unˈlace, v.
[un-2 3.]
1. trans. To undo the lace or laces of (a piece of armour, clothing, etc.); to unfasten, or loosen in this manner.
| 13.. Coer de L. 3171 A knyght hys armes gan unlace. 1388 Wyclif Mark i. 7 Y am not worthi to..unlace his schoone. c 1400 Beryn 2426 He vnlacyd his mantell. 1470–85 Malory Arthur i. xxiii. 69 He vnlaced his helme and gate hym wynde. 1590 C'tess Pembroke Antonie 1593 His armor he vnlaste, and cast it of. 1652 C. B. Stapylton Herodian 129 His Purple Coat he 'gins for to Unlace. c 1696 Prior Love Disarmed 12 Her Boddice half way She unlac'd. 1731 Swift Poems, Nymph going to Bed 24 The lovely goddess Unlaces next her steel-rib'd bodice. a 1861 T. Woolner My Beautiful Lady, Night x, I wonder whether She now her braided opulent hair unlace. 1885 Law Rep. 15 Q.B.D. 360 The belts..could be removed from the shafting altogether by being unrivetted or unlaced. 1888 J. Payn Myst. Mirbridge viii, She instantly busied herself..in unlacing her boots. |
b. In
fig. context, or
transf.| c 1400 Beryn 67 [He] pryuelich vnlasid his both eyen liddes, And lokid hir in the visage. c 1422 Hoccleve Min. Poems 224/231 The feruence Of loue..Was qweynt, & loues knotte was vnlaced. 1593 G. Harvey Pierce's Super. 69 Thou mightest haue knowen him, that can Vnbutton thy vanity, and Vnlase thy folly. a 1699 J. Beaumont Psyche xvi. xvii, Unlace my nerves, and try My finest tenderest membranes to unpin. |
c. Naut. (See
quot. 1769.) Also
absol.| 1669 Sturmy Mariner's Mag. i. ii. 16 The Wind blows a fresh Gale... Unlease your Bonnets. 1769 Falconer Dict. Marine (1780), Délacer la bonnette, to unlace or take off the bonnet from the foot of a sail. 1777 Cook Second Voyage iii. ii. II. 18 [To] unlace that part of the sail from the yard which is between the tack and mast-head. 1886 R. C. Leslie Sea-painter's Log iii. 41 With bonnet-pieces..made to unlace instead of reef. |
2. To free or relieve (a person, the body, etc.) by undoing a lace or laces. Also
refl. and absol.| c 1350 Will. Palerne 3200 Þe quen kauȝt a knif & komli hire-selue william & his worþi fere swiftli vn-laced out of þe hidous hidus. a 1400 Sir Perc. 786 Gawayne doun lyghte, Unlacede the rede knyghte. c 1440 York Myst. xxxi. 42 My lorde, vn-lase you to lye, Here schall none come for to crye. a 1524 W. Cornyshe in Early XVI Cent. Lyrics lxii. 45 Ther wyth reuyued sche, and her smalle wast ful fast vnlast. a 1586 Sidney Arcadia ii. xii, She lay for dead, till I helpt with vnlasing her. 1648 Herrick Hesper. (title), Upon Julia's unlacing her self. c 1680 Roxb. Ball. (1891) VII. 459 Do no less, then undress, and unlace, all a-pace. 1725 Fam. Dict. s.v. Swoon, To make him lie on his Back, to unbutton or unlace. 1889 Spectator 9 Nov. 635/1 Showin' their tongues Or unlacin' their lungs, For divle one symptom the docther disparages. |
| transf. c 1440 Pallad. on Husb. vii. 26 If al the lond attonys rody grete, Enclyne, and thonke vnlaced so for hete. 1762 Sterne Tr. Shandy vi. xi, As if he had snatched the occasion of unlacing himself with a few more frolicsome strokes at vice, than the straitness of the pulpit allowed. |
† 3. To cut up or carve (in later use
spec. a rabbit); to cut off in carving.
Obs.| 13.. Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 1606 A wyȝe þat was wys vpon wod craftez, To vnlace þis bor lufly bigynnez. c 1460 J. Russell Bk. Nurture 410 Furst, vn-lace þe whynges, þe legges þan in sight. c 1486 Bk. St. Albans F vij b, A Cony vnlaceedde. 1508 W. de Worde Bk. Keruynge A j b, Vnlace that cony. 1618 Breton Court & Country Wks. (Grosart) II. 13/1 A Trencher must not be laid, nor a..Capon carued, nor a Rabbet vnlaced out of order. a 1661 B. Holyday Juvenal (1673) 78 'Tis no small difference, with what gesture men Of art vnlace a hare and spoil a hen. 1687 J. Shirley Accomp. Ladies Rich Closet Rarities. 52 In unlacing a Coney, Turn the belly upwards, cutting the belly-pieces from the kidneys. 1771 E. Haywood New Present for Maid 269 To unlace a Rabbit. |
† 4. To disentangle, unravel.
Obs.—1| c 1374 Chaucer Boeth. iii. pr. xii. (1868) 105 Scornest þou me..þat hast so wouen me wiþ þi resouns, þe house of didalus so entrelaced, þat it is vnable to ben vnlaced. |
† 5. fig. a. To undo or destroy; to deprive
of something.
Obs.| c 1412 Hoccleve De Reg. Princ. 2456 Of his honour, vntrouthe a knyght vnlaceth. Ibid. 3652 Dignite had ben vnlaced And vngirt of honour. 1577 Grange Golden Aphrod., etc. Q j b, Milesian maydes, your steppes I mean to trace, And as Lucrecia did, my lyfe for to vnlace. 1604 Shakes. Oth. ii. iii. 194 What's the matter That you vnlace your reputation thus. |
† b. To disclose, reveal.
Obs.| 1567 Painter Pal. Pleas. ii. xiii. (1890) II. 301, I purpose, then, to vnlace the dissolute lyues of three Amorouse Dames. 1577 Grange Golden Aphrod., etc. R iv b, Wherefore if my penne were able, well might I here vnlace my loyaltie. 1582 Stanyhurst æneis Ded. (Arb.) 7 Yt may bee..I shal bee occasioned..too vnlace more of theese mysteries. |
† c. To relax or loosen; to set free.
Obs.| 1610 G. Fletcher Christ's Tri. ii. xlii, An intire embrace That no satietie can ere unlace. 1639 Fuller Holy War ii. iv. 48 These Hospitallers afterwards getting wealth, unlaced themselves from the strictnesse of their first Institution. |
6. To strip of lace.
| 1598 Florio, Disfrangiare, to vnfringe, to vnlase. |