Etymology

From from maschera 'mask, disguise' from , mascha, mascus 'mask, nightmare, ghost', of uncertain origin. Replaced grīma "mask".

, mascha, mascus may represent the merger of two or more words: one related to mascurer 'to blacken, cover the face' (cf. mascarar, mascarar), a conflation of a source represented by mæscre 'a mesh; a spot', masc 'net, netting', māsca 'mesh, ties', all from from from the practice of wearing mesh netting over the face as a mask to filter air, keeping soot and dust particles from entering the lungs (cf surgical mask, gas mask, etc.), and a stem *maska, mask- 'black' believed to be of Pre-Indo-European origin giving rise to words meaning 'witch, wizard, sorcerer' (cf Old masco 'witch', masca 'witch', masque 'brothel-keeper, witch'); and another perhaps from Arabic مسخرة (maskhara(t)) “buffoon, fool, pleasantry, anything ridiculous” < سخرة (sakhira) “to ridicule, to laugh at”.

• Derived from the -r- form: Italian , Spanish and Portuguese máscara, Dutch , English masquerade.
• Derived from the form lacking -r-: German and Swedish .

Noun

1. 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

2. That which disguises; a pretext or subterfuge.
3. A festive entertainment of dancing or other diversions, where all wear masks; a masquerade; hence, a revel; a frolic; a delusive show - Francis Bacon
   • John Milton:

     This thought might lead me through the world's vain mask.

4. A dramatic performance, formerly in vogue, in which the actors wore masks and represented mythical or allegorical characters.
5. A grotesque head or face, used to adorn keystones and other prominent parts, to spout water in fountains, and the like; -- called also mascaron.
6. In a permanent fortification, a redoubt which protects the caponiere.
7. A screen for a battery
8. The lower lip of the larva of a dragon fly, modified so as to form a prehensile organ.
9. (Puebloan anthropology) The ceremonial objects used in Puebloan kachina cults that resemble Euro-American masks. (The term is objected as an appropriate translation by Puebloan peoples as it emphasizes imitation but ignores power and representational intent.)
10. A pattern of bits used in bitwise operations; bitmask.
11. A two-color (black and white) bitmap generated from an image, used to create transparency in the image.

Verb

1. To cover, as the face, by way of concealment or defense against injury; to conceal with a mask or visor.
   • Shakespeare, Merry Wives of Windsor, IV,vi:

     They must all be masked and vizarded

2. To disguise; to cover; to hide.
   • Shakespeare, Macbeth, III-i:

     Masking the business from the common eye

3. To conceal; also, to intervene in the line of.
4. To cover or keep in check.

   to mask a body of troops or a fortess by a superior force, while some hostile evolution is being carried out

5. To take part as a masker in a masquerade - Cavendish.
6. To wear a mask; to be disguised in any way - Shakespeare.

Etymology 1

From . Cognate with English , Danish and Finnish .

Etymology 2

From < . Details: see above, mask.

Noun

1. mask; a cover designed to disguise or protect the face