| 释义 |
▪ I. mask, n.1 Obs. exc. dial.
Also 1 max, 5– maske.
[It is uncertain whether the mod. word represents OE. *masc (by metathesis max) str. neut., or is adopted from the cognate ON. mǫskve; in the former case the phonology may be compared with that of ask v. (For the further etymology see mesh n.)]
A mesh. (In OE. a net.)
c1000ælfric Colloq. in Wr.-Wülcker 92 Ic brede me max, Plecto mihi retia. Ibid. 93 Ic astiᵹie min scyp and wyrpe max mine on ea. 1343in Riley Mem. Lond. (1868) 215 [Seeing that the] masks [of the same nets, according to the custom of the City, ought to be 2 inches wide at least]. c1440Jacob's Well 239 Smale lytell fyssches skyppyn thruȝ the maskys of a nett into the watyr. c1575[see heck n.1 2]. 1584–5Act 27 Eliz. c. 21 Greate destruction of the Frye of Fisshe there enseweth, by reason of the smallnes of the Maskes of suche Nettes as they use. 1607Lingua ii. vi, The maskes [of a net] are made so strong, That I my selfe vpon them scal'd the heauens. 1669in North Riding Rec. VI. 134 Two men presented for fishing with a net of which every maske was not 2 in. broad and 1 in. long. 1886Chester Gloss., Maske, a mesh of a net.
▪ II. † mask, n.2 Chiefly Sc. Obs.
[Northern var. mash n.1]
= mash n.1 Also Comb., as mask ruther (= rudder), mask wort. Also mask-fat.
1508in Ld. Treas. Acc. Scot. IV. 111 Item,..for maskis of malt to the said hors. 1567Satir. Poems Reform. viii. 35 Ane mask of malt. 1588–9Extracts Rec. Glasgow (1876) I. 129 Ane mask ruther.
▪ III. mask, n.3|mɑːsk, -æ-|
Forms: (6 measque), 6–7 maske, 6–9 masque, 7– mask.
[a. F. masque masc. (in 16th c. also fem.) of disputed origin, whence also G., Du. maske fem., Da. maske com., Sw. mask fem. masque n. was orig. a sense of the same word, now differentiated in spelling.
The Fr. word (first recorded in 16th c.) is usually believed to be ad. the synonymous Sp. máscara, It. maschera (see masker n.1, masquerade). But it is difficult to believe that the word has no connexion with med.L. mascus, masca, which render OE. gríma mask, spectre, in the Corpus Glossary c 725. Mascha is used c 680 by Aldhelm in association with larva, which had the senses ‘mask’ and ‘spectre’, and masca occurs in the Lombard Laws c 800 with the sense ‘witch’; cf. Pr. masco witch (see mascot). On the whole the most plausible view seems to be that the representative of med.L. mascus, masca survived in some Fr. dialect, and was thence taken into literary use as an equivalent of the like-sounding Sp. máscara. The origin of med.L. mascus, masca, is undetermined; some scholars think the original sense was ‘mask’, and that the word was from Teut. *maskwo- net (see mesh n.).]
1. A covering for the face, worn either as a disguise or for protection.
a. A covering, usually made of velvet or silk (with apertures for seeing), concealing the face or the upper part of it, worn for disguise at balls, masquerades, etc. in mask = masked.
1534Ld. Berners Gold. Bk. M. Aurel. (1535) 102 b, The vices that they brought [from Asia] to Rome..The patritiens bearyng Measques, the Plebeyens usynge smelles, and the emperours to weare purple. 1581G. Pettie tr. Guazzo's Civ. Conv. (1586) i. 28 There are certaine glorious fellowes, who at shrouetide goe with Maskes on their face, and yet woulde faine be knowne what they are. 1617Moryson Itin. iii. 177 Gentlemen and Citizens wiues when they goe out of dores, weare vpon their faces little Maskes of silk, lined with fine leather. 1666–7Pepys Diary 18 Feb., One of the ladies would, and did sit with her mask on. 1691Lond. Gaz. 2651/3 To march out with their Arms and Baggage, Colours Flying,..30 Covered Wagons, and 50 Persons in Masks, &c. 1722De Foe Moll Flanders 341, I had no Mask but I ruffled my Hoods so about my face that [etc.]. 1727― Eng. Tradesm. x. (1732) I. 117 A Ball, where people appear in Masque, and act a part to make sport. 1833H. Martineau Three Ages i. 1 A troop of gentlemen..whose country could not be divined from their complexions, since each wore a mask.
