pince-nez

/pænsˈneɪ//pæ̃sˈneɪ/

noun

Templeless eyeglasses that clip to the bridge of the nose.

Similar
nose glassesOxford glasses
OriginFrench pince-nez →
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Meanings

nounpince-nez (plural pince-nez)
  1. Templeless eyeglasses that clip to the bridge of the nose.

    Shabet took a pince-nez from his breast pocket and settled it on the bridge of his nose.

    Furst, Alan 2000 Kingdom of Shadows, p170
    2 more examples

    Lord Belpher, leaning against the wall and trying to decide whether his right or left foot hurt him the more excruciatingly, became aware that a curate was standing before him, regarding him through a pair of gold-rimmed pince-nez with a disapproving and hostile expression.

    1919, P. G. Wodehouse, chapter 15, in A Damsel in Distress

    Jem detached his pince-nez, and while wiping them repeated in a deep voice, "Make a joyful noise unto the Lord."

    2015, Harper Lee, chapter 5, in Go Set a Watchman, page 64

    Synonyms: nose glasses, Oxford glasses

Synonyms & antonyms

nounTempleless eyeglasses that clip to the bridge of the nose.

Similar
nose glassesOxford glasses
Also see
nose glassesoxford glasses

Origin

  1. Frenchpince-nez
  2. Englishpince-nez

Borrowed from French pince-nez (literally “pinch-nose”).

More words from French

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian пенсне́
  • пенсне́ (pensné)type of eyeglasses
Catalan pinçanàs
  • pinçanàstype of eyeglasses
Chinese Mandarin 夾鼻眼鏡 /夹鼻眼镜
  • 夾鼻眼鏡 /夹鼻眼镜 (jiābíyǎnjìng)type of eyeglasses
Czech skřipec, cvikr
  • skřipectype of eyeglasses
  • cvikrtype of eyeglasses
Danish pincenez
  • pinceneztype of eyeglasses
Dutch knijpbril, pince-nez
  • knijpbriltype of eyeglasses
  • pince-neztype of eyeglasses
Esperanto nazumo
  • nazumotype of eyeglasses
Finnish nenälasit, pinnelasit
  • nenälasittype of eyeglasses
  • pinnelasittype of eyeglasses
French pince-nez, lorgnon
  • pince-neztype of eyeglasses
  • lorgnontype of eyeglasses
German Zwicker, Klemmer
  • Zwickertype of eyeglasses
  • Klemmertype of eyeglasses
  • Kneifertype of eyeglasses
  • Pinceneztype of eyeglasses
Hungarian csiptető, orrcsiptető
  • csiptetőtype of eyeglasses
  • orrcsiptetőtype of eyeglasses
  • cvikkertype of eyeglasses
Italian lenti a molla, pince-nez
  • lenti a mollatype of eyeglasses
  • pince-neztype of eyeglasses
Japanese 鼻メガネ, 鼻眼鏡
  • 鼻メガネ (hanamegane)type of eyeglasses
  • 鼻眼鏡 (hanamegane)type of eyeglasses
Korean 코안경
  • 코안경 (koan'gyeong)type of eyeglasses
Latvian pensnejs
  • pensnejstype of eyeglasses
Lithuanian pensnė
  • pensnėtype of eyeglasses
Polish binokle, cwikier
  • binokletype of eyeglasses
  • cwikiertype of eyeglasses
Portuguese pincenê, pencenê
  • pincenêtype of eyeglasses
  • pencenêtype of eyeglasses
  • pince-neztype of eyeglasses
Romanian pince-nez
  • pince-neztype of eyeglasses
Russian пенсне́
  • пенсне́ (pensnɛ́)type of eyeglasses
Slovak škripec
  • škripectype of eyeglasses
Spanish quevedos
  • quevedostype of eyeglasses
Swedish pincené
  • pincenétype of eyeglasses
Turkish pins-nez
  • pins-neztype of eyeglasses
Ukrainian пенсне́, цві́кер
  • пенсне́ (pensné)type of eyeglasses
  • цві́кер (cvíker)type of eyeglasses
Cite this entry
APA

pince-nez. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pince-nez

MLA

“pince-nez.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pince-nez. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pince-nez,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pince-nez.

Source: pince-nez on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.