lace

English

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /leɪs/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪs

Etymology 1

From Middle English lace, laace, las, from Old French las, from Vulgar Latin *laceum, based on Latin laqueus. Doublet of lasso.

Noun

lace (countable and uncountable, plural laces)

2. (uncountable) A light fabric containing patterns of holes, usually built up from a single thread. ^Wp
   • c. 1620, Francis Bacon, letter of advice to Sir George Villiers

     Our English dames are much given to the wearing of very fine and costly laces.

   • 1918, W. B. Maxwell, chapter 2, in The Mirror and the Lamp‎^[1]:

     She was a fat, round little woman, richly apparelled in velvet and lace, […]; and the way she laughed, cackling like a hen, the way she talked to the waiters and the maid, […]—all these unexpected phenomena impelled one to hysterical mirth, and made one class her with such immortally ludicrous types as Ally Sloper, the Widow Twankey, or Miss Moucher.

   • 1977, Agatha Christie, chapter 4, in An Autobiography, part II, London: Collins, →ISBN:

     Mind you, clothes were clothes in those days. […]  Frills, ruffles, flounces, lace, complicated seams and gores: not only did they sweep the ground and have to be held up in one hand elegantly as you walked along, but they had little capes or coats or feather boas.

   • Light definition

     Electromagnetic radiation in the wavelength range visible to the human eye (about 400–750 nanometers); visible light. (1 of 19 light definitions)

   • Fabric definition

     An edifice or building. (1 of 9 fabric definitions)

   • Pattern definition

     Model, example.

     1. Something from which a copy is made; a model or outline. (1 of 20 pattern definitions)
3. (countable) A cord or ribbon passed through eyelets in a shoe or garment, pulled tight and tied to fasten the shoe or garment firmly. ^Wp

   your laces are untied, do them up!

   • Cord definition

     A long, thin, flexible length of twisted yarns (strands) of fiber (a rope, for example). (1 of 8 cord definitions)

   • Ribbon definition

     A long, narrow strip of material used for decoration of clothing or the hair or gift wrapping. (1 of 14 ribbon definitions)

   • Eyelet definition

     An object that consists of a rim and small hole or perforation to receive a cord or fastener, as in garments, sails, etc. An eyelet may reinforce a hole. (1 of 6 eyelet definitions)

   • Shoe definition

     A protective covering for the foot, with a bottom part composed of thick leather or plastic sole and often a thicker heel, and a softer upper part made of leather or synthetic material. Shoes generally do not extend above the ankle, as opposed to boots, which do. (1 of 17 shoe definitions)

   • Garment definition

     A single item of clothing. (1 of 3 garment definitions)

   • Fasten definition

     To attach or connect in a secure manner. (1 of 2 fasten definitions)
4. A snare or gin, especially one made of interwoven cords; a net.
   • 1600, [Torquato Tasso], “The Second Booke of Godfrey of Bulloigne”, in Edward Fairefax [i.e., Edward Fairfax], transl., Godfrey of Bulloigne, or The Recouerie of Ierusalem. […], London: […] Ar[nold] Hatfield, for I[saac] Iaggard and M[atthew] Lownes, →OCLC, stanza 20, page 23:

     The king had ſnared been in loues ſtrong lace, [...]

   • Snare definition

     A trap (especially one made from a loop of wire, string, or leather). (1 of 6 snare definitions)

   • Gin definition

     A colourless non-aged alcoholic liquor made by distilling fermented grains such as barley, corn, oats or rye with juniper berries; the base for many cocktails. (1 of 3 gin definitions)

   • Net definition

     A mesh of string, cord or rope. (1 of 11 net definitions)
5. (slang, obsolete) Spirits added to coffee or another beverage.
   • 2023 November 13 (Gregorian calendar), Joseph Addison, “MONDAY, November 2, 2023”, in The Spectator, number (please specify the issue number); republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […], volumes (please either specify the issue number or |volume=I to VI), New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, →OCLC:

     He is forced every Morning to drink his Dish of Coffee by itself, without the Addition of the Spectator, that used to be better than Lace to it.

   • Spirit definition

     The soul of a person or other creature. (1 of 15 spirit definitions)

   • Coffee definition

     (1 of 14 coffee definitions)

   • Beverage definition

     A liquid to consume; a drink, such as tea, coffee, liquor, beer, milk, juice, or soft drinks, usually excluding water. (1 of 2 beverage definitions)

Synonyms

• (cord):
  • (for a shoe): shoelace
  • (for a garment): tie

Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English lacen, lasen, from Old French lacer, lacier, lasser, lachier, from the noun (see above).

