Mask

Mask (?), n. [F. masque, LL. masca, mascha, mascus; cf. Sp. & Pg. mÁscara, It. maschera; all fr. Ar. maskharat buffoon, fool, pleasantry, anything ridiculous or mirthful, fr. sakhira to ridicule, to laugh at. Cf. Masque, Masquerade.] 1. A cover, or partial cover, for the face, used for disguise or protection; as, a dancer's mask; a fencer's mask; a ball player's mask.

2. That which disguises; a pretext or subterfuge.

3. A festive entertainment of dancing or other diversions, where all wear masks; a masquerade; hence, a revel; a frolic; a delusive show. Bacon.

This thought might lead me through the world's vain mask.

4. A dramatic performance, formerly in vogue, in which the actors wore masks and represented mythical or allegorical characters.

5. (Arch.) A grotesque head or face, used to adorn keystones and other prominent parts, to spout water in fountains, and the like; -- called also mascaron.

6. (Fort.) (a) In a permanent fortification, a redoubt which protects the caponiere. (b) A screen for a battery.

7. (Zoöl.) The lower lip of the larva of a dragon fly, modified so as to form a prehensile organ.

Mask house, a house for masquerades. [Obs.]

Mask, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Masked (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Masking.] 1. To cover, as the face, by way of concealment or defense against injury; to conceal with a mask or visor.

They must all be masked and vizarded.

2. To disguise; to cover; to hide.

Masking the business from the common eye.

3. (Mil.) (a) To conceal; also, to intervene in the line of. (b) To cover or keep in check; as, to mask a body of troops or a fortress by a superior force, while some hostile evolution is being carried out.

Mask, v. i. 1. To take part as a masker in a masquerade. Cavendish.

2. To wear a mask; to be disguised in any way. Shak.

Mask (?), n. 1. A person wearing a mask; a masker.

The mask that has the arm of the Indian queen.

2. (Sporting) The head or face of a fox.

Death mask, a cast of the face of a dead person.