Adjacent Words

Lace definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

LACE, n. [L. laqueus.]
1. A work composed of threads interwoven into a net, and worked on a pillow with spindles or pins. Fine laces are manufactured in France, Italy and England.
2. A string; a cord.
3. A snare; a gin.
4. A plaited string with which females fasten their clothes.
Doll ne'er was called to cut her lace.
LACE, v.t.
1. To fasten with a string through eyelet holes.
When Jenny's stays are newly laced -
2. To adorn with lace; as cloth laced with silver.
3. To embellish with variegations or stripes.
Look, love, what envious streaks.
Do lace the severing clouds in yonder east.
4. To beat; to lash; [probably to make stripes on.]
I'll lace your coat for ye.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a cord that is drawn through eyelets or around hooks in order to draw together two edges (as of a shoe or garment) [syn: lace, lacing]
2: a delicate decorative fabric woven in an open web of symmetrical patterns v
1: spin,wind, or twist together; "intertwine the ribbons"; "Twine the threads into a rope"; "intertwined hearts" [syn: intertwine, twine, entwine, enlace, interlace, lace] [ant: untwine]
2: make by braiding or interlacing; "lace a tablecloth" [syn: braid, lace, plait]
3: do lacework; "The Flemish women were lacing in front of the cathedral"
4: draw through eyes or holes; "lace the shoelaces" [syn: lace, lace up]
5: add alcohol to (beverages); "the punch is spiked!" [syn: spike, lace, fortify]

Merriam Webster's

I. verb (laced; lacing) Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French lacer, from Latin laqueare to ensnare, from laqueus Date: 13th century transitive verb 1. to draw together the edges of by or as if by a lace passed through eyelets <laces her fingers behind her head> 2. to draw or pass (as a lace) through something (as eyelets) 3. to confine or compress by tightening laces of a garment 4. a. to adorn with or as if with lace <the surrounding countryside was laced with villages and hamlets — L. C. Heinemann> b. to mark with streaks of color 5. beat, lash 6. a. to add a dash of liquor to b. to add something to impart pungency, savor, or zest to <a sauce laced with garlic> <conversation laced with sarcasm> c. to adulterate with a substance <laced a guard's coffee with a sedative> intransitive verb 1. to admit of being tied or fastened with a lace 2. to make a verbal attack — usually used with into <his boss laced into him for being late> • lacer noun II. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French lace, laz, from Latin laqueus snare Date: 14th century 1. a cord or string used for drawing together two edges (as of a garment or a shoe) 2. an ornamental braid for trimming coats or uniforms 3. an openwork usually figured fabric made of thread or yarn and used for trimmings, household coverings, and entire garments • laced adjective • laceless adjective • lacelike adjective

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 a fine open fabric, esp. of cotton or silk, made by weaving thread in patterns and used esp. to trim blouses, underwear, etc. 2 a cord or leather strip passed through eyelets or hooks on opposite sides of a shoe, corsets, etc., pulled tight and fastened. 3 braid used for trimming esp. dress uniform (gold lace). --v. 1 tr. (usu. foll. by up) a fasten or tighten (a shoe, corsets, etc.) with a lace or laces. b compress the waist of (a person) with a laced corset. 2 tr. flavour or fortify (coffee, beer, etc.) with a dash of spirits. 3 tr. (usu. foll. by with) a streak (a sky etc.) with colour (cheek laced with blood). b interlace or embroider (fabric) with thread etc. 4 tr. & (foll. by into) intr. colloq. lash, beat, defeat. 5 tr. (often foll. by through) pass (a shoelace etc.) through. 6 tr. trim with lace. Phrases and idioms: lace-glass Venetian glass with lacelike designs. lace-pillow a cushion placed on the lap and providing support in lacemaking. lace-up --n. a shoe fastened with a lace. --attrib.adj. (of a shoe etc.) fastened by a lace or laces. Etymology: ME f. OF laz, las, lacier ult. f. L laqueus noose

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Lace Lace, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Laced ([=a]st); p. pr. & vb. n. Lacing.] 1. To fasten with a lace; to draw together with a lace passed through eyelet holes; to unite with a lace or laces, or, figuratively. with anything resembling laces. --Shak. When Jenny's stays are newly laced. --Prior. 2. To adorn with narrow strips or braids of some decorative material; as, cloth laced with silver. --Shak. 3. To beat; to lash; to make stripes on. [Colloq.] I'll lace your coat for ye. --L'Estrange. 4. To add spirits to (a beverage). [Old Slang]

