sconce
Meanings
noun
- A fixture for a light, which holds it and provides a screen against wind or against a naked flame or lightbulb.
- A candlestick (holder for a candle, especially a circular tube, with a brim, into which a candle is inserted), either with a handle for carrying, or with a bracket for attaching to a wall.
noun
- A head or a skull.
- A poll tax; a mulct or fine.
- An act of sconcing; very similar to a fine at Cambridge University, though a sconce is the act of issuing a penalty rather than the penalty itself.
verb
- To impose a fine, a forfeit, or a mulct.
- During a meal or as part of a drinking game, to announce some (usually outrageous) deed such that anyone who has done it must drink; similar to I have never; commonly associated with crewdates; very similar to fining at Cambridge University.
noun
- A type of small fort or other fortification, especially as built to defend a pass or ford.
- A hut for protection and shelter; a stall.
- A squinch.
- A fragment of a floe of ice.
- A fixed seat or shelf.
verb
- To shut within a sconce; to imprison.
Pronunciation
Word forms
Etymology
From Middle English sconce, sconse (“candlestick or lantern (with screen)”), from Old French esconse (“lantern”), from Latin absconsus (“hidden”), perfect passive participle of abscondō (“hide”). Cognate with abscond.
Synonyms
Related words
Derived words
Translations
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