Mask, Masque, mask, n. anything disguising or concealing the face: anything that disguises: a pretence: a masquerade: a former kind of dramatic spectacle, in which actors personified mythological deities, shepherdesses, &c.: a representation or impression of a face in any material, as in marble, plaster, &c.: a fox's head.—v.t. to cover the face with a mask: to hide.—v.i. to join in a mask or masquerade: to be disguised in any way: to revel.—n. Mas′caron (archit.), a grotesque face on door-knockers, spouts, &c.—adj. Masked, wearing a mask, concealed.—ns. Masked′-ball, a ball in which the dancers wear masks; Mask′er, one who wears a mask.—Masked battery (see Battery). [Fr. masque—Sp. mascara—Ar. maskharat, a jester, man in masquerade.]
Mask, mask, v.t. (Scot.) to steep, infuse.—v.i. to be infusing. [A form of mash.]
Maslin, mas′lin, n. mixed grain, esp. rye and wheat.—Also Mash′lin, Mash′lim, Mash′lum.
Mason, mā′sn, n. one who cuts, prepares, and lays stones: a builder in stone: a member of the society of freemasons.—v.t. to build.—adjs. Mason′ic, relating to freemasonry; Mā′sonried, constructed of masonry.—n. Mā′sonry, the skill or practice of a mason: the work of a mason: the art of building in stone: freemasonry.—adj. consisting of mason-work.—n. Mas′ter-mā′son (see under Master). [O. Fr. masson (Fr. maçon)—Low L. macion-em; prob. Teut.; cf. Mid. High Ger. mezzo, a mason, whence steinmetz, a stone-mason, cog. with Old High Ger. meizan, to hew, whence Ger. meissel, a chisel.]
Masoolah-boat, ma-sōō′la-bōt, n. a high many-oared East Indian surf-boat.—Also Masu′la-boat.
Masque. See Mask.
Masquerade, mask-ėr-ād′, n. an assembly of persons wearing masks, generally at a ball: disguise.—v.i. to wear a mask: to join in a masquerade: to go in disguise.—n. Masquerad′er, a person wearing a mask: a person or thing disguised in any manner. [Fr. mascarade. See Mask.]
Mass, mas, n. a lump of matter: a quantity: a collected body: the main body: magnitude: the principal part or main body: quantity of matter in any body, weight being proportional to mass: (pl.) the lower classes of the people.—v.t. to form into a mass: to bring together in masses.—v.i. to assemble in masses.—adj. Mass′ive, bulky: weighty: not separated into parts or elements: without crystalline form, geologically homogeneous.—adv. Mass′ively.—ns. Mass′iveness, Mass′iness; Mass′-meeting, a public meeting of persons of all classes to discuss some matter of general interest.—adj. Mass′y, massive, made up of masses. [Fr. masse—L. massa—Gr. maza—massein, to squeeze together.]
Mass, mas, n. the celebration of the Lord's Supper or Eucharist in R.C. churches, also the office for the same: a musical setting of certain parts of the R.C. liturgy: a church festival or feast-day, as in Candlemas, Christmas, Martinmas, &c.—ns. Mass′-bell, or Sacring-bell, a bell rung during the celebration of mass, at the elevation of the host; Mass′-book, the R.C. missal or service-book; Mass′-priest, formerly a R.C. secular priest, as distinct from those living under a rule—later, a priest retained in chantries, &c., to say masses for the dead: a R.C. priest generally.—Mass for the dead, a funeral mass for the faithful in Christ, to hasten their release from purgatory; Conventual mass, a mass for the general community of a religious house: a mass at which special remembrance is made of pious founders and benefactors; Dry mass, or service, a rite in which there is neither consecration nor communion; High mass, a mass celebrated with music, ritual, ceremonies, and incense; Low mass, the ordinary mass celebrated without music and incense; Midnight mass, that mass which is said at midnight on Christmas-eve; Private mass, any mass where only the priest communicates, esp. in a private oratory; Solemn mass, a mass resembling a high mass, but without some of its special ceremonies; Votive mass, a special mass over and above those ordinarily said for the day, for some particular grace or purpose, and provided by some individual. [A.S. mæsse—Low L. missa—L. missus, mittĕre, to send away, from the phrase at the close of service, Ite, missa est (ecclesia), 'Go, the congregation is dismissed.']
Massa, mas′ä, n. a negro corruption of master.