Lance (lăns), n. [OE.
lance, F. lance, fr. L. lancea; cf. Gr.
lo`gchh. Cf. Launch.] 1. A
weapon of war, consisting of a long shaft or handle and a steel blade
or head; a spear carried by horsemen, and often decorated with a
small flag; also, a spear or harpoon used by whalers and
fishermen.
A braver soldier never couched
lance.
Shak.
2. A soldier armed with a lance; a
lancer.
3. (Founding) A small iron rod which
suspends the core of the mold in casting a shell.
4. (Mil.) An instrument which conveys
the charge of a piece of ordnance and forces it home.
5. (Pyrotech.) One of the small paper
cases filled with combustible composition, which mark the outlines of
a figure.
Free lance, in the Middle Ages, and
subsequently, a knight or roving soldier, who was free to engage for
any state or commander that purchased his services; hence, a person
who assails institutions or opinions on his own responsibility
without regard to party lines or deference to authority. --
Lance bucket (Cavalry), a socket
attached to a saddle or stirrup strap, in which to rest the but of a
lance. -- Lance corporal, same as
Lancepesade. -- Lance knight, a
lansquenet. B. Jonson. -- Lance snake
(Zoöl.), the fer-de-lance. -- Stink-fire
lance (Mil.), a kind of fuse filled with a
composition which burns with a suffocating odor; -- used in the
counter operations of miners. -- To break a
lance, to engage in a tilt or contest.
Lance, v. t. [imp. & p.
p. Lanced (?); p. pr. & vb. n.
Lancing (?).] 1. To pierce with a lance,
or with any similar weapon.
Seized the due victim, and with fury lanced
Her back.
Dryden.
2. To open with a lancet; to pierce; as, to
lance a vein or an abscess.
3. To throw in the manner of a lance. See
Lanch.