lanyard

English

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, shields, clothing, etc.”)  (with the ending modified in the 17th century under the influence of yard), from Old French laniere, lasniere (“thong, lash”) (modern French lanière (“lanyard, strap; (by extension) a strip”)), from lasne (“strap, thong; noose; snare”), a metathetic alteration of nasle, nasliere (“strap, thong”), influenced by lane (“wool”), las (“lace of a boot, shoe, etc.”), or laz (“snare, trap; pitfall”); nasliere is derived from Old Dutch *nastila (“headband; tie”), from Proto-West Germanic *nastilu (“strap; thread; tie”), from Proto-Indo-European *ned- (“to tie together”). 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

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈlæn.jəd/, /ˈlænˌjɑːd/

• Audio (RP)

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈlæn.jɚd/, /ˈlænˌjɑɹd/
• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˈɫænjəd/
• Hyphenation: lan‧yard

Noun

lanyard (plural lanyards)

1. (nautical) A short rope used for fastening rigging, as a handle, etc.
   • 1896 November – 1897 May, Rudyard Kipling, chapter III, in “Captains Courageous”, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday & Company, published 1897, →OCLC, pages 101–102:

     "Take ahold here, an' keep ringin' steady," said Dan, passing Harvey the lanyard of a bell that hung just behind the windlass.

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

• laniard

Related terms

• lanier

Translations

Notes

References

Further reading

• lanyard on Wikipedia.Wikipedia