b. A covering worn on the face for protection; now esp. a screen of wire, gauze, etc. to protect the face from injury in dangerous games or manufactures. Also = gas mask.
1591Shakes. Two Gent. iv. iv. 158 Since she did neglect her looking-glasse, And threw her Sun-expelling Masque away. 1601Holland Pliny I. 367 He..hath a thicke coife or maske [L. persona densusque reticulus] about his head, for doubt that hee should bestow any [frankincense] in mouth or eares. 1688R. Holme Armoury iii. 13/1 A Mask.. This is a thing..Gentlewomen used to put over their Faces..to keep them from Sun burning. 1823Roland Fencing 25 note, Each fencer wears a closely wrought wire mask for the security of his face. 1831Brewster Nat. Magic xii. (1833) 306 A casque or cap, with a mask large enough to leave a proper space between it and the asbestos cap. 1844Browning Laboratory i, Now that I, tying thy glass mask tightly, May gaze thro' these faint smokes curling whitely. 1875Knight Dict. Mech., Mask,..a wire cage to protect the face from a stray cut or thrust with a foil in fencing... A face protection to be worn in glass-works or foundries, to protect against radiant heat. 1901H. McHugh John Henry 68 Baseball masks. 1915H. W. Wilson Great War IV. 331 A Highlander wearing a mask. 1918Ibid. XI. 454 French soldiers wearing the masks, fitted with goggles and respirators, that rendered them immune to noxious gases. Ibid. 455 Special masks were devised for the horses.
c. Antiq. The hollow figure of a human head worn by ancient Greek and Roman actors, intended both to identify the character represented and to increase the volume of the voice.
1705Addison Italy 103 (Venice), Could we suppose that a Mask represented never so naturally the general Humour of a Character, it can never suit with the Variety of Passions that are incident to every single Person in the whole Course of a Play. 1732T. Lediard Sethos II. x. 435 The actor whose mask represented Cheres..went off from the stage. a1862Buckle Misc. Wks. I. 487 The Romans sometimes played without masks: the Greeks never.
d. A grotesque representation of a face, made of pasteboard moulded and painted; worn at merrymakings, carnivals, etc.
1837D. Jerrold in New Monthly Mag. LI. 317 The mask fixed upon the effigy [of Guy Fawkes].
e. A likeness of a person's face in clay, wax, etc.; esp. one made by taking a mould from the face itself. Also death-mask (see death n. 19).
1780Rogers in Archæologia (1782) VI. 107 An account of certain earthen Masks from the Musquito Shore... Masques..which, his Indian conductors told him, were the likenesses of chiefs..who had been formerly buried there. 1846Penny Cycl. Supp. II. 705/2 They [the wax imagines of the Romans] were probably cast from moulds taken from models, though such masks [taken after death] may have been used in the formation of the models. 1877Clara Bell tr. Ebers' Uarda I. 311 note, Such a mask of the dead is not unfrequently found at the head of mummy cases.
2. fig.
a. A ‘cloak’, disguise, pretence; esp. in phr. under the mask of, to put on, assume, throw off, pull off, or drop the mask (of), etc.
