What does "lance" mean?

Additional senses

1. 2.(Founding) A small iron rod which suspends the core of the mold in casting a shell.
2. 3.(Mil.) An instrument which conveys the charge of a piece of ordnance and forces it home.
3. 4.(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 (Zoöl.), 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.
4. 5.To pierce with a lance, or with any similar weapon. Seized the due victim, and with fury lanced Her back. Dryden.
5. 6.To open with a lancet; to pierce; as, to lance a vein or an abscess.
6. 7.To throw in the manner of a lance. See Lanch.