| 释义 |
▪ I. pounce, n.1|paʊns|
Also 5–8 pownce, 6 pounse, Sc. punse, punss, 9 dial. punce.
[Etymology obscure: no corresponding n. is known in French or other Romanic language. The various groups of senses are parallel to those of pounce v.1, the evidence for vb. and n. beginning early in the 15th c., in one group the n., in two the vb. appearing first. The connexion of the various groups of senses is far from clear; there may have been more than one origin. But the senses correspond to a considerable extent with those of punch n.1, and still more with those of puncheon n.1, which is found much earlier than either pounce or punch, and corresponds in form and sense to F. poinçon (also † ponchon), It. † ponzione, punzione:—L. or Com. Romanic punctio, -ōnem, f. L. pungĕre, punct- to prick, pierce, puncta point. Pounce and punch seem to have been in some way shortened from ponson, ponchon, puncheon, q.v.
Senses 3, 4, 5 are in puncheon from 14th c.; senses 4, 5, 7 are also in punch from 16th c.; but senses 1, 2, 6, 8 do not occur in either of these words.]
I.
†1. A prick, sting. In quot. fig. Obs.
1413Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton) i. xxii. (1859) 24, I haue ben with the whan thou knewe it nought, Enserchyng loo! thy pounce of conscyence.
2. The claw or talon of a bird of prey; rarely of other animals; in Falconry formerly restricted to the innermost of the three anterior toes or claws of a hawk, sometimes applied to any of the anterior as distinguished from the posterior claw or talon.
1486Bk. St. Albans a xiij, Fyrst the grete Clees behynde that strenyth the bake of the hande ye shall call hom Talons... The Clees with in the fote ye shall call of right her Pownces. 1513Douglas æneis xiii. v. 118 Quhar Iovis byg fowle, the ern, With hir strang tallonys and hir punsys stern Lychtyng, had claucht the lytyll hynd calf ȝyng. 1575Turberv. Falconrie 27 Festus, he is of opinion, that the Falcon is so named, bycause of hir pownces and crooked Talons, which do bend like vnto a syth, or sickle. 1596Spenser F.Q. v. iv. 42 And from her griping pounce the greedy prey doth rive. 1664Power Exp. Philos. i. 28 She [an insect] has two blackish claws, or pounces (at the ends of her feet,) which she can open and shut at her pleasure. 1700Blackmore Job 175 Her crooked pounces bear The bloody banquet swiftly thro' the air. 1791Cowper Iliad viii. 283 In his pounces strong A fawn he bore. 1863Thornbury True as Steel I. 189 Had hawk ever a fuller eye, or larger pounces, or slenderer tail?
b. nonce-use. The paw of a lion.
a1670Hacket Abp. Williams i. (1692) 71 A Lion may be judg'd by these two Claws of his Pounce.
c. fig. in reference to persons. (Cf. clutch n.1)
1641Milton Reform. i. (1851) 13 They must mew their feathers, and their pounces, and make but curt-tail'd Bishops of them. a1734North Exam. ii. iv. §84 (1740) 272 The King and the Duke (which latter they thought already in their Pounces). 1775Burke Sp. Conc. Amer. Wks. III. 56 Winged ministers of vengeance, who carry your bolts in their pounces. 1782J. Elphinston tr. Martial i. vi. 27 Say, whether gives thy wonder more to rove, The power of Caesar, or the pounce of Jove?
†3. Sc. A dagger; = puncheon1 2. Obs.
1545Aberdeen Regr. XIX. (Jam.), Ane knapiscaw, and tua hand suerd, ane punss, ane sellet, ane denss aix [Danish ax], ane pair of pantars, ane coip burd.
†4. An engraver's burin. Obs.
1598Florio, Borino, a small sharpe pounce that grauers vse.
II.
†5. A die, stamp, or punch, for impressing marks on metal, etc. Obs.
1556Withals Dict. (1566) 31/2 A pounse or printing iyorne to marke with, rudicula. Ibid. 35 b/2 A pounce to printe the money with, tudicula.
†6. A hole pinked, punched, or cut out, for the purpose of ornamenting a garment; = pink n.3
1563Homilies ii. Excess of Apparel (1859) 313 While one spendeth his patrimony upon pounces and cuts, another bestoweth more on a dancing shirt than might suffice to buy him honest and comely apparel for his whole body. a1591H. Smith Wks. (1867) II. 61 If the proud would leave their superfluity in apparel,..their vanity in cuts, guards and pounces, their excess in spangling,..and needless bravery.