1577F. de L'isle's Legendarie F iv b, That their nephue Francis serued but as a maske and cloke to their fellonie. 1605His Maiesties Speach, etc. H b, And the Racke onely offred and shewed vnto him [Guido Fawkes], when the maske of his Romaine fortitude did visibly begin to weare & slide off his face. 1647Clarendon Hist. Reb. iii. §31 No man had ever a greater power over himself, or was less the man that he seemed to be, which shortly after appeared to every body when he cared less to keep on the mask. 1701De Foe True-born Eng. 8 The Mask thrown off, Plain Devil his Title stands. 1748Richardson Clarissa (1768) IV. 350 If I write not in time, but that thou hast actually pulled off the mask; let [etc.]. 1766Goldsm. Vic. W. xxx, A base, ungenerous wretch who under the mask of friendship has undone me. 1812Crabbe Tales xvi. Wks. 1834 V. 138 She veiled her troubles in a mask of ease. 1832–4De Quincey Caesars Wks. 1862 IX. 31 He himself by way of masque attended a public spectacle. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 400 He had covered his failings with the mask of devotion. 1876Freeman Norm. Conq. IV. xvii. 37 The way in which..wrong contrived to assume the mask of right.
b. Something which covers or hides from view.
1752Mason Elfrida 25 To..be led Veil'd in the mask of night, to Edgar's chamber, A counterfeit Matilda. a1821Keats Sonn., Lover's Compl., The new soft-fallen mask Of snow upon the mountains. 1886Willis & Clark Cambridge III. 540 The series of melancholy attempts..to convert the medieval style of our colleges into Italian by a mere mask of ashlar.
3. a. A masked person; a person wearing a mask or in masquerading dress; a masker.
1580Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 335 By this time entered an other Masque. 1676G. Etherege Man of Mode i. i. (1684) 3, I remember there was a Mask observed me indeed. 1712Addison Spect. No. 383 ⁋6 A Masque, who came behind him, gave him a gentle Tap upon the Shoulder. 1749Fielding Tom Jones xiii. vii, This Mask was one of those ladies, who go to a masquerade only to vent ill-nature. 1794Mrs. Radcliffe Myst. Udolpho xvi, Groups of masks were seen dancing on the moonlight terraces. 1832De Quincey Klosterheim ix, A Masque, armed cap-a-pie. 1834L. Hunt's Lond. Jrnl. No. 25. 198 Amongst the ambulating masks..I must not omit the most interesting.
†b. ? A masquerade dress, domino. Obs.
1577in Cunningham Revels Accts. 114 A large Maske of murrey satten..with sleeves of gold tyncell.
4. Various technical uses.
a. Arch., etc. A representation (often grotesque) in stone of a face or face and neck, used in panels, keystones of arches, etc.; a similar representation in metal on a shield. Also, a kind of corbel the shadow of which is like a man's profile; = buckle n. 4.
1731Bailey vol. II, Masque (with Architects), certain pieces of sculpture, representing some hideous form; grotesque or satyrs faces, used to fill up or adorn some vacant places. 1784H. Walpole Let. 7 Sept. (1858) VIII. 502 Mrs. Damer herself is modelling two masks for the key-stones of the new bridge at Henley. 1848T. Rickman Styles Archit. (ed. 5) Introd. xxx, A good bold corbel-table..carried on masks, a name given to a peculiar corbel because the shadow of it is the same as that from a head. 1870F. R. Wilson Ch. Lindisfarne 111 The labels terminate in grotesque masks. 1874Boutell Arms & Armour ii. 19 The shield..in either case was adorned by having the head of an animal nailed in the centre..or a mask executed with the hammer (repoussé) in bronze, was fixed in a similar position.
b. Hunting. The face or head of a fox (occas. of an otter); phr. to set his mask for (said of a fox) to head for, make for. Also, the head-skin of any ‘game’; the face or muzzle of a dog.
