lance
part of speech
noun (a lance, lances); verb (lance, lances, lanced, lancing)
meaning for a pupil
1) A lance is a long spear with a pointed tip, carried by knights on horseback in battles and jousts. tree →
2) (verb, medicine) To lance a boil or abscess is for a doctor to cut it open with a sharp tool so the pus can come out. tree →
3) Lance is also a boy's name. tree →
sense in the lessons
In history lessons about knights and the Middle Ages, two knights charged at each other with lances in a joust. In health, doctors lance boils with clean tools; you should not try it yourself. In stories, a knight's lance is a symbol of bravery. Common phrases: «couch a lance» (hold it ready), «break a lance», «lance a boil», «lance corporal» (a soldier's rank).
examples
- The knight lowered his lance and charged. tree →
- The lance broke against the shield in the joust. tree →
- The doctor lanced the boil on his neck. tree →
- Knights practised with lances at a target. tree →
- A lance is much longer than a sword. tree →
- His uncle is a lance corporal in the army. tree →
- Lance is the new boy in our class. (a name) tree →
note
Plural: lances. A «lancet» is a small, sharp medical tool. Do not confuse «lance» with «launch» (send off). «Lance corporal» is the lowest rank of corporal in the British army.
In the corpora
- At tournaments knights jousted, charging at each other on horseback with blunted lances in front of cheering crowds.
- As widely reported, Lance Armstrong was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles in 2012 for doping and admitted it in 2013.
- And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with swords and lances, till the blood gushed out upon them.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «lance» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.