lanyard

or lan·iard

[lan-yerd]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR lanyard ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

Nautical. a short rope or wire rove through deadeyes to hold and tauten standing rigging.

any of various small cords or ropes for securing or suspending something, as a whistle about the neck or a knife from one's belt.

a cord with a small hook at one end, used in firing certain kinds of cannon.

a colored, single-strand cord worn around the left shoulder by a member of a military unit awarded a foreign decoration.

a white cord worn around the right shoulder, as by a military police officer, and secured to the butt of a pistol.

Origin of lanyard

1475–85; blend of late Middle English lanyer (< Middle French laniere, Old French lasniere thong, equivalent to lasne noose + -iere, feminine of -ier -ier²) and yard¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for lanyard

rope, line, string, cord, gasket, gimp

Examples from the Web for lanyard

Contemporary Examples of lanyard

An identification tag dangling from a lanyard around his neck was tucked discreetly into a breast pocket.
Amnesty International’s Pussy Riot Concert: Balaclavas and Punk Rockers
Robin Givhan
August 13, 2012

Historical Examples of lanyard

He was learning to make a lanyard knot with a bit of an old rope.
The Nigger Of The "Narcissus"
Joseph Conrad
Made of brass, gun metal finish, ring at end to attach to lanyard.
Boy Scouts Handbook
Boy Scouts of America
The other end of the slider was twisted into a loop for hooking to the gunner's lanyard.
Artillery Through the Ages
Albert Manucy
No. 3, the man with the tube-pouch, got out his lanyard and hooked it to a primer.
Artillery Through the Ages
Albert Manucy
Now slip the bight of the lanyard over your neck, and follow me.
The Voyage of the Aurora
Harry Collingwood

British Dictionary definitions for lanyard

lanyard

laniard

noun

a cord worn around the neck, shoulder, etc, to hold something such as a whistle or knife

a similar but merely decorative cord worn as part of a military uniform

a cord with an attached hook used in firing certain types of cannon

nautical a line rove through deadeyes for extending or tightening standing rigging

Word Origin for lanyard

C15 lanyer, from French lanière, from lasne strap, probably of Germanic origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for lanyard

also laniard, alternative spelling (influenced by nautical yard (2) "long beam used to support a sail") of Middle English lainer, "thong for fastening parts of armor or clothing" (late 14c.), from Old French laniere "thong, lash," from lasniere, from lasne "strap, thong," apparently altered (by metathesis and influence of Old French las "lace") from nasliere, from Frankish *nastila or some other Germanic source, from Proto-Germanic *nastila- (cf. Old High German, Old Saxon nestila "lace, strap, band," German nestel "string, lace, strap"), from PIE root *ned- "to knot."