1828Sporting Mag. XXII. 244 The masks of a bitch fox and five of her cubs were nailed against the door of his keeper's kennel. 1853‘C. Bede’ Verdant Green vii, Over the mirror was displayed a fox's mask. 1891County Gentl. XXIX. 1684 A second fox..set his mask for Vowes's Gorse. 1894C. Phillipps-Wolley et al. Big Game Shooting II. xv. 417 Peel off the whole mask from the antlers downwards to the muzzle. 1904Westmorld. Gaz. 2 July 5/5 Captain Thompson presented..the pads [of the otter] to the Misses Cheetham..and the mask..to Isaac Fletcher, the huntsman. 1928C. S. Stockley Big Game Shooting 88 Skins..should..be..hung on a frame to dry, the mask being filled with dry grass or paper. 1945C. L. B. Hubbard Observer's Bk. Dogs 214 A light Cairn may have a dark mask. 1972Daily Tel. 8 Apr. 17/4 Six more dog pelts, all complete with masks—the head of the dog—have been found..at Nuneaton... Mr. Horner, whose firm exports between 40,000 and 50,000 dog skins a year, commented: ‘I am baffled as to why someone should prepare pelts with masks.’
c. Fortif. A screen to protect men engaged in constructing a work, to conceal a battery, etc.; also, a casemated redoubt serving as a counter-guard to the caponier (Voyle & Stevenson Mil. Dict. 1876).
1802James Milit. Dict. s.v., Several masks must be hastily thrown up, whilst the men are employed behind one. Ibid., The engineer, or artillery officer, places himself behind this mask and draws his plan. 1884Mil. Engin. I. 86 A floating mask, may be necessary for the protection of the men forming the head of the bridge. The mask should be of planks covered with iron or steel plate if possible. Ibid., As the work proceeds, a parapet must be erected on the causeway under cover of the mask to protect the men from the flank⁓fire of the enemy.
d. Ent. The enlarged labium of the larval and pupal dragon-fly. Also Zool. a formation or coloration of the head resembling a mask.
1797Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) X. 20/1 (Libella) This mask, fastened to the insect's neck,..serves to hold its prey while it devours it. 1840Cuvier's Anim. Kingd. 174 The mask, formed by the fringed feathers that surround the eyes, is greatly extended [in the barn owl]. 1896tr. Boas' Text-bk. Zool. 255 The larvæ [of dragon-flies]..are characterised by the modification of the labium into a long eversible prehensile organ (the mask).
e. Photogr. A piece of opaque paper used to cover any part of a negative, lantern-slide, or print which it is desired to obscure or shade; esp. the margin of a piece from which a disk has been cut.
1876Abney Photogr. (ed. 3) 118 [Sunning down a bright spot on a print] may be secured by making a brown paper mask, cutting out the shape of the object to be toned down. 1889T. C. Hepworth Bk. Lantern (ed. 2) 141 Now take a slide, duly fitted with its black mask, and a cover glass.
f. Surg. A piece of linen, with apertures for the eyes, nose, and mouth, used for applications to the face (Syd. Soc. Lex. 1890).
g. A cosmetic preparation, a face-pack.
1931H. G. Wells Work, Wealth & Happiness of Mankind I. v. 221 She has her face put under a ‘mask’, an affair of beaten-up eggs and other ingredients which tightens on the face. 1934M. Verni Mod. Beauty Culture i. v. 28/2 The foundation for a general type of mask is fuller's earth made into a paste with liquid. Ibid., If the operator has neither given nor received a mask treatment before, she should give herself one. 1955C. Hart Handbk. Beauty 29 Masks serve the purpose of stimulating the circulation, thus improving your complexion color... You can buy a mask ready-made or concoct one at home. Buttermilk all by itself is a good mask; so is oatmeal..so is an egg. Ibid., Cover your hair.., because the mask stuff is sticky.
h. Electronics. In the manufacture of microcircuits, a thin surface layer that is removed in parts so as to permit selective modification of the underlying material.
