# mask



## elroy

In Arabic, there are two different words for "mask": قناع (for disguise) and كمامة (for protection).

Does any other language have this distinction?


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## Yendred

In French, there is no distinction : _masque_
To be more specific, we would complement it:
_masque de carnaval _(for disguise)
_masque de protection/chirurgical/... _(for protection)


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## Penyafort

In Catalan, two words can be used: *màscara *and *careta*. The latter is seen as more general and sometimes less formal, but both may be used for both contexts. As in French, adding "de carnestoltes" or "quirúrgica" complements it when needed.

This said, the one more generalized recently is _màscara_, and specially the diminutive form, _*mascareta*_, either for the sake of specification or as a calque from the Spanish _mascarilla_.


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## Olaszinhok

In Italian: *maschera*, the diminutive form is *mascherina. *There isn't always a clear difference in meaning between the two words, but the former is more used in some contexts, such as:* Maschera di carnevale *(carnival mask) and the latter in others: *mascherina chirurgica *(surgical mask) or the one we need to wear because of the coronavirus pandemic. *Portare/indossare la mascherina - *to put on/wear a mask
In French _masque _is masculine, unlike the other Romance languages.


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## Yendred

Olaszinhok said:


> In French _masque _is masculine unlike the other Romance languages



Interesting indeed, but in Walloon (Romance language spoken in southern Belgium), _masse_ is masculine too. As French and Walloon are _langues d'oil, _I guess they both were influenced by Germanic in this case (although in German, _Maske_ is feminine too).


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## Olaszinhok

Yendred said:


> Interesting indeed, but in Walloon (Romance language spoken in southern Belgium), _masse_ is masculine too


Yes, I meant the main Romance languages...


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## Yendred

Olaszinhok said:


> Yes, I meant the main Romance languages...



Yes, I admit I am nit-picking


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## Welsh_Sion

*Welsh: 

masg *(masc.) - a covering of the face, or part of the face in order to disguise or protect the wearer.
*mwgwd *(masc.) - a mask which covers the whole face as a 'false face' or that which covers the eyes or the head only.

I challenge anyone who knows no Welsh to pronounce the following variant of the second: *mwhwgwd*. (!)


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## Yendred

Welsh_Sion said:


> I challenge anyone who knows no Welsh to pronounce the following variant of the second: *mwhwgwd*



Having a mask on your face should make it easier to pronounce


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## amikama

No distinction in Modern Hebrew, both are *מסכה*.

(Biblical Hebrew מסכה has a different meaning, unrelated to masks.)


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## apmoy70

In MoGr it's *«μάσκα»* [ˈmas.ka] (fem.) for both < Lat. masca.
In Classical Gr. it was *«προσωπεῖον» prŏsōpeî̯ŏn* and it was the mask worn by the ancient tragedic/comedic actor < Classical neut. noun *«πρόσωπον» prósōpŏn*


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## jazyk

Yendred said:


> In French, there is no distinction : _masque_
> To be more specific, we would complement it:
> _masque de carnaval _(for disguise)
> _masque de protection/chirurgical/... _(for protection)


Same thing in Portuguese. 
Máscara de carnaval
Máscara cirúrgica


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## Red Arrow

Yendred said:


> Interesting indeed, but in Walloon (Romance language spoken in southern Belgium), _masse_ is masculine too. As French and Walloon are _langues d'oil, _I guess they both were influenced by Germanic in this case (although in German, _Maske_ is feminine too).


The Germanic languages got "mask(e)(r)" from French, not the other way around. In Dutch, the word is neuter.


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## Yendred

Red Arrow said:


> The Germanic languages got "mask(e)(r)" from French, not the other way around.



All come from Latin, through Italian _maschera_, but I meant the gender of words might have been influenced by Germanic.


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## ThomasK

Very interesting to hear about this distinction!


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## Ghabi

Different in *Cantonese*:

min6geoi6 面具 "face-tool" for disguise
hau2zaau3 口罩 "mouth-cover" for protection
maa1s (from English "mask"), i.e. "facial mask" for girls


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## momai

German has a way to make a distinction it has Schutzmaske and Mundschutz but it seems Maske alone does also the job. Germans might want to correct me if I am wrong.


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## ThomasK

We do have "*mondneuskapje*' as well: mouth-nose-hood... In general _kapjes _cover the head like a hood (_Roodkapje, Little Red Riding Hood_), but the word is related with "cape" of course. So here they only cover mouth and nose, parts of the face (and I hate them, but that is a personal note)...


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## Encolpius

There are two different words in Hungarian

álarc [ál (fake) - arc (face), i.e: fakeface] - mostly for disguise
maszk  - mostly for protection


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## nimak

Yendred said:


> In French, there is no distinction : _masque_
> To be more specific, we would complement it:
> _masque de carnaval _(for disguise)
> _masque de protection/chirurgical/... _(for protection)



In *Macedonian* too:

*маска* (máska) f.

To be more specific:
*карневалска маска* (karneválska máska)
*заштитна маска* (záštitna máska)


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## Ghabi

Encolpius said:


> álarc [ál (fake) - arc (face), i.e: fakeface]


This is interesting. In ancient Chinese they did use the word "fake-face", but the word has become obsolete in modern Chinese. However, it was borrowed into Japanese and is still used in Japanese (kamen 仮面).


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## Encolpius

Yes, it would be wonderful to find out if the word "fake-face" exists in more languages.


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## ThomasK

Well, there are Janus heads in the world. Does that help?


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## Encolpius

ThomasK, I do not understand you.


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## Awwal12

In Russian it's маска (máska), in all the meanings.

There is also a historical word личина (lichína), from лицо (litsó) "face", also without any finer distinctions which could have existed at the time of its active usage (for example, masks of skomorokhs and protective masks of Old Russian helmets both are described by the same word).


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## ThomasK

Encolpius said:


> ThomasK, I do not understand you.


Well, I would say that Janus heads are double/two-faced (_Janus bifrons,_ it is called, I have just discovered), so only one can be the true face, the other one is the false face. But of course strictly speaking the Janus head is not one (false, fake) face...

@Awwal12: thanks, interesting. But then: was the mask an essential part of their performance. Mediëval jokers with us did not wear one, as far as I know, but their role might have been similar...


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## Encolpius

I have though the thread opener was looking for words, I meant the literal translation of "fake-face".


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## Awwal12

ThomasK said:


> But then: was the mask an essential part of their performance.


It, obviously, depended on what kind of performances were performed by a particular troupe (skomorokhs were extremely diverse in their activities, but some forms of specialization must have existed). Still, masks are frequently mentioned in that context.


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## ThomasK

@Encolpius: mine was just an association, just thought there might have some link...

@Awwal12: OK, but my association was with a jester (thought _joker _and _jester _referred to the same kind of person), so I was mistaken. Sorry.


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## nimak

nimak said:


> In *Macedonian* too:
> 
> *маска* (máska) f.
> 
> To be more specific:
> *карневалска маска* (karneválska máska)
> *заштитна маска* (záštitna máska)



I forgot to mention that the face mask for healthy skin in Macedonian is called *маска* (máska) f. too, or *маска за лице* (máska za líce) lit. _"mask for face"._

How is it in other languages?


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