III. 7. A forcible poke with hand, elbow, foot, or stick; a thrust, push, nudge; = punch n. Now dial.; in Sc. esp. a poke with the naked foot in bed.
1755T. Amory Mem. (1766) II. 91 note, Giving the director a pounce, and asking him what he meant by such behavior? c1821J. W. Masters Dick & Sal lxxvi. (E.D.D.), I thoft I'd fedge him one more pounce, So heav'd my stick an' meant it. 1899Crockett Kit Kennedy xii. 87 The command was punctuated by sundry admonitory ‘punces’ in the ribs. Mod. Sc. He gave his bed-fellow a punce with his foot to waken him.
†8. A padded sheath for the spur of a fighting cock. Obs.
1688R. Holme Armoury ii. xi. 252/2 Hotts or Hutts, are the Pounces or round Balls of Leather stuffed and clapped or tied on the sharp end of the Spurs, to keep Cocks that they shall not hurt one another in sparing, or breathing themselves.
IV.
†9. ? Pounded meat. Obs. rare.
1612tr. Benvenuto's Passenger i. ii. 165 Of the flesh thereof [of the Tortoise] there is made pounces for sicke men [orig. se ne fa pesti alli infermi] to refresh..them.
V.
10. attrib. (from 1): pounce joint, a knuckle in a hawk's toe.
1615Latham Falconry (1633) 135 If it fall out that the straine do happen on any of the tallons or pownce ioynts, whereby you do perceiue that place onely to swell.
▪ II. pounce, n.2|paʊns|
[ad. F. ponce pumice, also pounce = Sp. pómez, Pg. pomes, It. pomice:—L. pūmex, -icem, pumice n.]
1. A fine powder, as pulverized sandarac or cuttle-shell, used to prevent the ink from spreading in writing over an erasure or on unsized paper, and also to prepare the surface of parchment to receive writing.
[1390Earl Derby's Exp. (Camden) 19 Pro xviij pellibus pergameni..iiij s., et pro pounci, j d.] 1706Phillips, Pounce, a sort of Powder strew'd upon Paper to bear Ink, or to soak up a Blot. 1714Lond. Gaz. No. 5216/3 All Persons may be supply'd with..fine Pounce. 1727W. Mather Yng. Man's Comp. 52 Use Pounce to Paper, if the Ink go thro'. 1753Chambers Cycl. Supp., Pounce, among writing-masters, a powder made of gum-sandarac, which being rubbed on the paper, makes it less apt to imbibe the ink; it is therefore used in this manner by those who are curious in the art of the pen, by which means the writing appears more precise, sharp, and determinate. 1839P. Hawker Diary (1893) II. 162 A cuttlefish, which I never saw before, (common as the shell is for pounce). 1858Mayne Expos. Lex., Pounce, common name for the powder of the concrete resin of the Juniper communis, or of pumice stone. 1861Hulme tr. Moquin-Tandon ii. iii. ii. 83 The bone of the Cuttle-fish..is used..as a pounce to prevent ink from spreading after erasures. 1866Treas. Bot. 198/2 Callitris quadrivalvis... The resin of this tree is..gum sandarach; while powdered it forms pounce. 1881Blackmore Christowell xlvii, Mr. Latimer..had carefully erased with penknife and with pounce..the genuine name.
2. A fine powder, as powdered sandarac, pipeclay, or charcoal, dusted over a perforated pattern sheet to transfer the design to the object beneath; stamping-powder.
1727–41Chambers Cycl., Pounce, among artificers, a little heap of charcoal-dust, inclosed in some open stuff; to be passed over holes pricked in a work, in order to mark the lines or designs thereof on a paper placed underneath. 1851Woodward Mollusca 76 It [the cuttle-shell] is now only used as ‘pounce’, or in casting counterfeits. 1853Ure Dict. Arts II. 454 To obviate the difficulty and expense of drawing the pattern on every piece of a service..a ‘pounce’ is used. 1873E. Spon Workshop Receipts Ser. i. 429/2 This powder (paper powder) makes excellent pounce.
3. attrib. and Comb., as pounce-bag, pounce-box, pounce pattern, pounce pot, pounce powder; pounce-paper, see quot. 1858; pounce-tree, Callitris quadrivalvis.
