† maskedadj.1
Obsolete. rare.
Bewildered, confused; lost.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > inattention > mental wandering > [adjective]
bemazed?c1225
madc1300
maskedc1300
marreda1375
astoniedc1386
adasedc1450
astonished1513
moping1566
bewandered1574
dizzy1579
westy1598
night-wildered1652
disconcerted1686
muzzy1723
flustered1743
bewildered1760
flurried1775
muddled1790
thought-bewildered1796
bedazzled1805
muggy1824
mused1842
moony1847
beflustered1864
bemused1880
snarled1881
bedazed1882
bemuddled1883
disoriented1957
disorientated1959
wifty1973
c1300 St. Brendan (Harl.) 118 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 223 (MED) Hi wende alond as maskede [v.r. masid] men; hi nuste whar hi were.
1639 T. Fuller Hist. Holy Warre iii. xii. 129 He doeth the benighted traveller a discourtesie..who lendeth him a lantern to take it away, leaving him more masked then he was before.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2000; most recently modified version published online June 2018).
maskedadj.2
/mɑːskt/, /maskt/, U.S. /mæskt/ I. Senses relating to disguise or concealment.
1.
a. Having the real features or character obscured or disguised. Also (occasionally): hidden from view.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > hiding, concealing from view > keeping from knowledge > [adjective]
privya1398
palliate?a1425
beguiled1561
masked1567
covert1574
retired1596
remote1601
palliated1612
unsuspected1620
lapped1637
sopited1646
veiled1651
perdua1734
ulterior1735
screened1844
marzipanned1979
1567 G. Fenton tr. M. Bandello Certaine Tragicall Disc. f. 64v This romayn louer..made his walke in Solomne maner vnder her chamber wyndowe playing of his lute with a voyce of such masquid musycke, [etc.].
1585 T. Washington tr. N. de Nicolay Nauigations Turkie iii. xviii. 105 The masked hypocrisie [Fr. masquee hypocrisie] of this olde foxe.
a1586 Sir P. Sidney Arcadia (1590) ii. xxvii. sig. Ff7v [He] was not the sharpest pearcer into masked minds.
1609 W. Shakespeare Sonnets liv. sig. D4 When sommers breath their masked buds discloses. View more context for this quotation
a1628 F. Greville Treat. Humane Learning lxxxi, in Certaine Wks. (1633) 38 Nothing new, But masked euill, which still addeth terror.
1778 D. Garrick Let. 22 Mar. (1963) III. 1219 I will then open my Heart to You, as I hope You will explain somthing very mysteriously mask'd in Yours.
1815 W. H. Ireland Scribbleomania 270 (note) Others..pursue it..with invidious sarcasms and masqued sneers.
1865 J. Ruskin Sesame & Lilies i. 32 There are masked words droning and skulking about us in Europe just now.
1904 M. Hewlett Queen's Quair i. viii. 113 None could under-read her masked words.
1931 Amer. Mercury 22 205/2 The simplicity of English in its formal aspect is..really a pseudo-simplicity or a masked complexity.
1989 Independent (BNC) 3 Oct. 20/1 Failing to see this masked sign [sc. a road sign], a family out for a drive goes on to the crossing.
b. Military. Concealed from the view of the enemy. Chiefly in masked battery (see mask v.4 2b). Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > defence > defensive work(s) > shelter or screen > [adjective] > concealed
masked1759
1759 W. H. Dilworth Life of Pope 52 Mr. Addison, to vent his spleen against Mr. Pope by the means of a masked battery.
1768 O. Goldsmith Good Natur'd Man iv. 58 You shall..burst out upon the miscreant like a masqued battery.
1783 J. O. Justamond tr. G. T. F. Raynal Philos. Hist. Europeans in Indies (new ed.) V. 462 A masked battery, intended to cover the harbour and town of Paramabiro.
1801 Asiatic Ann. Reg. 1800 Proc. E. India House 145/2 The attempt which was made to annihilate an inquiry of such importance, by the masked battery of an amendment.
1847 F. S. Edwards Campaign in New Mexico 115 A cloud of white smoke curls gracefully upwards from a hitherto masked battery to the right.
1861 Daily Dispatch (Richmond, Va.) 24 July 3/5 The federals advanced gradually among the masked batteries.
1918 Stars & Stripes 1 Mar. 3/2 An unusually large number of balloons will be concentrated as secretly as possible in masked camp in order not to betray what is about to take place.
2. Having, wearing, or provided with a mask.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > hiding, concealing from view > means of concealment > dress, garb > [adjective] > to conceal head or face
visoredc1380
in masker1519
in maska1533
muffled1566
vizarded1593
viserneda1599
masked1599
bemasked1620
larvated1623
crape-faced1815
bird-masked1876
stocking-masked1971
ski-masked1976
1599 J. Rainolds Overthrow Stage-playes 21 Such playes as bring in wooers masked, and dansing.
a1637 B. Jonson Under-woods lxx. 23 in Wks. (1640) III For, what is..masked man, if valu'd by his face, Above his fact?
