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.
Milton.
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.]
© Webster 1913
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.
Shak.
2.
To disguise; to cover; to hide.
Masking the business from the common eye.
Shak.
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.
© Webster 1913
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.
© Webster 1913
Mask (?), n.
1.
A person wearing a mask; a masker.
The mask that has the arm of the Indian queen.
G. W. Cable.
2. (Sporting)
The head or face of a fox.
Death mask, a cast of the face of a dead person.
© Webster 1913