1799Hull Advertiser 29 June 2/2 Slates, inkstands, pounce-boxes, sealing-wax. 1820Lamb Elia Ser. i. South-sea Ho., The pounce-boxes of our days have gone retrograde. 1839Ure Dict. Arts 952 Their [the moulds'] surfaces should be brushed evenly over with pounce powder (sandarach) beaten up with white of egg. 1855W. Williams Transparency Painting on Linen 20 Pounce patterns..are formed of outlines perforated through the paper on which they are drawn, by a succession of small needle holes. Ibid. 27 The pounce-bag is made by tying a little fine, dry, black powder, in two or three squares of the muslin..used for painting on... The perforated pattern being placed on the cloth, the pounce-bag is lightly tapped on the surface, so as to force the powder..through all the perforations of the pattern. 1858Simmonds Dict. Trade, Pounce-paper, a transparent paper for drawing, or tracing, &c. made in Carlsruhe; it is free from oily, greasy or other objectionable substance, and will therefore bear sketching and painting on. 1866W. Davidge Footlight Flashes xv. 146 A pack of cards, a piece of rosin, a flute case, a pounce, or sand box, and a newspaper printed in the German language. 1884Miller Plant-n., Pounce-tree, Callitris quadrivalvis. 1939Newsweek 13 Mar. 37/3 And (using a ‘pouncebag’ filled with dry pigment) [the painter] rules the outline through the perforations onto the preliminary coat of mortar. 1957Mankowitz & Haggar Conc. Encycl. Eng. Pott. & Porc. 181/2 Pounce pot, a small box with a perforated lid for perfumes; a powder box or jar; a pierced-topped jar for sprinkling powdered pumice used to dry ink (before the popularity of blotting paper). 1971Country Life 29 July 263/1 The top [of an inkstand] is inset with an ormolu tray flanked by inkpot and pounce pot.
▪ III. pounce, n.3
[f. pounce v.2]
An act of pouncing, as of a bird or beast on its prey; a sudden swoop or spring; quick or eager movement to an object: esp. in the phrase to make a pounce. on the pounce, ready to pounce, watching for an opportunity to spring upon or take one by surprise.
1841Lane Arab. Nts. I. ii. 127 The Cherkh made several unsuccessful pounces. 1860Gen. P. Thompson Audi Alt. III. cxxii. 69 Choosing which of them you would make a pounce upon with your collected force. 1887E. Harrington in Ho. Comm. (Pall Mall G. 13 Sept. 8/1), You, Mr. Speaker, have been on the pounce for me since I rose, and I claim my right to speak. 1902Westm. Gaz. 12 June 3/1 His enemies were on the pounce to belittle his efforts and misinterpret his motives.
▪ IV. pounce, v.1|paʊns|
Forms: (5 ponse (?), pownece), 5–6 pownse, 5–7 pounse, pownce, 5– pounce (9 dial. punse, punce).
[Goes in form and sense with pounce n.1 Senses 1, 4, 5, 6, are found also in punch v. (sense 4 in Wyclif), sense 2 is found in pounceon, pounson v. (two examples in one place in Chaucer, where the MSS. are divided between pounson and pounce), a. F. poinçonner, OF. ponchonner, = It. punzonare. On account of the rarity of pounson in Eng., pounce and punch can hardly have been shortened from it; but they may have been thus formed from the Fr. vb., or in some senses from pounce n.1 Of the Romanic langs., Spanish and Portuguese alone have a corresp. vb., Sp. punzar ‘to punch, prick, sting’, Pg. and OSp. punçar ‘to pricke, to pounce, to foine’ (Minsheu 1599); but the derivation of a 14th c. word from these langs. seems out of the question. Cf. pounson v., punch v.1]
I.
1. trans. To emboss (plate or other metalwork) as a decoration, by raising the surface with blows struck on the under side, as in répoussé work. See also pounced ppl. a.1 1. Obs. exc. Hist.
[1424in E.E. Wills (1882) 57 Þe keuered pece of syluer þe which was mayster Robertis Stoneham, and is pounces whith a crane.] 1430in Rymer Fœdera (1710) X. 594 Bassyns of Gold..Pounsed with grete Boseletts. 1465in Heath Grocers' Comp. (1869) 424 A stondynge Cuppe, cover of sylver and alle gilte, pownsed. 1530Palsgr. 663/2, I pownce a cuppe, or a pece, as goldesmythes do. 1552Huloet, Pounce. Loke in graue, and Imboce. 1570Levins Manip. 220/24 To Pounce, insculpere. 1577–87Holinshed Chron. III. 934/2 The marchionesse of Dorset gaue three gilt bolles pounced with a couer. 1849Rock Ch. of Fathers II. vii. 341 As the writing, pounced on the outside of the silver-gilt rim, tells.
b. transf. (in pass.) Of the surface of an animal body.
c. fig. To adorn, decorate.