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Lace Lace (l[=a]s), n. [OE. las, OF. laz, F. lacs, dim. lacet, fr. L. laqueus noose, snare; prob. akin to lacere to entice. Cf. Delight, Elicit, Lasso, Latchet.] 1. That which binds or holds, especially by being interwoven; a string, cord, or band, usually one passing through eyelet or other holes, and used in drawing and holding together parts of a garment, of a shoe, of a machine belt, etc. His hat hung at his back down by a lace. --Chaucer. For striving more, the more in laces strong Himself he tied. --Spenser. 2. A snare or gin, especially one made of interwoven cords; a net. [Obs.] --Fairfax. Vulcanus had caught thee [Venus] in his lace. --Chaucer. 3. A fabric of fine threads of linen, silk, cotton, etc., often ornamented with figures; a delicate tissue of thread, much worn as an ornament of dress. Our English dames are much given to the wearing of costlylaces. --Bacon. 4. Spirits added to coffee or some other beverage. [Old Slang] --Addison. Alencon lace, a kind of point lace, entirely of needlework, first made at Alencon in France, in the 17th century. It is very durable and of great beauty and cost. Bone lace, Brussels lace, etc. See under Bone, Brussels, etc. Gold lace, or Silver lace, lace having warp threads of silk, or silk and cotton, and a weft of silk threads covered with gold (or silver), or with gilt. Lace leather, thin, oil-tanned leather suitable for cutting into lacings for machine belts. Lace lizard (Zo["o]l.), a large, aquatic, Australian lizard (Hydrosaurus giganteus), allied to the monitors. Lace paper, paper with an openwork design in imitation of lace. Lace piece (Shipbuilding), the main piece of timber which supports the beak or head projecting beyond the stem of a ship. Lace pillow, & Pillow lace. See under Pillow.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Lace Lace, v. i. To be fastened with a lace, or laces; as, these boots lace.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Lace Lace, v. t. To twine or draw as a lace; to interlace; to intertwine. 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 temble door. --Kipling.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(laces, lacing, laced) 1. Lace is a very delicate cloth which is made with a lot of holes in it. It is made by twisting together very fine threads of cotton to form patterns. ...a plain white lace bedspread. 2. Laces are thin pieces of material that are put through special holes in some types of clothing, especially shoes. The laces are tied together in order to tighten the clothing. Barry was sitting on the bed, tying the laces of an old pair of running shoes. N-COUNT: usu pl 3. If you lace something such as a pair of shoes, you tighten the shoes by pulling the laces through the holes, and usually tying them together. I have a good pair of skates, but no matter how tightly I lace them, my ankles wobble. = tie VERB: V n • Lace up means the same as lace. He sat on the steps, and laced up his boots... Nancy was lacing her shoe up when the doorbell rang. PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V n P 4. To lace food or drink with a substance such as alcohol or a drug means to put a small amount of the substance into the food or drink. She laced his food with sleeping pills. VERB: V n with n

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

las (pathil, variously rendered in Ge 38:18,25; Ex 39:3; Nu 15:38; 19:15; Jud 16:9; Eze 40:3): In modern English the noun "lace" usually denotes a delicate ornamental fabric, but in the word in the sense of "that which binds" is still in perfectly good use, especially in such combinations as "shoelace" etc. It is this latter significance that is found in Ex 28:28 ("They shall bind .... with a lace of blue"); 28:37; 39:21,31, and in Sirach 6:30 the King James Version, klosma (the Revised Version (British and American) "riband").

Foolish Dictionary

Among women, lace means lesson; wherefore they combine art and thrift by lessening the waist.

Moby Thesaurus

Brussels point, Roman lace, Shetland lace, Venetian point, adulterate, arabesque, assail, assault, attack, band, bandage, basketry, basketwork, bastardize, baste, bastinado, beat, belabor, belt, bend, berate, bind, bind up, birch, brace, braid, buffet, bundle, cancellation, cane, castigate, chain, cinch, cloth, club, contaminate, cord, corrupt, cowhide, cross-hatching, crossing-out, cudgel, cut, debase, denaturalize, denature, dilute, do up, doctor, doctor up, drapery, drub, enlace, entwine, etoffe, fabric, fall on, fall upon, felt, filet lace, filigree, fillet, flagellate, flail, flog, fortify, fret, fretwork, fustigate, gird, girdle, girt, girth, give a whipping, give the stick, goods, grate, grating, grid, gridiron, grille, grillwork, hachure, hatching, horsewhip, interknit, interlace, interlacement, intertexture, intertie, intertissue, intertwine, intertwinement, intertwist, interweave, intort, knit, knout, lacery, lacework, lacing, lash, lattice, latticework, lay into, lay on, leash, light into, loom, loop, mat, material, mesh, meshes, meshwork, napery, needlepoint, net, netting, network, noose, openwork, pistol-whip, plait, pleach, plexure, plexus, point, pollute, pommel, pounce on, pounce upon, pummel, raddle, rag, rawhide, reticle, reticulation, reticule, reticulum, revile, riddle, rope, scold, scourge, screen, screening, set upon, shoelace, shoestring, sieve, silk, smite, spank, spike, splice, strap, strengthen, string, stripe, stuff, swaddle, swathe, swinge, switch, tamper with, tatting, textile, textile fabric, texture, thong, thrash, thread, thump, tie, tie up, tissu, tissue, tracery, trellis, trelliswork, trounce, truncheon, truss, twill, twine, twist, upbraid, wallop, water, water down, wattle, weave, weaving, web, webbing, webwork, weft, whale, whip, whop, wicker, wickerwork, wire, woof, wool, wrap, wrap up, wreathe