sconce
(noun) a decorative wall bracket for holding candles or other sources of light
sconce
(noun) a candle or flaming torch secured in a sconce
sconce
(noun) a small fort or earthwork defending a ford, pass, or castle gate
sconce
(noun) a shelter or screen providing protection from enemy fire or from the weather
Source: WordNet® 3.1
sconce (plural sconces)
A fixture for a light.
A head or a skull.
A poll tax; a mulct or fine.
A piece of armor for the head; headpiece; helmet.
sconce (third-person singular simple present sconces, present participle sconcing, simple past and past participle sconced)
(obsolete) to impose a fine, a forfeit, or a mulct.
sconce (plural sconces)
A type of small fort or other fortification, especially as built to defend a pass or ford.
(obsolete) A hut for protection and shelter; a stall.
The circular tube, with a brim, in a candlestick, into which the candle is inserted.
(architecture) A squinch.
A fragment of a floe of ice.
A fixed seat or shelf.
sconce (third-person singular simple present sconces, present participle sconcing, simple past and past participle sconced)
(obsolete) to shut within a sconce; to imprison.
Source: Wiktionary
Sconce, n. Etym: [D. schans, OD. schantse, perhaps from OF. esconse a hiding place, akin to esconser to hide, L. absconsus, p. p. of abscondere. See Abscond, and cf. Ensconce, Sconce a candlestick.]
1. A fortification, or work for defense; a fort. No sconce or fortress of his raising was ever known either to have been forced, or yielded up, or quitted. Milton.
2. A hut for protection and shelter; a stall. One that . . . must raise a sconce by the highway and sell switches. Beau. & Fl.
3. A piece of armor for the head; headpiece; helmet. I must get a sconce for my head. Shak.
4. Fig.: The head; the skull; also, brains; sense; discretion. [Colloq.] To knock him about the sconce with a dirty shovel. Shak.
5. A poll tax; a mulct or fine. Johnson.
6. Etym: [OF. esconse a dark lantern, properly, a hiding place. See Etymol. above.]
Definition: A protection for a light; a lantern or cased support for a candle; hence, a fixed hanging or projecting candlestick. Tapers put into lanterns or sconces of several-colored, oiled paper, that the wind might not annoy them. Evelyn. Golden sconces hang not on the walls. Dryden.
7. Hence, the circular tube, with a brim, in a candlestick, into which the candle is inserted.
8. (Arch.)
Definition: A squinch.
9. A fragment of a floe of ice. Kane.
10. Etym: [Perhaps a different word.]
Definition: A fixed seat or shelf. [Prov. Eng.]
Sconce, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Sconced; p. pr. & vb. n. Sconcing.]
1. To shut up in a sconce; to imprison; to insconce. [Obs.] Immure him, sconce him, barricade him in 't. Marston.
2. To mulct; to fine. [Obs.] Milton.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
23 November 2024
(adjective) concerned primarily with theories or hypotheses rather than practical considerations; “theoretical science”
Decaffeinated coffee is not caffeine-free. Studies from the National Institute of Health (US) have shown that virtually all decaf coffee types contain caffeine. A 236-ml (8-oz) cup of decaf coffee contains up to 7 mg of caffeine, whereas a regular cup provided 70-140 mg.
