- Free lance
- Lance Lance (l[a^]ns), 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.
[1913 Webster]
A braver soldier never couched lance. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
2. A soldier armed with a lance; a lancer. [1913 Webster]
3. (Founding) A small iron rod which suspends the core of the mold in casting a shell. [1913 Webster]
4. (Mil.) An instrument which conveys the charge of a piece of ordnance and forces it home. [1913 Webster]
5. (Pyrotech.) One of the small paper cases filled with combustible composition, which mark the outlines of a figure. [1913 Webster]
6. (Med.) A lancet. [PJC]
{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. See also {freelance}, n. and a., and {freelancer}.
{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} (Zo["o]l.), 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. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
