lace

Webster's Dictionary (1913)

Origin: OE. las, OF. laz, F. lacs, dim. lacet, fr. L. laqueus noose, snare; prob. akin to lacere to entice. Cf. Delight, Elicit, Lasso, Latchet.

1. That which binds or holds, especially by being interwoven; a string, cord, or band, usually one passing through eyelet or other holes, and used in drawing and holding together parts of a garment, of a shoe, of a machine belt, etc.

His hat hung at his back down by a lace.— Geoffrey Chaucer

For striving more, the more in laces strong Himself he tied.— Edmund Spenser

2. A snare or gin, especially one made of interwoven cords; a net. obsolete Edward Fairfax

Vulcanus had caught thee [Venus] in his lace.— Geoffrey Chaucer

3. A fabric of fine threads of linen, silk, cotton, etc., often ornamented with figures; a delicate tissue of thread, much worn as an ornament of dress.

Our English dames are much given to the wearing of costly laces.— Francis, Baron Verulam Bacon

4. Spirits added to coffee or some other beverage. Old Slang Joseph Addison

Alençon lace, a kind of point lace, entirely of needlework, first made at Alençon in France, in the 17th century. It is very durable and of great beauty and cost. — Bone lace, Brussels lace, etc. See under Bone, Brussels, etc. — Gold lace, or Silver lace, lace having warp threads of silk, or silk and cotton, and a weft of silk threads covered with gold (or silver), or with gilt. — Lace leather, thin, oil-tanned leather suitable for cutting into lacings for machine belts. — Lace lizard Zoology, a large, aquatic, Australian lizard (Hydrosaurus giganteus), allied to the monitors. — Lace paper, paper with an openwork design in imitation of lace. — Lace piece Shipbuilding, the main piece of timber which supports the beak or head projecting beyond the stem of a ship. — Lace pillow, and Pillow lace. See under Pillow.

1. To fasten with a lace; to draw together with a lace passed through eyelet holes; to unite with a lace or laces, or, figuratively. with anything resembling laces. William Shakespeare

When Jenny's stays are newly laced.— Matthew Prior

2. To adorn with narrow strips or braids of some decorative material; as, cloth laced with silver. William Shakespeare

3. To beat; to lash; to make stripes on. colloquial

I'll lace your coat for ye.— Sir Roger L'Estrange

4. To add something to (a food or beverage) so as to impart flavor, pungency, or some special quality; as, to lace a punch with alcohol; to lace the Kool-Aid with LSD. Old Slang

5. To twine or draw as a lace; to interlace; to intertwine.

The Gond... picked up a trail of the Karela, the vine that bears the bitter wild gourd, and laced it to and fro across the temple door.— Kipling.

To be fastened with a lace, or laces; as, these boots lace.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54 · with additions: +PJC, 1913 supplement

Free On-line Dictionary of Computing

Language for Assembling Classes in Eiffel. Specifies how to assemble an Eiffel system : in which directories to find the clusters, which class to use as the root, permits class renaming to avoid name clashes. "Eiffel: The Language", Bertrand Meyer, P-H 1992.