag from soaking pits, for cutting up spills and skulls, and for..piercing or severing..heavy masses of iron and steel. 1945 Machinery (N.Y.) Nov. 156/1 Since the oxygen lance can sever metal of practically any thickness, it is an effective ‘trouble-shooter’ for metal-disposal problems. |
b. A metal pipe, often water-cooled, through which oxygen under pressure may be injected into molten metal or directed on to its surface.
| 1948 Jrnl. Iron & Steel Inst. CLX. 221/1 Oxygen can be used in the basic electric-arc furnace for decarburization, either by means of the ‘oxygen lance’ or by direction of a strong blast of the gas through the slag cover. 1950 Ibid. CLXV. 411/1 The use of the oxygen lance for refining a high-chromium steel..enables the heat to be worked at a temperature some 200°C higher than normal. 1959 New Scientist 30 Apr. 965/2 Oxygen for the refining action is injected into the through metal water-cooled jets or ‘lances’. 1971 Engineering Index 1970 3426/2 Effect of blowing practices in the LD converter on oxygen content of steel... Statistical methods were employed to study this influence, with particular reference to the effect of..the height of the lance on the bath. |
9. attrib. and
Comb.:
a. simple attributive, as
lance-blade,
lance-bucket,
lance-butt,
lance-game,
lance-head,
lance-rest,
lance-shaft,
lance-throw,
lance-thrust;
b. objective, as
lance-breaking;
c. instrumental, as
lance-pierced,
lance-worn adjs.;
d. similative, as
lance-acuminated,
lance-leaved,
lance-like,
lance-shaped adjs.| 1800 Asiatic Ann. Reg., Misc. Tracts 271/1 Ovate, *lance-acuminated, entire towards the base. |
| 1849 Stovel Canne's Necess. Introd. 9 Truths in his hand were like *lance-blades in a cupping instrument, they entered the whole length of their steel. |
| 1829 Scott Ho. of Aspen i. i, Neither hunting, nor feasting, nor *lance-breaking for me! |
| 1876 J. Grant One of the ‘600’ i. 5 Captains of troops will report to Lieutenant..on the state of the saddlery, holsters, and *lance-buckets. |
| 1865 Kingsley Herew. i. (1877) 36 When he came to the abbey-gate, he smote thereon with his *lance-butt. |
| 1801 Strutt Sports & Past. iii. i. 108 The Just or *lance-game..differed materially from the tournament. |
| 1851 D. Wilson Preh. Ann. (1863) I. vi. 173 The arrow and *lance heads, constructed from the amorphous masses of native flint. |
| 1811 A. T. Thomson Lond. Disp. (1818) 609 Take of *lance-leaved cinchona bark bruised, an ounce. |
| 1579 J. Jones Preserv. Bodie & Soule i. xl. 87 Blasing Starres..as berdelike, *launcelike, swordlike [etc.]. 1868 Lynch Rivulet clxiii. ii, The lance-like rain, the darting hail. |
| 1897 Dublin Rev. Apr. 375 The *lance-pierced side of Christ. |
| 1855 Ogilvie, Suppl., *Lance-rest. 1869 Boutell Arms & Arm. x. 206 At this period [c 1450–1500] a lance-rest was fixed to the upper part of the breast-plate on the right side. |
| 1868 G. Stephens Runic Mon. I. 314 It is not..likely that all the long and round and straight poles found in the Danish Mosses..have always been *Lance-shafts. |
| 1776 J. Lee Introd. Bot. Explan. Terms. 389 Lanceolatæ, *lance-shaped. 1864 T. Moore Brit. Ferns 26 The leafy part of the frond is lance-shaped. |
| 1856 Kane Arct. Expl. II. xxviii. 282 On two occasions we came upon the walrus sleeping,—once within actual *lance-thrust. |
| 1842 Faber Styrian Lake 269 Like bruised embossing on a *lance-worn shield. |
10. Special comb.:
lance-bombardier, the rank in the Royal Artillery corresponding to lance-corporal in the infantry;
lance-corporal [after
lancepesade] (see
quot. 1802);
† lance-egged a. Bot. = lance-ovate;
lance-famed a., famed for prowess with the lance;
lance-fish = launce;
lance-head = lance-snake;
lance-jack Army slang, lance-corporal, lance-bombardier;
lance-knife, ?
