HAN'CES, noun plural [Latin ansa.] In architecture, the ends of elliptical arches, which are the arches of smaller circles than the scheme or middle part of the arch. 1. In a ship, falls of the fife-rails placed on balusters on the poop and quarter-deck down to the gangway.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI