mask

B2 Topic:Theater & Performance

US /mask/ UK /mɑːsk/ See IPA manual

Freq #2765

Meanings

1

noun
A covering for the face, used for protection or to hide who you are.

The nurse wore a mask to protect against infection.
2

verb
To hide a feeling, fact, or quality.

She smiled to mask her disappointment.
3

noun
Something used to hide the truth; a false appearance.

His cheerful jokes were just a mask for his sadness.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

2 verb · to hide a feeling, fact, or... cloak disguise conceal

More vizard

Word family

Forms maskedmaskingmasksunmask

Derived forms anti-maskantimaskantimaskerbemaskdeathmaskdemaskdismaskeyemaskfacemaskfilemaskgasmaskhalf-mask

Related forms mascaramasquerade

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

oxygen mask
a face covering connected to a supply of oxygen for breathing

Noun + noun

Simplified etymology

Mask, recorded in English from the mid-16th century, is related through Italian maschera to mascara and masquerade. The family ultimately goes back to an Arabic word meaning “buffoon.”

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French masque (“a covering to hide or protect the face”), from Italian maschera (“mask, disguise”), from (a byform of, see it for more) Medieval Latin masca, mascha, a borrowing of Proto-West Germanic *maskā, from which English mesh and mask (“mesh”) (below at Etymology 2) are inherited. Doublet of masque and mesh. Replaced Old English grīma (“mask”), whence grime, and displaced non-native Middle English viser (“visor, mask”) borrowed from Old French viser, visier.

masque Middle French maschera Italian masca la-med *maskā Proto-West Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Theater & Performance General Vocabulary

External links

# mask

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /mask/
**IPA (UK):** /mɑːsk/
**Frequency rank:** 2765

## Meanings
1. A covering for the face, used for protection or to hide who you are.
2. To hide a feeling, fact, or quality.
3. Something used to hide the truth; a false appearance.

## Examples
- The nurse wore a mask to protect against infection.
- She smiled to mask her disappointment.
- His cheerful jokes were just a mask for his sadness.

## Synonyms
- vizard

## Derived Forms
- anti-mask
- antimask
- antimasker
- bemask
- deathmask
- demask
- dismask
- eyemask
- facemask
- filemask
- gasmask
- half-mask

## Related Forms
- mascara
- masquerade

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: masque
- Root: maschera
- Root: masca
- Root: *maskā

## Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French masque (“a covering to hide or protect the face”), from Italian maschera (“mask, disguise”), from (a byform of, see it for more) Medieval Latin masca, mascha, a borrowing of Proto-West Germanic *maskā, from which English mesh and mask (“mesh”) (below at Etymology 2) are inherited. Doublet of masque and mesh. Replaced Old English grīma (“mask”), whence grime, and displaced non-native Middle English viser (“visor, mask”) borrowed from Old French viser, visier.

## AI Etymology
Mask was borrowed from Middle French masque (“a covering to hide or protect the face”), from Italian maschera (“mask, disguise”), from (a byform of, see it for more) Medieval Latin masca, mascha, a borrowing of Proto-West Germanic *maskā, from which English mesh and mask (“mesh”) (below at Etymology 2) are inherited. Doublet of masque and mesh. Replaced Old English grīma (“mask”), whence grime, and displaced non-native Middle English viser (“visor, mask”) borrowed from Old French viser, visier. In present-day English its meanings include a covering for the face, used for protection or to hide who you are, to hide a feeling, fact, or quality, and something used to hide the truth; a false appearance. The historical chain runs through masque (Middle French), maschera (Italian), masca (la-med), and *maskā (Proto-West Germanic).

## Topics
- Theater & Performance
- General Vocabulary

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