Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A visor or mask.
- n. A disguise.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A vizard-mask; a vizor.
- n. One who wears a vizard-mask.
- n. An obsolete form of vizor.
Wiktionary
- n. archaic A mask worn to disguise or protect the face.
- n. A pretense
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. Archaic A mask; a visor.
Etymologies
- An alteration of visor by confusion of the ending. (Wiktionary)
- Alteration of obsolete vizar, from Middle English viser; see visor. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“A vizard is a contrivance for concealment, whether in silk and pasteboard or in an inflexible visage -- whether in a woman who wants to disguise her features, or in a man who wants to hide his heart -- whether in a masquerader or an assassin.”
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine - Volume 55, No. 343, May 1844
“I marvel to see how men can be cajoled and call the vizard virtue.”
“He cursed his advisers, and resumed his grotesque vizard, but, it is said, without ever being able to regain the careless and successful levity which the consciousness of the disguise had formerly bestowed.”
“It is not easy to trace how he became possessed of his black vizard, which was anciently made in the resemblance of the face of a cat; but it seems that the mask was essential to the performance of the character, as will appear from the following theatrical anecdote: —”
“Some critics, whose good-will towards a favourite performer was stronger than their judgment, took occasion to remonstrate with the successful actor on the subject of the grotesque vizard.”
“I defy the Old Enemy to unmask me when I choose to keep my vizard on.”
““I am afraid, sir,” said the young lady, and her smile was scarce concealed by her vizard, “I shall have little use for such careful preparation.””
“Her head was covered with a montero cap, and, as was frequently the custom at the period, she wore on her face a kind of black silk vizard, which effectually concealed her features.”
“It would seem she had sustained importunity on the subject, for when she saw the Doctor, she put her hand to her face, as if she was afraid he would insist on pulling off the vizard.”
““Mask” and “Mascarade,” for persona, larva or vizard, also derive, I have noticed, from an Arabic word — Maskharah.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘vizard’.
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Gene Wolfe
Please contribute your favorite words from any of Gene Wolfe’s books to this prize-winning list.
In case you come across words in this list which are too commonplace to fit in, please ...gallipot, roost, badelaire, oblesque, execration, dhole, amschaspand, arctother, chalcedony, penitence, asimi, autarch and 839 more...
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Russian Doll Words
A Russian Doll word is a word that, when you remove the first and last letters, is either the empty string, or a Russian Doll word. These are all of the 6 or more letter Russian Doll words found in...
taramea, tawings, tchicks, timider, tirades, tirings, towings, trailed, trailer, trained, trainee, trainer and 2373 more...
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phrontistery-v
from phrontistery.info
vaccary, vaccimulgence, vaccine, vacillate, vadelect, vade-mecum, vadimony, vadose, vafrous, vagient, vagile, vagility and 396 more...
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billy shakespeare's guide to good living
hurlyburly, nave, direful, whence, sooth, dwindle, tempest-tost, withal, selfsame, wrack, unfix, recompense and 142 more...
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There's a word for that?
temerity, tacit, froward, faineant, caterwaul, menagerie, ennui, sine qua non, lissom, multifarious, laconic, katzenjammer and 240 more...
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Archaic
Because they just don't make 'em like they used to.
comeling, circuition, assentment, advisement, accompts, apertness, larum, soothfastness, deperdition, marish, covin, tinct and 166 more...
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Misdirector's Cut
Hey...
—> —> —> —> —> —> —> —> —> —> —> —> —> —> —> LOOK OVER THERE! —> —> —>
...sneaky, legerdemain, flimflam, unwittingly, clandestine, hornswoggle, sleveen, subversion, espionage, incognito, subreption, gank and 147 more...
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Art and Artistry
More or less.
kitsch, sprezzatura, pastiche, willowy, haque, aplomb, insouciant, weft, froufrou, frippery, festoon, moustachioed and 8 more...
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Yes
albescent, coruscate, calescent, crepuscular, autochthonous, belletristic, cahot, sastruga, alembic, halcyon, palimpsest, odalisque and 21 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for vizard.
whichbe Disguise. May 11, 2008