| a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare. |
| a fool or simpleton; ninny. |
"As Flies to wanton Boyes are we to th' Gods, They kill vs for their sport." [Shakespeare, "Lear," 1605]Noun sense of "lascivious, lewd person" is attested from 1529. The verb is recorded from 1582. The only Eng. survival of a once-common Gmc. negating prefix still active in Du. (cf. wanbestuur "misgovernment," wanluid "discordant sound"), Ger. (wahn-), etc.