= lancet;
lance-linear a. Bot., narrowly lanceolate, almost linear;
lance-man,
† (
a) a highwayman; (
b) a warrior armed with a lance;
lance-oblong a. Bot., narrowly oblong;
lance-oval a. Bot., narrowly oval;
lance-ovate a. = prec.;
lance-sergeant [on analogy of
lance-corporal], a corporal acting as sergeant;
lance-snake, a venomous snake of the American genus
Bothrops (or
Craspedocephalus),
esp. B. lanceolatus, of the W. Indies;
= fer-de-lance 2.
| 1935 A. H. Burne Royal Artillery Mess, Woolwich xi. 230 In 1901 Driver Homewood was appointed kennel-huntsman. He has since received well merited, if not exactly rapid, promotion to the rank of *Lance-Bombardier. 1943 Hunt & Pringle Service Slang 43 Lancejack. Army for Lance-Corporal or Lance-Bombardier. 1960 D. A. Campbell Dress R. Artillery ix. 47 In 1920 the rank of bombardier was upgraded to replace that of corporal, the latter rank being abolished in the Regiment... In the same year the appointment of acting bombardier was changed to that of lance bombardier, both these appointments wear a single chevron. 1968 Listener 22 Aug. 252/3 Tempting to identify with the lance-bombardier in charge of this guard squad. |
| 1786 Grose Milit. Antiq. I. 311 The lancepesata, anspesade, or as the present term is, *lance corporal. 1802 C. James Milit. Dict. s.v. Corporal, Lance-Corporal, one who acts as corporal, receiving pay as a private. 1844 Regul. & Ord. Army 133 Corporals may be appointed to act as Lance-Serjeants, and the most approved Private Soldiers as Lance-Corporals. |
| 1787 Fam. Plants I. 242 Divisions of the Border *lance-egg'd. |
| 1718 Pope Iliad xiii. 278 The *Lance-fam'd [δουρικλυτός] Idomen of Crete. |
| 1859–62 Sir J. Richardson, etc. Museum Nat. Hist. (1868) II. 40/2 Amongst the former, or spine-tailed species [of Crotalidæ], are the *Lance-heads (Craspedocephalina) of the New World. Ibid. 41/1 The Lance-head is the most abundant of all serpents in the islands of Martinique and St. Lucia. |
| 1912 H. Wyndham Following the Drum vii. 80 A junior corporal is a ‘*lance-jack’. 1937 D. Jones In Parenthesis iii. 28 Tin soldiers, toy soldiers, militarymen in rows—you somehow suffer the pain of loss—it's an ungracious way of life—buttocked lance-jacks crawling for the second chevron. 1953 A. Baron Human Kind ix. 68 Foller the Salvation Corporal an' 'is Saintly Lance-Jack. 1971 L. Deighton Declarations of War 11 Lance-jack at the time, actually. Ibid., You're not looking too good, Colonel, if you don't mind an ex-lance-jack saying so. |
| 1610 Markham Masterp. ii. cxi. 396 Others take a sharpe *launce-knife, and [etc.]. |
| 1787 Fam. Plants I. 30 Petals..*lance-linear. |
| 1589 Rider Eng.-Lat. Dict., A *Launce man, hastiger. 1592 Greene Conny Catching ii. A 3 b, The Priggar is he that steales the horse... The Priggar if he be a Launce man, that is, one that is already horst, then [etc.]. 1598 Florio, Lanciatore..a lance-man, a pike-man. 1808 Pike Sources Mississ. iii. App. (1810) 11 The lancemen are always mounted. |
| 1787 Fam. Plants I. 285 Germ *lance-oblong, compress'd. |
| a 1794 Sir W. Jones in Asiatic Res. (1795) IV. 262 Leaves opposite, *lance-oval, pointed at both ends. 1889 in Lancet 27 Apr. I. 866/2 The cocci, as found in the blood of an inoculated animal, are, as a rule, oval or lance-oval in form. |
| 1799 Asiatic Res. VI. 349 Leaflets..*lance-ovate, entire, smooth. |
| 1815 Wellington in Gurw. Desp. (1838) XII. 617, I now beg leave to recommend to you *Lance Sergeant Graham of the Coldstream regiment of Guards. |
| 1880 Cassell's Nat. Hist. IV. 319 The last group of the American Pit Vipers is that of the *Lance Snakes. One of these is the Yellow Viper, of Martinique, called Fer-de-lance there. |
Senses 9, 10 in
Dict. become 10, 11. Add:
9. (With capital initial.) A short-range
U.S. surface-to-surface ballistic missile system designed to be used chiefly with nuclear warheads; a missile of this system.
