Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Lance \Lance\, n. [OE. lance, F. lance, fr. L. lancea; cf. Gr.
   ?. Cf. {Launch}.]
   1. A weapon of war, consisting of a long shaft or handle and
      a steel blade or head; a spear carried by horsemen, and
      often decorated with a small flag; also, a spear or
      harpoon used by whalers and fishermen.

            A braver soldier never couched lance. --Shak.

   2. A soldier armed with a lance; a lancer.

   3. (Founding) A small iron rod which suspends the core of the
      mold in casting a shell.

   4. (Mil.) An instrument which conveys the charge of a piece
      of ordnance and forces it home.

   5. (Pyrotech.) One of the small paper cases filled with
      combustible composition, which mark the outlines of a
      figure.

   {Free lance}, in the Middle Ages, and subsequently, a knight
      or roving soldier, who was free to engage for any state or
      commander that purchased his services; hence, a person who
      assails institutions or opinions on his own responsibility
      without regard to party lines or deference to authority.
      

   {Lance bucket} (Cavalry), a socket attached to a saddle or
      stirrup strap, in which to rest the but of a lance.

   {Lance corporal}, same as {Lancepesade}.

   {Lance knight}, a lansquenet. --B. Jonson.

   {Lance snake} (Zo["o]l.), the fer-de-lance.

   {Stink-fire lance} (Mil.), a kind of fuse filled with a
      composition which burns with a suffocating odor; -- used
      in the counter operations of miners.

   {To break a lance}, to engage in a tilt or contest.