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.
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   2. A soldier armed with a lance; a lancer.
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   3. (Founding) A small iron rod which suspends the core of the
      mold in casting a shell.
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   4. (Mil.) An instrument which conveys the charge of a piece
      of ordnance and forces it home.
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   5. (Pyrotech.) One of the small paper cases filled with
      combustible composition, which mark the outlines of a
      figure.
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   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 (Zool.), 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.
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	Lance \Lance\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Lanced; p. pr. & vb. n.
   Lancing.]
   1. To pierce with a lance, or with any similar weapon.
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            Seized the due victim, and with fury lanced
            Her back.                             --Dryden.
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   2. To open with a lancet; to pierce; as, to lance a vein or
      an abscess.
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   3. To throw in the manner of a lance. See Lanch.
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	lance
     n 1: a long pointed rod used as a weapon [syn: spear, shaft]
     2: an implement with a shaft and barbed point used for catching
        fish [syn: spear, gig, fizgig, fishgig]
     3: a surgical knife with a pointed double-edged blade; used for
        punctures and small incisions [syn: lancet]
     v 1: move quickly, as if by cutting one's way; "Planes lanced
          towards the shore"
     2: pierce with a lance, as in a knights' fight
     3: open by piercing with a lancet; "lance a boil"

	

	119 Moby Thesaurus words for "lance":
   amputate, assegai, auger, ax, bayonet, bisect, bite, bore, bowl,
   broach, butcher, carve, cast, catapult, chop, chuck, chunk, cleave,
   countersink, cut, cut away, cut in two, cut off, dagger, dart,
   dash, dichotomize, dirk, dissever, drill, empierce, excise, fire,
   fissure, fix, fling, flip, fork, gash, gore, gouge, gouge out,
   hack, halve, heave, hew, hole, honeycomb, hurl, hurtle, impale,
   incise, javelin, jerk, jigsaw, knife, lancet, launch, let fly, lob,
   needle, open, pare, pass, peg, pelt, penetrate, perforate, pierce,
   pike, pink, pitch, pitchfork, plunge in, poniard, prick, prune,
   punch, puncture, put, put the shot, ream, ream out, rend, riddle,
   rive, run through, saber, saw, scissor, serve, sever, shy, skewer,
   slash, slice, sling, slit, snap, snip, spear, spike, spit, split,
   stab, stick, stiletto, sunder, sword, tap, tear, throw, tilt, toss,
   transfix, transpierce, trepan, trephine, whittle

	

	LANCE
     LAN Controller for Ethernet (LAN)

	

	LANCE
     
        Local Area Network Controller for Ethernet.
     
        The alternative name for the Am7990 integrated circuit used
        in a Filtabyte Ethernet controller card.
     
        (1995-02-15)