1956Bell Syst. Techn. Jrnl. XXXV. 25 For the emitter, a film of aluminium approximately 1,000 Å thick was evaporated onto the surface through a mask which defined an emitter arc of 1 × 2 mils. 1957Jrnl. Electrochem. Soc. CIV. 549/1 A SiO2 surface layer provides a selective mask at high temperatures against the diffusion of some donors and acceptors into Si. 1967Electronics 6 Mar. 60/2 Faster IC's can be built with the dimensional resolutions possible in present diffusion masks. 1973Sci. Amer. Apr. 65/2 Masks can be made from various types of material, for example insulators such as silicon dioxide,..or metals such as aluminum, molybdenum and gold. To expose the regions in which ion implantation is desired the mask is removed by chemical etching.
5. attrib. and Comb., as mask-maker; mask-like adj.; mask-ball, a masked ball, masquerade; mask-crab, a crab of the family Corystidæ, with mask-like markings on the carapace, as Corystes cassivelaunus; mask-flower [tr. of the Peruvian name ricaco, or ricarco], any one of several Peruvian plants of the genus Alonsoa; mask jug, a jug with a lip or front shaped like a face; also masked jug; mask-man, a masker; mask-shell, ‘any spiral marine-shell of the genus Persona, having a curiously twisted aperture’ (Funk's Stand. Dict.); mask-wall Fortif., ‘the scarp-wall of a casemate’ (Cent. Dict.).
1818Lady Morgan Autobiog. (1859) 286 This fashion in France of profiting by the custom d'intriguer at *masque balls. 1895G. A. Sala Life & Adv. II. xxxviii. 78 In the evening we went to a grand mask ball at the Opera.
1863Wood Nat. Hist. III. 596 The *Mask-crab buries itself in the sand or muddy bed of the sea.
1857E. Balfour Cycl. India, *Mask flower, Alonsoa.
1910Downman & Gunn Eng. Pott. & Porc. (ed. 5) 58 (caption) *Masked jug in Fulham brown stoneware of the 18th century. 1963Times 1 May 15/5 A Worcester yellow-ground mask jug fell to Tilley at {pstlg}700. 1970Canad. Antiques Collector Jan. 30/1 Mask jugs, in which a face, or even a figure, formed the shape of the front of the jug, opposite the handle, had been made for centuries in most European countries.
1899Bullen Way Navy 42 His face was *mask-like.
1836–48B. D. Walsh Aristoph., Knights i. ii, The *maskmakers were so afraid of him, They would not copy them.
1652Kirkman Clerio & Losia 87 For this hour hath this same *Maskman talked to me in Italian.
▪ IV. mask, v.1 Obs. exc. dial.
[f. mask n.1]
trans. To mesh, enmesh: lit. and fig.
c1374Chaucer Troylus iii. 1734 He was so narwe y-masked and y-knet, That [etc.]. 1556J. Heywood Sp. & Flie xv. 20 Neuer was there flie in this net, thus masked, That euer scapte. 1628Feltham Resolves i. ii. 4 Like a Partridge in the net, he maskes himselfe the more, by the anger of his fluttering wing. 1825–80Jamieson, To Mask, to catch in a net. In this sense, a fish is said to be maskit, Ayrs[hire]. 1882Buckland Notes & Jottings 69 We quickly perceived from the bobbing of the corks that the fish..were ‘masked’ in the trammel.
absol.1557in Tottel's Misc. (Arb.) 133 Thus in the net of my conceit I masked styll among the sort Of such as fed vpon the bayt, That Cupide laide for his disport.
▪ V. † mask, v.2 Obs.