1576Fleming Panopl. Epist. 167 Rhetoricall ornamentes, which beautifie and pounce the style of an Orator. 1705J. Petiver in Phil. Trans. XXV. 1952 Its Back is variously pounc't with Sand-like Warts.
2. To ornament (cloth, etc.) by cutting or punching eyelet-holes, figures, etc.; = pink v.1 3. Also pounce out. Obs. exc. Hist.
c1386Chaucer Pars. T. ⁋344 (Hengwrt) Ther is also the costlewe furrynge in hire gownes, so muche pownsonynge of chisel to maken holes, so muche daggynge of sheris. [Ellesm. powsonynge, Harl. 1758 pounsounn-, Petw. pownsen-, Egerton 2726 pounsonyng; c 1425 Harl. 7334, Selden pounsyng, Lansd. pounseinge.] Ibid. ⁋347 If..they wolde yeue swiche pownsonyd & dagged clothynge to the pouere folk. [Ellesm. powsoned, Harl. 1758, Petw. pounsonede; c 1425 Harl. 7334, Selden, Lansd. pounsed.] 1531Elyot Gov. ii. iii, To se a iuge or sergeant at the lawe in a short cote, garded and pounced after the galyarde facion. a1548Hall Chron., Hen. VIII 55 b, The syluer [cloth] was pounsed in letters, so that veluet might be sene through. 1591Sylvester Du Bartas i. iii. 1143 With sumptuous silks (pinked and pounc'd, and puft). 1840W. H. Ainsworth Tower of Lond. i, Over this he wore a mantle of cloth of silver, pounced with his cipher, lined with blue velvet.
b. To cut the edges of (a garment) into points and scallops; to jag. Chiefly said in pass., of the cloth or garment. Obs. exc. Hist.
1542Udall Erasm. Apoph. 313 Traillyng after hym the skyrtes of his goune all pounced in cuttes and tagges. 1548Elyot Dict., Concido.., to cutte in littell pieces, to hacke smalle, to iagge or pounce, to beate, to kyll or flea. 1843Lytton Last Bar. ii. i, A supertunic of crimson sarcenet, slashed and pounced with a profusion of fringes.
†c. pass. Of leaves, etc.: To be laciniated with jags, points, and indentations on the edges. Obs.
1578Lyte Dodoens iv. lviii. 519 The seconde kinde hath broade crompled leaues, al to pounced and iagged,..and set rounde about with sharpe prickles. Ibid. v. xlvii. 610 The leaues..more tenderer, and more mangled, pounsed or iagged. 1681Grew Musæum i. ii. i. 18 Every Plate [of the shell of an Armadillo] is about ½ Inch broad, curiously composed of small triangular or wedge-like pieces, indented one against another, and pounced or pricked all along their edges. 1705J. Petiver in Phil. Trans. XXV. 1960 Its edges are rather pounc't than notch'd.
II.
†3. To bruise with blows; esp. to bruise, stamp, pound, or beat small; to comminute or reduce to powder by blows. Obs.
1519W. Horman Vulg. 259 b, He came home with his face all to pounced [contusa]. 1577Stanyhurst Descr. Irel. in Holinshed Chron. (1808) VI. 8 It cutteth flegme, it..healeth the strangurie, it pounceth the stone, it expelleth gravell. 1630J. Taylor (Water P.) Cast over Water Wks. ii. 158 I'l squeeze, and crush, and vnto poulder pounce thee. 1662J. Chandler Van Helmont's Oriat. 106 Flowers and leaves being pounced, a ferment being snatched to them, they begin to boyl and be hot, whence ariseth a Gas.
4. To poke or thrust forcibly, esp. with the foot or a stick. Now chiefly Sc. (pounce punce).
1577Hanmer Anc. Eccl. Hist. (1663) 139 He made for himself a lofty seat and high Throne,..after the manner of the Princes of this world, smiting the thigh with the hand, pouncing the footstool with his feet. 1581J. Bell Haddon's Answ. Osor. 64 And in this place our glorious Peacocke pounceth out his feathers. 1824Mactaggart Gallovid. Encycl., Punse, to push and strike, as with a stick; to punse a brock in his lair, to push, or ratherly striking push, a badger in his den. 1863B. Brierley Bundle o' Fents (Lancash.) 25 Pepper Wild wantut us t' fasten him [the dummy] up theer [i.e. at the door] an' then punse th' dur an' see what Owd Johnny 'ud say when he coom eawt. Mod. Sc. I cannot have the child in bed with me, he punces so.
