Lace

How to spell lace

4 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce lace

What does lace mean?

1. nounA cord or string threaded through eyelets to fasten a shoe, boot, or garment.
2. nounA fine, openwork fabric made of looped or twisted threads in decorative patterns.
3. verbTo fasten or thread something with a cord, or to add a small amount of a substance to food or drink.

Lace in a sentence

• noun

  One lace on his trainer had frayed and snapped.

• noun

  The bride wore a veil of antique lace from her grandmother.

• verb

  He stopped to lace his boots before the long hike.

• noun

  She tied the broken lace in a tight knot.

• noun

  Delicate lace trimmed the collar and cuffs of the blouse.

• verb

  She chose to lace the coffee with a splash of whisky.

Where does lace come from?

Language of origin: French

Lace travelled into English from the Old French word 'las' or 'laz', which meant a cord, string, or snare, and that French word came in turn from the Latin 'laqueus', meaning a noose or a trap for catching animals. The earliest English sense, dating from the 1200s, was simply a cord used to draw something tight, which is exactly why we still 'lace' a shoe by pulling a cord through holes. By the 1500s the word had also come to mean the delicate openwork fabric of looped and twisted threads, since that decorative material was built up from fine cords much like braid. The same Latin root sits behind the words 'lasso' and 'latchet', both tied to the idea of binding or catching. The slang sense of 'lacing' a drink with spirits grew from the older notion of threading one thing through another.

How the word is built

• lace (from Latin laqueus: a noose or snare)