| 1964 Guide Subject Indexes for Sci. & Techn. Aerospace Rep. Apr. A-122/1 (heading) Lance missile. 1975 R. Pretty Jane's Pocket Bk. Missiles 119/1 Development of Lance started in 1962–3... The first production model was delivered for US Army testing in April 1971. 1981 P. Gudgin Brit. Army Equipment 37 (caption) The US-designed and built Lance nuclear surface-to-surface (SSM) tactical missile..replaced the American-produced Honest John in British service. 1987 Armed Forces Sept. 408/1 The Lance has a range of 100km, a warhead with a variable yield of 1–100 kilotons, and a CEP of 150–400m. 1989 New Yorker 23 Oct. 102/3 The issue was short-range nuclear weapons—whether..to create a new and vastly improved version of a short-range American system called Lance. |
[10.] † [a.] lance-staff (
pl. lance-staves) (
obs. exc. Hist.).
| 1489 in Sanctuarium Beverlacense (Surtees Soc. V) (1837) V. 154 Cognovit se commisisse homicidium, viz., quemdam ignotum servientem Edwardi Barnaby, gentilman, cum baculo vocato a *launce stafe. 1920 J. Masefield Enslaved 22 They struck us with their lance-staves to make them room to ride. |
▪ II. † lance, n.2 Obs. In 4 (5)
launce,
lanss.
[f. lance v.] 1. A leap, bound, dash. (
Cf. launch n.)
| 1375 Barbour Bruce x. 414 And he that was in iuperdy Till de, a lanss [MS. E. launce] till him he maid. |
2. A cut, incision, slit.
| 1669 Worlidge Syst. Agric. vii. §10 (1681) 132 It [Pinching] gives not that wound to Trees that Incisions or Lances usually do... Giving the Lance close behind a Bud, a thing to be especially observed in Pruning. Ibid. 133 When you cut any Pithy Tree..make your Lance under, or on one side. |
▪ III. lance, v. (
lɑːns,
-æ-)
Forms: 4–8
launce, 4
Sc. launss, 4–6 chiefly
Sc. lans(s, 5
lawnce, 5–6
launse, 4–
lance.
[a. OF. lancier (F. lancer):—L. lanceāre, f. lancea lance n.1; the ONF. form lanchier was adopted as launch v. In branch II f. lance n.1] I. 1. a. trans. To fling, hurl, launch, throw (a dart, also fire, lightning, smoke); to shoot out (the tongue); to put forth (blossoms). Also with
forth,
out,
up. Now
rare (chiefly
poet.).
| 13.. Guy Warw. (A.) 2394 To him þai launced boþe spere and swerd. 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. xix. 10 The tree hihte trewe-loue..launceþ vp blossemes. c 1394 P. Pl. Crede 551 Þei [friars]..launceþ heiȝe her hemmes wiþ babelyng in stretes. c 1532 G. Du Wes Introd. Fr. in Palsgr. 949 To lance, lancer. 1598 Barret Theor. Warres iii. i. 32 A lauelin..they did lance or dart at the enemie. 1663 Sir G. Mackenzie Relig. Stoic iii. (1685) 28 As beams are lanced out from the body of the Sun. 1710 Lond. Gaz. No. 4653/1 A spread Eagle, representing his Majesty's Arms, lanced a Rocket. 1795–7 Southey Juvenile & Minor Poems Poet. Wks. II. 210 The lightning is lanced at our sires. 1801 ― Thalaba v. xi, The adder in her haunts disturbed Lanced at the intruding staff her arrowy tongue. 1827 I. Taylor Transm. Anc. Bks. xvii. 279 He affirms [Xerxes] to have lanced darts at the sun. 1834 M. Scott Cruise Midge (1859) 488 Rolling in smoaky wreaths and lancing out ragged shreds from their lower edges. 1898 M. P. Shiel Yellow Danger 136 The torpedo-boat lances one of her horrid needles of steel. |
b. with immaterial
obj.,
e.g. a look;
† also with
forth.
| 13.. E.E. Allit. P. C. 350 Lo! my lore is in þe loke, lance hit þerinne. 1635 D. Person Varieties i. 15 The Stars, and these celestiall bodies..doe lance forth their power upon the Earth also. 1752 Carte Hist. Eng. III. 9 The pope was to lance his censures against the common enemy. 1765 H. Walpole Otranto iv. (1798) 76 Here I lance her anathema at thy head. 1832 Examiner 436/1 He lances one of his droll looks. 1855 M. Arnold The Voice 3 As the kindling glances..Which the bright moon lances From her tranquil sphere. 1898 M. P. Shiel Yellow Danger 157 Suddenly he lanced a horrid shriek. |
† c. refl. To hurl oneself, to spring, shoot.
