lanyard

Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word lanyard. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word lanyard, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say lanyard in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word lanyard you have here. The definition of the word lanyard will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition oflanyard, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.

English

WOTD – 18 January 2021

Alternative forms

Etymology

A whistle on a lanyard (sense 2) issued to a soldier of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force during World War II.[n 1]
Officer Cadet F. Welch of the Royal Artillery (UK) wearing a ceremonial lanyard (sense 2) on his left shoulder.[n 2] In the 19th century, an artillery soldier would use a lanyard to hold a key for inserting, adjusting, and removing the fuzes of artillery shells.
A Wikimania 2016 participant with her conference pass and name tag on a lanyard (sense 2) around her neck.
A four-color lanyard (sense 3) with a helical pattern.
A United States Army soldier pulling the lanyard (sense 4) of an M777 howitzer artillery weapon to fire it.

From late Middle English lainer, lainere, lanyer (“strap or thong used to fasten armour”)[1] (with the ending modified in the 17th century under the influence of yard),[2] from Old French laniere, lasniere (“thong, lash”) (see modern French lanière (“lanyard, strap”)).

The English word is cognate with Old High German nestila (“band, headband; strap”) (modern German Nestel (“lace; strap; string”)), Old Norse nesta (“brace; fastener, strap”).

Pronunciation

Noun

lanyard (plural lanyards)

  1. (nautical) A short rope used for fastening rigging, as a handle, etc.
  3. (by extension) A cord worn around the neck, shoulder, or wrist which is attached to a small object to be carried such as an identity card or security pass, key, knife, or whistle.
    • 1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, “The Voyage”, in Treasure Island, London; Paris: Cassell & Company, published 14 November 1883, →OCLC, part II (The Sea Cook), pages 79–80:
      Aboard ship he carried his crutch by a lanyard round his neck, to have both hands as free as possible. [...] [H]e would hand himself from one place to another, now using the crutch, now trailing it alongside by the lanyard, as quickly as another man could walk.
  5. A craft activity done by intricately braiding thin colored plastic lines to make patterns, or the product of such a craft.
    • 2006 07, Melissa J. Morgan, Natalie's Secret, ABDO, →ISBN, page 48:
      It's lanyard. It's a camp tradition. You'll have about a million lanyard key chains by the time the summer is over.
    • 2008, Natalie Angier, The Canon, page 58:
      A few lousy days at Camp Minnehaha spent extracting oar splinters from your palms and taking group lanyard lessons under the full noonday sun.
  7. (by extension, military) A cord with a hook which is secured to an artillery piece, and pulled to fire the weapon.

Alternative forms

Translations

Notes

  1. ^ From the collection of the Auckland War Memorial Museum in Auckland, New Zealand.
  2. ^ From the collection of the Imperial War Museum, UK.

References

  1. ^ “lainer(e, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
  2. ^ “lanyard, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Further reading

Wikious
Boobota
Sagapedia