1681 A. Wyndham Claustrum Regale Reseratum (ed. 3) 75 Thus entred these masqued Travellers, to enquire where they were.
1751 H. Walpole Lett. (1846) II. 397 Where there are a few good pictures, and many masked statues.
1841 W. Spalding Italy & Ital. Islands II. 371 These characters were represented by masked actors.
1889 A. C. Gunter That Frenchman! ix. 102 Louise is coming to-night to see me slap the masked fellow to the dust.
1948 Seattle Sunday Times 26 Sept. (Mag.) 3/4 The masked dancers who impersonate deities, or katchinas, in the great rain rites and rituals.
1987 Woman's Own 19–26 Dec. 30 Evans saw a masked intruder attacking his mother.
II. In various technical senses.
3. † a. Botany. Of a corolla: personate. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > part of plant > reproductive part(s) > flower or part containing reproductive organs > [adjective] > having or relating to parts > of or having petals > of corolla
rotated1727
personated1731
multiplicate1760
personate1760
ringent1760
rotate1760
corollaceous1775
wheel-shaped1775
multiplied1777
masked1785
multiplex1813
corolline1830
caryophyllaceous1835
1785 T. Martyn tr. J.-J. Rousseau Lett. Elements Bot. iv. 45 Personate or masked flowers.
1839 J. Lindley Introd. Bot. (ed. 3) i. ii. 167 If the upper and lower sides of the orifice are pressed together, as in Antirrhinum, it [sc. the corolla] is personate or masked, resembling the face of some grinning animal.
1880 A. Gray Struct. Bot. 248 A bilabiate corolla is..Personate, or masked, when the throat is closed, more or less, by a projection of the lower lip called the Palate.
b. Zoology. Having facial features or other markings suggestive of a mask.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > animal body > general parts > head and neck > [adjective] > having particular kind of face > having a mask
masked1827
1827 E. Griffith et al. Cuvier's Animal Kingdom V. 118 Masked Glutton.
1827 E. Griffith et al. Cuvier's Animal Kingdom V. 285 Masked Boar.
1859 J. G. Wood Illustr. Nat. Hist. (new ed.) I. 245 Paguma larvata,..Masked Glutton.
1896 H. O. Forbes Hand-bk. Primates I. 163 The Masked Titi. Callithrix personata.
1936 D. McCowan Animals Canad. Rockies xxx. 258 From having the eyes almost concealed in the fur the name of Masked shrew has also been given to the creature [sc. the common shrew].
1958 D. A. Bannerman & W. M. Bannerman Birds of Cyprus 76 The male masked shrike is very striking.
1992 Org. Gardening July 20/2 Japanese beetle and northern masked chafer grubs, two common lawn pests.
c. Medicine. Of a disease or condition: not presenting the usual diagnostic signs and symptoms; concealed, esp. by the presence of another disease.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > fever > [adjective] > other fevers
slowc1300
hectic1398
remitting1583
altern1594
hectical1614
hective1642
remittent1670
imputrid1684
intercurrent1684
aestuous1708
angiotenic1799
anabatic1811
masked1833
hyperpyretic1876
hyperpyrexial1896
hyperpyrexic1897
tularaemic1954
1833 J. Forbes et al. Cycl. Pract. Med. II. 235/1 Masked ague.
1843–71 T. Watson Lect. Physic (ed. 5) I. 821 Sometimes the patient is said to have lurking gout or masked gout.
1899 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. VIII. 558 The psoriasis may remain masked.
1953 R. W. Fairbrother Text-bk. Bacteriol. (ed. 7) xxxiii. 434 In some cases the guinea-pig, while becoming infective, does not give any reaction; to this condition Nicolle and his colleagues have given the term ‘masked typhus’.
1968 New Eng. Jrnl. Med. 278 698/2 Masked mosaicism (such as XY/XO) is unlikely.
1968 Brit. Jrnl. Psychiatry 114 674/2 Klein concluded that this condition constituted a ‘masked’ depression, since it responded in a specific fashion to the antidepressant drug imipramine.
d. Of a sound or other stimulus: difficult or impossible to perceive because of interference from another stimulus (see mask v.4 2f, masking n.2 2b).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > psychology > psychology of perception > object of perception > [adjective] > impeded
masked1924
1924 Physical Rev. 23 270 The frequency of the masked tone is indicated on each curve.
1965 T. S. Littler Physics Ear vii. 134 We usually determine the level at which a sound has to be maintained in order to be just audible in the presence of another. This is known as the masked threshold of the masked or maskee sound in the presence of the masking or masker sound.
1994 Jrnl. Acoustical Soc. Amer. 96 2127 The forward masker and the masked tone were always presented in the first interval.
e. Chemistry. Of an ion or molecular group: prevented from taking part in a certain reaction by being in a bound or complexed form.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > chemistry > chemical reactions or processes > [adjective] > of or relating to that which affects reaction > masked
masked1932
1932 Discovery Mar. 96/2 The first traces of the masked iron indicative of haemoglobin appear in the nuclei of certain cells.
1940 R. E. Oesper tr. F. Feigl Specific & Special Reactions iv. 49 This fact was used..to release the cationically masked sulfate groups in the green complex chromic sulfate solutions.
