1. To cover with a sauce
2. To put a mask on or cover with a mask
3. To shield from light; as in photography; SYN. block out.

ETYM French masque, Late Lat. masca, mascha, mascus; cf. Spanish and Portu. máscara, Italian maschera; all from Arabic maskharat buffoon, fool, pleasantry, anything ridiculous or mirthful, from sakhira to ridicule, to laugh at. Related to Masque, Masquerade.
Artificial covering for part or all of the face, or for the whole head, associated with ritual or theatrical performances in many cultures. Theatrical traditions using masks include ancient Greek drama (full head masks), Japanese No (facial masks), and the Italian commedia dell'arte (caricatured half-masks). In the 20th century masked performance has been re-explored in experimental and mainstream theatrical productions.
In many cultures masks are an important aspect of the religious and social life of the society. They often take the form of animals, sometimes representing totemic ancestors, human beings, or spirits, and can be realistic or abstract. The form of mask is often determined by tradition; in some the mask itself is sacred and is thought to have supernatural powers, in others the wearer is thought to be possessed by the spirit represented by the mask.
Death or funerary masks, made in the likeness of the dead person, are often associated with a belief in the return of the spirit.
1. A covering to disguise or conceal the face.
2. A protective covering worn over the face.
3. Activity that tries to conceal something.

1. A binary value used to selectively screen out or let through certain bits in a data value. Masking is performed by using a logical operator (AND, OR, XOR, or NOT) to combine the mask and the data value. For example, the mask 00111111, when used with the AND operator, removes (masks off) the two uppermost bits in a data value but does not affect the rest of the value. See the illustration. See also logical operator, mask bit.
2. In television and display technology, a thin perforated sheet of metal or a close-set series of metal strips on the surface of the screen that helps create a clear, sharp image by ensuring that the electron beam for a particular color (red, blue, or green) strikes only the phosphor it is intended to illuminate, while the phosphors for the other colors are shadowed by the mask. Three types of masks are in use: a shadow mask, with round perforations; an aperture grill, with vertical stripes; and a slot mask, with elliptical openings. See also aperture mask, shadow mask, slot mask.