visard

English

Alternative forms

• vizard

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈvɪzə(ɹ)d/
• Rhymes: -ɪzə(ɹ)d

Verb

visard (third-person singular simple present visards, present participle visarding, simple past and past participle visarded)

1. To mask.

Noun

visard (plural visards)

1. A mask.
   • c. 1595–1596 (date written), W. Shakespere [i.e., William Shakespeare], A Pleasant Conceited Comedie Called, Loues Labors Lost. […] (First Quarto), London: […] W[illiam] W[hite] for Cut[h]bert Burby, published 1598, →OCLC; republished as Shakspere’s Loves Labours Lost (Shakspere-Quarto Facsimiles; no. 5), London: W[illiam] Griggs, […], [1880], →OCLC, [Act V, scene ii], signature H3, recto:

     Nor to the motion of a Schoole-boyes tongue:
     Nor neuer come in vizard to my friend, […]

2. An oval mask of black velvet, worn by travelling women in the 16th century to protect their skin from sunburn.

Related terms

• vizard, vizzard

References

• “visard”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.