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Added 9 October 2026

mask

/mɑːsk/ noun

In Latin: persōna, masca Wiktionary

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about mask at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A cover, or partial cover, for the face, used for disguise or protection.
a dancer's mask; a fencer's mask; a ball player's mask
That which disguises; a pretext or subterfuge.
Appearance, likeness.

verb

To cover (the face or something else), in order to conceal the identity or protect against injury; to cover with a mask or visor.
To disguise as something else.
To conceal from view or knowledge; to cover; to hide.

noun

The mesh of a net; a net; net-bag.

verb

To mash.
To mix malt with hot water to yield wort.
To be infused or steeped.

Origin

Borrowed from Middle French masque (“a covering to hide or protect the face”), from Italian maschera (“mask, disguise”), from (a byform of, see it for more) Medieval Latin masca, mascha, a borrowing of Proto-West Germanic *maskā, from which English mesh and mask (“mesh”) (below at Etymology 2) are inherited. Doublet of mascara, masque, and mesh. Replaced Old English grīma (“mask”), whence grime, and displaced non-native Middle English viser (“visor, mask”) borrowed from Old French viser, visier.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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