# mask

Pronunciation: US say "MASK" /mæsk/; UK say "MAHSK" /mɑːsk/

## Noun

1. A covering, full or partial, worn over the face for disguise or protection.
   - Simple: A covering you wear over your face to hide who you are or to keep it safe.
   - _The robber's mask slipped, revealing his face to the camera._
   - _Welders wear protective masks to shield their eyes from the bright arc._
4. Something that disguises the truth; a pretext or cover for real intentions.
   - Simple: Something that hides the truth, such as a person's real feelings or plans.
   - _Her cheerful tone was a mask for deep grief._
   - _The committee's reforms were a mask behind which old power survived._
6. The outward appearance or likeness that something presents. *(literary)*
   - Simple: The way something looks on the outside.
   - _The ruined abbey wore the mask of solemn grandeur even in decay._
   - _Twilight lent the city a softened mask, blurring its sharp edges._
8. A flat covering placed to block off an unwanted portion of a scene or image during production.
   - Simple: A flat cover used to block out a part of a picture or scene you do not want shown.
   - _The camera operator fitted a mask to crop the bright window out of the frame._
   - _The printer laid a paper mask over the plate to keep the border blank._
9. An image, usually black and white or grayscale, used to control which parts of another image are visible, hidden, or partly transparent.
   - Simple: A black, white, or gray image that shows which parts of a picture can be seen, hidden, or partly see-through.
   - _She painted a mask so only the logo remained visible over the photo._
   - _Layer masks let editors hide parts of an image without erasing them._
10. A pattern of bits used in bitwise operations to select, set, or clear specific bits; a bitmask.
   - Simple: A set pattern of ones and zeros used to pick out or change parts of a number.
   - _The function applies a mask to extract the color channel from the pixel value._
   - _Network masks determine which portion of an address identifies the subnet._
11. A grotesque carved head or face used to adorn keystones and other prominent features, or to spout water in a fountain.
   - Simple: A carved face or head used to decorate buildings or to spout water in a fountain.
   - _The architect set a grinning mask at the apex of each arch._
   - _Carved masks lined the cornice, their open mouths channeling rainwater away from the wall._

## Verb

2. To hide something or keep it from being seen or noticed, for example by covering it, blocking the view of it, or disguising its true nature.
   - Simple: To hide something, cover it up, or make it seem like something else so people do not notice it.
   - _The thick fog masked the mountains entirely._
   - _Companies sometimes mask losses behind clever accounting._
3. To cover the face, or a person's face, with a mask, for disguise or protection; to wear a mask.
   - Simple: To put on or wear a mask over your face.
   - _The surgeon masked her nose and mouth before entering the sterile room._
   - _Riot police mask their features to remain anonymous in the footage._
5. To cover or shield part of a design or surface so that paint or airbrush color does not reach it.
   - Simple: To cover part of a surface so that paint does not reach it.
   - _The artist masked the highlights before applying the darker background tones._
   - _Painters mask the windows and fixtures before spraying a room._
7. To conceal one's autism by performing learned behaviors and suppressing others in order to appear more neurotypical.
   - Simple: To hide your autism by acting in ways that seem more typical to other people.
   - _After his autism diagnosis, he realized he had been masking at work for years._
   - _Autistic people often mask to fit in, hiding the strain it causes them._
12. To take part in a masquerade, or to go about wearing a mask or other disguise.
   - Simple: To wear a mask or disguise, for example at a costume party.
   - _Nobles would mask at the Venetian carnival, mingling unrecognized among the crowds._
   - _In New Orleans, many families mask and parade together every Mardi Gras._
13. In computing, to set or clear specific bits in a value by applying a bitmask, as when disabling an interrupt.
   - Simple: In computing, to turn certain bits on or off using a pattern, for example to switch off a signal.
   - _The routine masks the parity bit before comparing the two bytes._
   - _Developers mask the unused fields so they default to zero._

## Noun

14. A dramatic entertainment in which the performers wore masks and portrayed mythical or allegorical figures. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: An old kind of play in which actors wore masks and acted out myths or symbols.

## Other meanings

- (noun) A person who is wearing a mask.
- (noun) A festive gathering of dancing and other amusements at which everyone wears a mask; a masquerade.
- (verb) To cover or hold an enemy force in check, keeping it from acting while other operations proceed.
- (noun) A screen used to conceal a battery of guns from the enemy's view.
- (noun) In a permanent fortification, a redoubt that protects the caponier crossing the ditch.
- (noun) The lower lip of a dragonfly larva, modified into a hinged, prehensile organ used to seize prey.
- (noun) The head of a fox shown face-on and cut off immediately behind the ears, as in heraldry or a hunting trophy.
- (noun) The mesh of a net or one of its openings; also, in some dialects, a net or a net bag.
- (noun) A mash; a mixture of ground malt or grain steeped in hot water, as in brewing.
- (verb) To mash; to mix malt or grain with hot water, as in brewing.
- (verb) To mash malt, soaking the crushed grain in hot water during brewing to draw out the sugary liquid called wort.
- (verb) Of tea or a similar drink, to soak in hot water until its flavor comes out.
- (verb) To make tea by letting the leaves stand in hot water in a pot.
- (verb) Of the weather, to gather and build up before a storm breaks.
- (verb) To leave someone puzzled or muddled so that they cannot think clearly.

## Origin

Medieval Latin masca, of uncertain origin, gave Italian maschera ("mask, disguise"), the source of Middle French masque, a cover that hides or protects the face, which English borrowed. One idea connects masca with a Proto-West Germanic word that is also the source of English mesh. The new word replaced Old English grīma ("mask") and pushed aside the Middle English word viser.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/mask (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).