†b. (See quot.) Obs.
1708J. C. Compl. Collier (1843) 11 The way of Boreing. We have two Labourers at a time, at the handle of the bore Rod, and they chop, or pounce with their Hands up and down to cut the Stone or Mineral, going round, which of course grinds either of them small.
5. To beat, thump, thrash (a person).
1827Capt. Hardman Battle of Waterloo 18 The French were pouncing us. 1847Porter Big Bear, etc. 146 He did then and there..most wantonly and brutishly ‘pounced’ [sic] his old wife. 1897Rhoscomyl White Rose Arno 121 Thou got punced just the same.
III. †6. To prick, puncture, pierce, stab. Obs.
c1440Promp. Parv. 411/2 Pownson (K., P., poyntyn), puncto. 1570Foxe A. & M. 125/2 Cut, pricke, and pounce hym, no longer forbeare. 1577B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. iii. (1586) 131 b, But if so be the blood be yet aboue the hoofe in the legges, you shall dissolue it with good rubbing,..with scarifiyng, or Pouncing the skinne. 1601Holland Pliny II. 235 There is a juice pressed forth both of the fruit,..and also of the root, which somtime they do pounce and prick for to let out the liquor. 1621Fletcher Pilgrim iv. ii, Out with your knives,..pounce him lightly And, as he roars and rages, let's go deeper. a1640Day Peregr. Schol. (1881) 70 Some of his profession had..so prickt and pownct there windie reputacons with there penns.
†7. In primitive cultures; to prick the skin in designs as an adornment; to tattoo. Cf. pink v.1 4. Obs.
1555Eden Decades 359 Theyr princes..vse to pounse and rase theyr skynnes with prety knottes. 1613Purchas Pilgrimage (1614) 768 The women with an Iron pownce and race their bodies, legs, thighes, and armes, in curious knots and portraitures of fowles, fishes, beasts. 1626Bacon Sylva §739 Barbarous People that go Naked, do not onely Paint Themselves, but they Pownce and raze their Skin, that the Painting may not be taken forth. 1650Bulwer Anthropomet. Pref., Painted with lists, here, naked arms behold Branded and pounc'd with colours manifold.
Hence ˈpouncing ppl. a.1, piercing.
1798Landor Gebir vii. 55 The wave, parted by the pouncing beak, Swells up the sides and closes far astern.
▪ V. pounce, v.2|paʊns|
[f. pounce n.1 2.]
1. trans. To seize, as a bird of prey, with the pounces or talons; to swoop down upon and lay hold of suddenly. to pounce away: to pounce upon and carry off.
1686F. Spence tr. Varillas' Ho. Medicis 201 Whoever pounc d the state of Terra-firma. 1726Pope Odyss. xix. 631 Each fav'rite fowl he pounc'd with deathful sway. 1789G. White Selborne (1853) 350 They cannot pounce the quarry on the ground. 1800–24Campbell Dead Eagle 76 Lately when he pounced the speckled snake. 1821Clare Vill. Minstr. I. 121 And like a hawk from covert sprung It pounc'd my peace away.
2. intr. To make a pounce; to swoop down as a bird of prey; to spring suddenly upon or at in the way of attack.
1744P. Whitehead Gymnasiad iii. 76 So, when a Falcon skims the airy way, Stoops from the clouds, and pounces on his prey. 1774Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) VI. 74 The gannet instantly pounces down from above upon the board, and is killed or maimed. a1885H. H. Jackson Two Sundays i, The kitten pounced..At stealthy spiders that tried to pass.
3. intr. to pounce on or pounce upon: transf. to fall upon suddenly and seize; to seize upon suddenly.
1812H. & J. Smith Rej. Addr. i, Some years ago he pounced with deadly glee on The Opera House. 1835W. Irving Tour Prairies 103 A silent, watchful, crafty people, who..may be around us..ready to pounce upon all stragglers. 1876Saunders Lion in Path x, Might not his bales be pounced upon and carried away by thievish wreckers? 1885Manch. Exam. 13 Jan. 5/2 The Germans have chosen to pounce down all at once upon parts of the S. African coast.
b. fig. To ‘lay hold of’ eagerly, suddenly, or promptly.
