sconce

Meanings

Plural: sconces

Noun

a shelter or screen providing protection from enemy fire or from the weather
a small fort or earthwork defending a ford, pass, or castle gate
a candle or flaming torch secured in a sconce
a decorative wall bracket for holding candles or other sources of light
A fixture for a light, which holds it and provides a screen against wind or against a naked flame or lightbulb.
A fixture for a light, which holds it and provides a screen against wind or against a naked flame or lightbulb.
A candlestick (holder for a candle, especially a circular tube, with a brim, into which a candle is inserted), either with a handle for carrying, or with a bracket for attaching to a wall.
A head or a skull.
A poll tax; a mulct or fine.
An act of sconcing; very similar to a fine at Cambridge University, though a sconce is the act of issuing a penalty rather than the penalty itself.
A type of small fort or other fortification, especially as built to defend a pass or ford.
A hut for protection and shelter; a stall.
A squinch.
A fragment of a floe of ice.
A fixed seat or shelf.

Verb

To impose a fine, a forfeit, or a mulct.
During a meal or as part of a drinking game, to announce some (usually outrageous) deed such that anyone who has done it must drink; similar to I have never; commonly associated with crewdates; very similar to fining at Cambridge University.
to shut within a sconce; to imprison.

Origin / Etymology

From Middle English sconce, sconse (“candlestick or lantern (with screen)”), from Old French esconse (“lantern”), from Latin absconsus (“hidden”), perfect passive participle of abscondō (“hide”). Cognate with abscond.

Synonyms

sconcing

Scrabble Score: 10

sconce is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL word
sconce is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
sconce is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 13

sconce is a valid Words With Friends word