[app. a shortened form of masker v.]
intr. To be bewildered, lose one's way. Also quasi-trans. (quot. 1599).
c1290S. Brandan 118 in S. Eng. Leg. 223 Hi wende alond as maskede [v.r. masid] men, hi nuste whar hi were. 1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) II. 67 Elidurus..fonde his broþer Archgalon maskynge [L. aberrantem] in a wode [Fabyan Chron. ii. xl. (1811) 28 has maskelyng or wandryng in the thykest of y⊇ wood]. a1550Image Hypocr. in Skelton's Wks. (1843) II. 433/2 Lest it be to late To trust on hadd I wist, Imasked in a myst. 1581J. Bell Haddon's Answ. Osorius 119 Followyng herein (as it seemeth) his forerunner Hosius, who maskyng in the like maze, doth affirme [etc.]. 1599Bp. Hall Sat. iv. iii. 59 Or whiles thou seest some of thy Stallion-race, Their eyes boar'd out, masking the miller's-maze. 1639Fuller Holy War iii. xii. 129 He doeth the benighted traveller a discourtesie..who lendeth him a lantern to take it away, leaving him more masked then he was before.
▪ VI. mask, v.3 Sc.|mɑːsk, -æ-|
[Northern var. mash v.1]
1. trans. = mash v.1 (occas. absol.). Also, to brew.
1480Cath. Angl. 230/1 To Maske, ceruidare. 15..Chalmerlan Ayr c. 26 §6 (in Sc. Acts I.) Item þat þai grynd jt [malt] our small þat jt will nocht ryn quhen jt is maskit. 1639Rutherford Lett. 1 Oct. (1881) 409, I hope, for His sake, who brewed and masked this cup [of affliction] in heaven, ye will gladly drink. c1650in W. Ross Aberdour & Inchcolme x. (1885) 284 [To impose a fine..on ‘browsters’ who ‘masked’ on Sabbath night]. 1743R. Maxwell Trans. Soc. Improv. Agric. 352 A Brewing-keeve, wherein Brewers mask their Drink. 1871W. Alexander Johnny Gibb xxx. 214 There's naething like a starn gweed maut, maskit i' yer nain bowie.
2. To infuse (tea); = mash v.1 1 d.
1814Scott Wav. xlii, I hope your honours wil tak tea..and I maun gang and mask it for you. 1883A. S. Swan Aldersyde ii. i. 78 Marget will mask anither cup o' tea for ye.
transf.1846Johnston in Proc. Berw. Nat. Club II. 176 One dozen stalks are ‘masked’ in a pint of boiling water.
3. to be masking: (a) of a storm, to be ‘brewing’; (b) of a person, to be sickening for a disease.
183.Alex. Rodgers in Whistle-Binkie Ser. i. 108, I saw the storm was masking fast, That soon wad fa' on me. 1866W. Gregor Banff. Gloss., Mask, to gather..; as, ‘It's maskin', or maskin' up for anither shoor’. 1876Whitby Gloss. s.v., It's masking for thunder. 1887Service Dr. Duguid xviii. 116, I could see that he was maskin' for the pocks.
▪ VII. mask, v.4|mɑːsk, -æ-|
Also 6–7 maske, 7–9 masque.
[f. mask n.3 Cf. F. masquer.]
1. a. trans. To cover (the face or head) with a mask. Chiefly pass. To wear, be disguised with, a mask.
1588Shakes. L.L.L. v. ii. 157 The Trompet sounds, be maskt, the maskers come. 1593― Lucr. 794 Where now I haue no one to blush with me,..To maske their browes and hide their infamie. 1611Dekker & Middleton Roaring Girl 204 Good faces maskt are Iewels kept by spirits. Hide none but bad ones. 1617Moryson Itin. iii. 173 The Women no lesse then Men..goe masked. 1711Steele Spect. No. 8 ⁋4 All the Persons who compose this lawless Assembly are masked. 1825Lytton Zicci 15 A tall figure, masked and mantled, appeared. 1839Lane Arab. Nts. I. 73 At the fair of Okaz, the heroes were masked.
b. gen. To disguise.
1847Tennyson Princess v. 386 A rout of saucy boys Brake on us..Mask'd like our maids. 1903Edin. Rev. Apr. 411 His ghost masks himself in no futile disguises.
c. To provide with a gas mask.