Verb

lace (third-person singular simple present laces, present participle lacing, simple past and past participle laced)

1. (ergative) To fasten (something) with laces.
   • 1718, Mat[thew] Prior, “Alma: Or, The Progress of the Mind”, in Poems on Several Occasions, London: […] Jacob Tonson […], and John Barber […], →OCLC:

     When Jenny's stays are newly laced.

2. (transitive) To interweave items.

   to lace one's fingers together

   • 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter VIII, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:

     Now we plunged into a deep shade with the boughs lacing each other overhead, and crossed dainty, rustic bridges over the cold trout-streams, the boards giving back the clatter of our horses' feet: or anon we shot into a clearing, with a colored glimpse of the lake and its curving shore far below us.

   • 1895 November, Rudyard Kipling, The Second Jungle Book, London, New York, N.Y.: Macmillan and Co., →OCLC:

     The Gond […] picked up a trail of the Karela, the vine that bears the bitter wild gourd, and laced it to and fro across the temple door.

   • 1986 April 12, Robin Lippincott, “Passionate Friendship, Old-fashioned Feminism”, in Gay Community News, page 14:

     Flanner's old-fashioned, staunch feminism runs throughout and laces together these letters.

   • Interweave definition

     To combine through weaving. (1 of 2 interweave definitions)
3. (transitive) To interweave the spokes of a bicycle wheel.

   • Spoke definition

     A support structure that connects the axle or the hub of a wheel to the rim. (1 of 5 spoke definitions)

   • Bicycle definition

     A vehicle that has two wheels, one behind the other, a steering handle, and a saddle seat or seats and is usually propelled by the action of a rider’s feet upon pedals. (1 of 6 bicycle definitions)
4. (transitive) To beat; to lash; to make stripes on.
   • 1692, Roger L’Estrange, “ (please specify the fable number.) (please specify the name of the fable.)”, in Fables, of Æsop and Other Eminent Mythologists: […], London: […] R[ichard] Sare, […], →OCLC:

     I'll Lace your Coat for ye.

5. (transitive) To adorn with narrow strips or braids of some decorative material.

   cloth laced with silver

   • 1611 April (first recorded performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Cymbeline”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii]:

     Under these windows, white and azure-laced

6. (transitive, figuratively) To intersperse or diversify with something.
   • 1982 December 11, Frances Russell, “Economic performance buoys Pawley’s position”, in The Vancouver Sun (The Weekend Sun), Vancouver, BC, page A6:

     The throne speech opening the New Democrat government’s second legislative session Dec. 2 was a modest document featuring caution and pragmatism laced with a few tidbits of democratic socialism.

   • Intersperse definition

     To mix two things irregularly, placing things of one kind among things of other. (Can we add an example for this sense?) (1 of 3 intersperse definitions)

   • Diversify definition

     To make (something) diverse or various in form or quality; to give variety to distinguish by numerous differences or aspects, as: (1 of 2 diversify definitions)
7. (transitive) To add alcohol, poison, a drug or anything else potentially harmful to (food or drink).

Derived terms

Translations

Anagrams

• ALEC, Acle, Alec, Cela, acle, alec, cale

Esperanto

Adverb

lace

1. wearily

   • Wearily definition

     In a weary manner.

Related terms

• laca

French

Verb

lace

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

   • Lacer definition

     A person or thing that laces.

Anagrams

• cale, calé
• cela

Latin

Verb

lace

1. second-person singular present active imperative of laciō

   • Lacio definition

     i entice, ensnare

Polish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈla.t͡sɛ/
• Rhymes: -at͡sɛ
• Syllabification: la‧ce

Noun

lace f

1. dative/locative singular of laka

   • Laka definition

     man

Portuguese

Etymology 1

Unadapted borrowing from English lace (wig).

Pronunciation

Noun

lace f (plural laces)

1. (Brazil) lace wig

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -asi
• Hyphenation: la‧ce

Verb

lace

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

   • Laçar definition

     to lasso (to capture with a lasso) (1 of 3 laçar definitions)

Romanian

Adjective

lace m or f or n (masculine plural laci, feminine and neuter plural lace)

1. Obsolete form of laș.

   • Laș definition

     coward, poltroon, dastard

Declension

References

• lace in Academia Română, Micul dicționar academic, ediția a II-a, Bucharest: Univers Enciclopedic, 2010. →ISBN

Spanish

Verb

lace

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

   • Lazar definition

     Synonym of leper: a person suffering from Hansen's disease; a person suffering any contagious disease requiring similar isolation.