1992 Jrnl. Amer. Chem. Soc. 114 378/2 These water-soluble materials contain a high density of masked aldehyde functionality.
Compounds
C1.
masked ball n. a ball at which those taking part wear masks, a bal masqué; = masquerade n. 2.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > dancing > ball or dance > [noun] > masked
masque1533
masquerade1597
masked ball1763
bal masqué1768
ball-mask1770
redoubt1858
1763 G. Coleman Deuce is in Him ii. 29 He limped away, and hid his face, and wou'd not speak to me.—Upon my word, he did it very well!... He would make a figure at a masked ball.
1795 Wynne Diaries 11 Feb. (1952) xiii. 173 I went to the publick masked ball which was very pleasant.
1813 Sketches of Character (ed. 2) I. 201 She's going to give a masqued ball in February.
1873 ‘Ouida’ Pascarèl I. 151 It was the masked ball of the Carnival.
1911 H. G. Wells New Machiavelli iv. i. 388 People who unvizard to talk more easily at a masked ball.
1990 C. Francome Colin Clown's Party Bk. (BNC) 10 You can make different kinds of mask for a witch or a pirate, or more elaborate ones for a masked ball.
masked jug n. rare = mask jug n. at mask n.3 Compounds 2.
ΚΠ
1910 E. A. Downman & A. D. Gunn Eng. Pottery & Porcelain (ed. 5) i. 58 (caption) Masked Jug in Fulham Brown Stoneware of the 18th Century.
masked ROM n. Computing mask-programmed read-only memory.
ΚΠ
1974 Electronic Design 5 July 92/1 The masked roms can be soldered into the board, since their contents don't change.
1999 Electronic Engin. Times 15 Feb. 62/2 Only when the design is finally frozen do they commit to masked ROM.
C2. In the names of birds and (less commonly) animals (see sense 3b).
masked booby n. a large marine bird, Sula dactylatra (family Sulidae), of the Pacific, Indian, and west Atlantic Oceans, resembling a gannet.
ΚΠ
1913 J. H. Gurney Gannet 549 Sula dactylatra... The Masked Booby.
1953 E. R. Blake Birds Mexico 18 Blue-Faced Booby,... Also known as White Booby and Masked Booby.
1991 Traveller Spring 26/3 A white masked Booby will guiltlessly continue pecking its youngest chick to death before your eyes.
masked crab n. a burrowing crab of the family Corystidae with mask-like markings on the carapace; esp. Corystes cassivelaunus.
ΚΠ
1882 Cassell's Nat. Hist. VI. 200 The Masked Crab.
1936 F. S. Russell & C. M. Yonge Seas (ed. 2) 64 Especially adapted for a buried existence is the masked crab, Corystes.
1988 E. Wood et al. Sea Life Brit. & Ireland 134 The masked crab is able to bury itself in sand.
masked finfoot n. a large olive-brown aquatic bird, Heliopais personata (family Heliornithidae), found in east India and South-East Asia and characterized (in the male) by a black face and throat.
ΚΠ
1880 Cassell's Nat. Hist. IV. 162 The Masked Finfoot.
1993 J. MacKinnon & K. Phillipps Birds Borneo, Sumatra, Java & Bali 119 Masked Finfoot... This shy and secretive bird is generally found swimming along streams, creeks or lake edges under overhanging vegetation.
masked gannet n. now rare = masked booby n.
ΚΠ
1846 J. Gould Birds Austral. (1848) VII. Pl. 77 Sula personata..masked gannet.
1945 C. Barrett Austral. Bird Life 96 The brown gannet..and the masked gannet (S[ula] dactylatra) are tropical birds which nest on islands off the coast.
masked owl n. any of several Australasian and Indonesian barn owls having the facial disc outlined in black; esp. Tyto novaehollandiae of Australia and New Guinea.
ΚΠ
1865 J. Gould Handbk. Birds Austral. I. 64 (heading) Strix Novæ-Hollandiæ, Steph. Masked owl.
1905 G. M. Mathews Birds Austral. (1915–16) V. 379 Many declare that the Masked Owl attacks very young lambs, but this is scarcely proven.
1958 J. A. Leach Austral. Bird Bk. (ed. 9) 89 The Masked Owl..is a lovely bird, with a facial disc of most unusual colouring—purplish-white, margined with dark-brown spots.
1986 Sunday Mail Mag. (Brisbane) 15 June 9/4 The masked owl..is..the largest of the barn owls.
masked woodswallow n. an Australian songbird, Artamus personatus (family Artamidae), having plumage that is predominantly grey, with a black face and throat.
ΚΠ
1848 J. Gould Birds Austral. II. Pl. 31 Artamus personatus..Masked Wood Swallow.
1934 H. G. Lamond Aviary on Plains 112 It is the blue martin (Masked Wood-swallow).
1994 K. Simpson & N. Day Birds Austral. 360 Wide nomadic movements of the Little, Masked and White-browed Wood-swallows facilitated gene flow which in turn accounts for lack of variation.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2000; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
adj.1c1300
adj.21567