1916War Illustr. IV. 607 Machine-gun section masked, ready for the enemy. 1918H. W. Wilson Great War XI. 455 French soldier with one of the French army dogs, both masked against enemy gas attack.
2. transf.
a. To hide or conceal from view, by interposing something.
1583Stanyhurst æneis iii. (Arb.) 86 Whilste thee sun⁓beams are maskt, hyls darcklye be muffled. c1600Shakes. Sonn. xxxiii, The region cloude hath mask'd him from me now. 1605― Macb. ii. i. 125 Masking the Businesse from the common Eye. 1634Crashaw in T.S. tr. Lessius' Hygiasticon To Rdr., A soul, whose intellectuall beams No mists do mask, no lazie steams. 1833Lyell Princ. Geol. III. 210 The talus d, e, which masked the inland cliff until it was artificially laid open to view. 1871L. Stephen Playgr. Eur. iv. (1894) 102 Rocky fragments..frequently masked by cushions of fresh fallen snow.
b. Mil. and Fortif. (a) To conceal (a battery, a force, etc.) from the view of the enemy. (b) To hinder (a fortress, army, fleet) from acting on the offensive by watching it with a sufficient force. (c) To hinder the efficiency of a friendly force by standing in the line of its fire.
1706Lond. Gaz. No. 4256/2 Many Persons might march out with the Garison masked as the Governor should think fit. 1763British Mag. IV. 204 The seamen..mounted all the guns in the battery, which we masked. 1802James Milit. Dict. s.v., One toise and a half of epaulement will require two chandeliers, and 60 fascines, to mask it. 1811Wellington in Gurw. Desp. VII. 338 The other fleche was masked. 1868Kirk Charles the Bold III. v. iii. 411 The idea of leaving Morat unassailed, masking it with a portion of his army while prosecuting operations with the rest. 1870Pall Mall G. 3 Sept. 2 Bazaine..has succeeded in convincing the Prussians that it requires a large force to mask him. 1875Bedford Sailor's Pocket Bk. vii. (ed. 2) 268 Such boats must be cautioned not to mask the fire of any boats employed for the same purpose. 1884Pall Mall G. 29 Oct. 2/2 To command the sea we must be prepared at a moment's notice to mask the enemies' fleets by forces..equal to his.
c. Arch.
1828H. Steuart Planter's Guide 518 It appeared extremely desirable to that artist to mask or conceal the Approach from the House and adjoining grounds. 1867Barry Life Sir C. Barry viii. 291 A cloister with one story above it, or an open arcade, might mask the building from the high ground of Bridge Street. 1879Sir G. Scott Lect. Archit. II. 100 The roofs, internally, may be proved to have been masked by level ceilings.
d. Zool. and Bot.
1843Owen Invert. Anim. (1855) 436 That stage of the Orthopterous..insects, in which they are masked by the vermiform or true larval condition. 1857A. Gray 1st Less. in Bot. xv. (1866) 106 In Catalpa this number is masked in the calyx by irregular union, and in the stamens by abortion.
e. Cookery. (See quot.)
1877Cassell's Dict. Cookery 1177/2 Mask, to cover meat with any rich sauce, ragoût, &c.
f. Photogr. To cover, shade or mount with a mask.
1881,1884[see masking vbl. n.2 2].
g. To disguise the real character of or diminish the effect of.
1922W. G. Kendrew Climates of Continents 18 The south-east trades..are now at their greatest strength, but sea breezes mask them on the immediate littoral. 1931Times 18 Feb. 6/5 It was this late stroke, masked, into the left corner which defeated the game of Joshua Crane.
h. Of a sound or other object of perception: to diminish or prevent the perception of (another stimulus, usu. one affecting the same sense).
