Lance Meaning
/lɑːns/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA weapon of war, consisting of a long shaft or handle and a steel blade or head; a spear carried by horsemen.
nounA wooden spear, sometimes hollow, used in jousting or tilting, designed to shatter on impact with the opposing knight’s armour.
Sentence Examples
The tongue wounds more than a lance.
Claire spun back toward Loren and Lance.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The doctor will ____ the boil with a needle to drain the pus.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The medieval knight carried a long ____ and a heavy shield while he was charging toward his opponent.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English launce, from Old French lance, from Latin lancea.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Thy brother’s blood the thirsty earth hath drunk, Broach’d with the steely point of Clifford’s lance[…]"
— c. 1591–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Third Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene iii], line 15:
"The head of the lance was commonly of the leaf form, and sometimes approached that of the lozenge; it was very seldom barbed, although this variety, together with the others, appears upon the Bayeux Tapestry."
— 1909, Charles Henry Ashdown, European Arms & Armor, page 65:
"What will you do, good greybeard? Break a lance, And run a-tilt at Death within a chair?"
— 1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Sixt”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii], line 49:
"Seiz'd the due Victim, and with Fury lanch'd Her Back"
— 1700, [John] Dryden, “Theodore and Honoria, from Boccace”, in Fables Ancient and Modern; […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, page 268:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The doctor will ____ the boil with a needle to drain the pus.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The medieval knight carried a long ____ and a heavy shield while he was charging toward his opponent.