mask

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
mask/mɑːsk/

▶noun

• 1 a covering for all or part of the face, worn as a disguise, for protection or hygiene, or for theatrical effect.

  ■ a respirator used to filter inhaled air or to supply gas for inhalation.

  ■ a face pack.

• 2 a likeness of a person's face moulded or sculpted in clay or wax.

  ■ the face or head of an animal, especially of a fox, as a hunting trophy.

• 3 a disguise or pretence: she let her mask of respectability slip.

• 4 Photography a piece of material used to cover part of an image that is not required when exposing a print.

• 5 Electronics a patterned metal film used in the manufacture of microcircuits to allow selective modification of the underlying material.

▶verb

• 1 cover with a mask.

• 2 conceal from view; disguise: brandy did not mask the bitter taste.

• 3 cover so as to protect during a particular process, especially painting.

– derivatives
masked adjective,
masker noun.

– origin C16: from Fr. masque, from Ital. maschera, mascara, prob. from med. L. masca ‘witch, spectre’, but influenced by Arab. masḵara ‘buffoon’.