1923Physical Rev. XXI. 706 When the masking tone is loud it masks tones of higher frequency better than those of frequency lower than itself. 1949McCord & Witheridge Odors xvii. 190 The opportunity for masking objectionable textile odors by..impregnating the goods with a definitely noticeable perfume seems to be negligible. 1960Lang. & Speech III. 160 The low-frequency noise masks the voicing of a consonant. 1966Jrnl. Exper. Psychol. LXXII. 233/1 Backward masking refers to the power of certain stimuli, the masking stimuli, to disrupt or mask the processing of other stimuli, the target stimuli, which have been presented earlier. 1973D. L. Richards Telecommunication by Speech iii. 113 Room noise that masks speech from the other station will make conversation more difficult. 1974Encycl. Brit. Macropædia XVI. 555/1 The substantially greater intensity of one odour may mask another.
i. Chem. To prevent (a substance or ion) from taking part in a certain reaction by causing it to undergo another preliminary reaction.
1934in Webster. 1936Industr. & Engin. Chem. (Analytical Ed.) 15 Nov. 409/1 A characteristic example in the analysis of anions is that..in which sulfite is masked by the addition of formaldehyde. 1970D. D. Perrin Masking & Demasking Chem. Reactions i. 2 Silver is masked by ammonia against precipitation as the hydroxide or chloride.
3. fig. To disguise (feelings, etc.) under an assumed outward show; to conceal the real nature, intent, or meaning of.
1588Shakes. L.L.L. i. ii. 98 Most immaculate thoughts Master, are mask'd vnder such colours. 1594Plat Jewell-ho. i. 55 Howsoeuer the same was masked, or disguised in shew. 1656Bramhall Replic. iii. 153 Sedition masked under the Visard of Religion. 1777Sheridan Sch. Scand. i. i, He has been obliged to mask his pretensions. 1841D'Israeli Amen. Lit. (1867) 683 Polemical studies become political when the heads of parties mask themselves under some particular doctrine. 1865Dickens Mut. Fr. iii. v, Its old simplicity of expression got masked by a certain craftiness. 1870Morris Earthly Par. I. i. 215 Masking with a smile The vain regrets that in their hearts arose.
†4.
a. intr. To take part in a masque or masquerade; to be a masquer, to masquerade. Also to mask it. Also fig. Obs.
a1562G. Cavendish Wolsey (1893) 108 An other maske..of noble gentilmen, who daunced & masked with these fayer ladyes. 1589Nashe Pasquill & Marforius 1, I wonder how I missed you? Pasquill. Neuer maruaile at that, I haue learned to maske it. 1591Spenser Tears of Muses 180 Where be the sweete delights of learnings treasure..In which I late was wont to raine as Queene, And maske in mirth with Graces well beseene? 1597Beard Theatre God's Judgem. (1612) 435 Six [masquers] that masked it to a marriage at the hostell of St. Paules in Paris. 1606Choice, Chance & Change (1881) 50 After they had masked and mummed, away they went. 1731Bailey vol. II, Mask,..to go to masks or masquerades.
b. trans. To perform after the fashion of a masque. Obs.
1560Pilkington Expos. Aggeus (1562) 58 These be the dueties of good shepeheardes..and not maskynge masses, and mumming mattyns.
†5. intr. To be or go in disguise; to hide one's real form or character under an outward show. Often fig. Obs.
1579Spenser Shep. Cal. Jan. 24 Now is come thy wynter's stormy state, Thy mantle mard, wherein thou maskedst late. c1585Faire Em. i. 86 Thus must we mask to save our wretched lives. a1591H. Smith Six Serm. (1618) A 4, Like æsops Asse, masking in the Lions skinne. 1619Hieron Wks. I. 21 The spirituall venome that masketh vnder these deceitfull shadowes, is either not beleeued or not thought vpon. 1632Lithgow Trav. ix. 394 The French men..were cruelly massacred..; which exploit masketh vnder the name of Vesperi Siculi. 1649Drummond of Hawthornden Irene Wks. (1711) 170 How bravely soever ye mask and flowrish in words.
▪ VIII. mask(e
var. ff. masque; corrupt var. mast n.2 |