1840Hood Up Rhine 45 He eagerly pounced upon me as one with whom he could pour out his bottled-up grievances. 1844Stanley Arnold I. iii. 142 The rapidity with which he would pounce on any mistake of grammar or construction. 1884Sat. Rev. 12 July 40/1 Lord Hartington pounced upon Sir W. Barttelot's unlucky phrase.
4. intr. To spring or jump unexpectedly; to ‘come down’ (in some understood way).
1836T. Hook G. Gurney II. vi. 306 If I had not, by some misfortune or other, pounced into the old General's room by mistake for his daughter's. 1840Dickens Old C. Shop l, Mind too that I don't pounce in upon you at unseasonable hours again. 1890Pall Mall G. 15 July 3/1 At a quarter past seven Mr. Smith ‘pounced’, and the Closure was carried by 182 to 118. 1892Daily News 12 Nov. 2/2 While walking rapidly along Queen's-gate the defendant suddenly ‘pounced’ in front of them.
Hence ˈpouncing vbl. n. and ppl. a.2
1841Lane Arab. Nts. I. ii. 126 These fine birds, in pouncing, frequently impale themselves on its sharp horns. 1869M. E. Braddon Lady's Mile i, The pouncing proprietor..has hard work to collect his rents. 1883H. P. Spofford in Harper's Mag. Mar. 583/1 Her face bright with a hovering triumph on the point of pouncing.
▪ VI. pounce, v.3|paʊns|
Also 6 pounse, 7 pownce.
[ad. F. poncer (c 1277 in Littré) to polish or erase with pumice (:—L. pūmicāre to polish with pumice, f. pūmex, -icem pumice), also † to paint or powder (the cheeks), to pounce (a design for embroidery), f. ponce pounce n.2]
1. trans. To smooth down by rubbing with pumice or pounce; spec. to smooth or finish (the surface of a hat) with pumice, sand-paper, emery-powder, or the like.
1580Hollyband Treas Fr. Tong, Poncer, to pounce [cf. Cotgr., Poncer, to smooth, polish, rub ouer, with a Pumeise stone]. 1651G. Daniel Letter Poems (Grosart) II. 206 Though the Table, Brother, (halfe pounc't to our hands) may save some Paines. 1868J. Thomson Hat-making 48 Pouncing is a term for rubbing down the outside of a hat with a piece of pumice stone, sand paper, or emery paper. 1884Knight Dict. Mech. Suppl. 716/1 To sand-paper—or, as it is called in the trade, to pounce—hat-bodies when in the conical form, or, when the hat has been blocked, to pounce the brim.
2. To trace or transfer (a design) on or to a surface by dusting a perforated pattern with pounce; to dust (the perforations in a pricked pattern) with pounce; also, to imprint or copy a design upon (a surface) by means of pounce.
1594Plat Jewell-ho. iii. 39 Some..prick the pattern full of holes & so pounce it vpon another paper. 1683Capt. Wylde Let. to Pepys in P.'s Life (1841) I. 422 Their patterns being drawn on paper, they prick them, and pounce them with charcoal. 1799G. Smith Laboratory I. 271 Draw or pounce what you design to emboss. 1855W. Williams Transparency Painting on Linen 28 If an accident..occur, it is only necessary to dust the powder off the muslin, to re-adjust the pattern, and again pounce in the design. 1859Gullick & Timbs Paint. 147 Pricking through the lines,..and pouncing the holes with red or black dust. 1960B. Snook Eng. Hist. Embroidery 51 The design was either pricked and pounced and drawn with a clear black line, or it was printed from an engraving direct upon the linen.
†3.
a. To sprinkle with powder; to powder, dust; esp. to powder (the face) with a cosmetic.
b. To sprinkle with specks, spots, or the like. Obs.
1593Nashe Christ's T. 71 b, How you [Ladies] torture poore olde Time with spunging, pynning and pounsing. 1610W. Folkingham Art of Survey ii. vi. 58 It shal not be amisse to pounce the ground with a Stainsh-Graine of burnt Allome and a double quantity of pounded Rossin both finely searced and lightly pummiced, thereby to preserue the Paper or Parchment from thorowe piercing with the Colours. 1624Darcie Birth of Heresies xii. 51 Decorations, the better to pownce and set forth the great Babilonish whore. 1648Herrick Hesper., Julia's Petticoat, Thy azure robe..pounc't with stars, it shew'd to me Like a celestiall canopie. 1685Cotton tr. Montaigne I. 593 They who paint, pounce and plaister up the ruins of women, filling up their wrinkles and deformities. |