Lance n.
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.
A braver soldier never couched lance. --Shak.
2. A soldier armed with a lance; a lancer.
3. Founding A small iron rod which suspends the core of the mold in casting a shell.
4. Mil. An instrument which conveys the charge of a piece of ordnance and forces it home.
5. Pyrotech. One of the small paper cases filled with combustible composition, which mark the outlines of a figure.
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.
Stink, n. A strong, offensive smell; a disgusting odor; a stench.
Fire stink. See under Fire.
Stink-fire lance. See under Lance.
Stink rat Zool., the musk turtle. [Local, U.S.]
Stink shad Zool., the gizzard shad. [Local, U.S.]
Stink trap, a stench trap. See under Stench.
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