Obs.| c 1530 Ld. Berners Arth. Lyt. Bryt. (1814) 183 He launced hymselfe [from the ship] & lepte into the myddes of the prease wyth his good swerde in his hande. 1658 R. White tr. Digby's Powd. Symp. (1660) 20 The light..lancing herself by a marvellous celerity on all sides by streight lines. |
2. a. int. for refl. To bound, spring, move quickly, rush. Also with
forth,
out. Const.
on.
Obs. exc. dial.| c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 94 With a herde þei mette, a herte þerof gan lance. 1375 Barbour Bruce iii. 122 He..strak with spurs the stede in hy, And he lansyt furth delyvirly. c 1470 Golagros & Gaw. 901 He lansit out our ane land, and drew noght ane lyte. c 1470 Henryson Mor. Fab. v. (Parl. Beasts) vii, Ane vnicorne come lansand ouer ane law. 1481 Caxton Godfrey xliii. 82 The conestables..launced on this partye of thoost whiche was not yet passed. 1513 Douglas æneis ix. ix. 74 Turnus, lanssand lychtly our the landis. 1530 Lyndesay Test. Papyngo 353 Ȝe, that now bene lansyng vpe the ledder, Tak tent in tyme. 1840 Evidence Hull Docks Comm. 74 When there is no wind, we lance along with poles. 1883 Hampsh. Gloss., Lance, to leap, bound; the deer are said ‘to lance over the turf’. |
† b. transf. and
fig. Of leaves, fire: To spring, spring forth, shoot up. Of pain: To shoot.
Obs.| 13.. Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 526 Þe leuez lancen fro þe lynde, & lyȝten on þe grounde. 13.. E.E. Allit. P. B. 966 As lance leuez of þe boke þat lepes in twynne. 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. xiii. 185 Of greyn ded in erthe Atte laste launceth vp wher-by we lyuen alle. a 1400 Pistill of Susan 109 Þe Lilye, þe louache, launsyng wiþ leue. c 1470 Henry Wallace vii. 429 The lemand low sone lanssyt apon hycht. 1756 Mounsey in Phil. Trans. L. 21 The pain on the stomach returned, which lanced to the left side, with dartings inwardly. |
† 3. a. trans. To launch (a boat).
| c 1515 Cocke Lorell's B. 12 Some y⊇ longe bote dyde launce, some mende y⊇ corse. |
b. intr. To launch forth, push
out.
| 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 141 b, Now hath y⊇ patriarke Noe all his chyldren..in his shyp, & is launced from the lande. 1581 J. Studley tr. Seneca's Agamem. i. Chorus 61 Nor launcing to the depe where bottom none is found. 1595 T. Maynarde Drake's Voy. (Hakl. Soc.) 7 Had wee lanced under the forte at our first cominge to anchor, we had [etc.]. |
† 4. To throw out (a tale, words, etc.); to utter.
| 13.. Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 1212 Al laȝande þe lady lanced þo bourdez. Ibid. 2124 Þat I schal lelly yow layne, & lance neuer tale. |
† 5. intr. To make a dash or stroke with a pen.
| 1588 J. Mellis Briefe Instruct. E iij, When yee haue thus entered it into Journall, then presently after in the memoriall..yee shall launce or make a stroke. |
II. 6. a. To pierce with or as with a lance or a lancet; to cut, gash, slit. Also, to slit open; to open.
Obs. exc. poet.| 13.. E.E. Allit. P. B. 1428 [He] comaundes hym cofly coferes to lance. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 290 Lawncyn [v.r. lawnchyn], or stynge wythe a spere, or blode yryne, lanceo. 1586 Marlowe 1st Pt. Tamburl. i. ii, We will lift our swords, And..lance his greedy thirsting throat. 1615 G. Sandys Trav. 12 In the Summer they lanced the rine with a stone. 1638 Penit. Conf. vii. (1657) 155 Baals Priests, lancing themselves to procure audience. 1678 Bunyan Pilgr. i. 167 Then they Lanced his flesh with Knives. 1713 Tickell Guardian No. 125 ¶9 Bold Nimrod first..lanc'd the bristling boar. 1728 Morgan Algiers II. iii. 253 They lanced the Ravisher, and every one of the Turks. 1783 Phil. Trans. LXXIII. 241 On the brain being lanced, the..whale died immediately. |
| fig. 1494 Fabyan Chron. vii. 431 Many with great honours I dyd whylom auaunce, That nowe with dyshonoure doon me stynge and launce. 1828 Blackw. Mag. XXIV. 716 The jagged lightning lanced the forest-gulfs with its swift and perilous beauty. |
b. intr. To pierce.
| a 1400 Leg. Rood (1871) 142 Þe swerd of loue þorw hire gan launce. |
c. trans. To wound or kill with a lance.
| 1898 Westm. Gaz. 6 Apr. 6/3 The troopers lancing and sabring, and the officers pistolling the Dervishes. |
7. Surg. a. To make an incision in (the gums, a sore, a tumour) with a lancet; to cut open.
Occas. with a person as object. Also, to fetch
out or let out by lancing.
| 1474 Caxton Chesse iii. v. h j b, The surgyens..ought not to be hasty to launce and cutte aposthumes & soores. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 278 O blessed lorde, here in this lyfe, cutte me, burne me, launce me, that fynally thou mayst haue mercy on me. 1575 Turberv. Faulconrie 257 The way to cure it, is to give the humor a vent by launsing it. 1578 T. Wilcocks Serm. Pawles 93 Thrust diligently your sword of iustice in, to launce out all corruption and bagage which is gathered in the bowels. 1615 Latham Falconry (1633) 132 You must haue care to launce it long wayes as the sinews do run. 1654 Trapp Comm. Job v. 18 He is both a Father and a physitian, hee lanceth us not unlesse need be. 1722 De Foe Plague (1884) 268 To lance and dress the..Tumours. 1725 Pope Odyss. xiv. 87 Of two [porkers] his cutlass lanced the spouting blood. 1878 L. P. Meredith Teeth 36 The dentist..sees the immediate beneficial results of lancing hot, congested gums. |
| fig. 1561 J. Daus tr. Bullinger on Apoc. (1573) 38 We are many tymes launced and cut with the word of God, to our great profit and discipline. 1621 Quarles Esther xii. I 2 b, When Haman then had lanc'd his rip'ned griefe, In bloody tearmes, they thus appli'd reliefe. 1665 Boyle Occas. Refl. iii. vi, The Orator..is more sollicitous to tickle their Ears, than..to launce their Consciences. 1705 Hickeringill Priest-cr. ii. viii. 90 Some Inconveniencies in Church-Government, are better palliated, then lanced to the bottom. |
b. absol. or intr. To make an incision.
| 1646 J. Hall Horae Vac. 48 They doe better Launce into secret humours. |
8. trans. To cut (a hole) or inject (oxygen) by means of an oxygen lance.
| 1945 Machinery (N.Y.) Nov. 156/1 After a hole had been lanced completely through, the cut was continued to the bottom of the casting. 1946 Steel 11 Feb. 114/2 It was planned..to drain the salamander..by drilling and lancing a hole below the taphole in the base of the furnace. 1963 Times 22 Apr. p. viii/6 Oxygen is lanced into the furnace as it is being tapped. This causes the slag and lead to run. |
Hence
lanced ppl. a.| 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts 516 To..spread them vpon the aforesaid eaten or launced woundes. |
▸
trans. fig.to lance the boil: to relieve or mitigate the tension or hostility in a situation; to put a stop to an escalating problem or conflict.
| 1915 Times 23 Aug. 5 The government..has shown the vigour of its desire to lance the boil from which the body politic has suffered for so long. 1964 Winnipeg Free Press 13 June 19/4 The Russians obviously hope to lance the boil and slow the alarming inroads the Chinese have been making. 1984 Soviet Stud. 36 504 It was better, to lance the boil of Solidarity, however messy the operation might be, than to continue with the crisis indefinitely. 2006 Press (Christchurch, N.Z.) (Nexis) 16 Dec. 21 They are helping to lance the boil of discontent about elements of that plan. |