'anlace' is recorded in Middle English (forms such as 'anlas' or 'anlace'), where it denoted a short dagger or the action of girding; the exact ultimate origin is uncertain but it likely formed in medieval English from a verbal prefix plus a root related to fastening or a term for a weapon.

'anlace' appears in Middle English as 'anlas'/'anlace' and was used in Late Middle English and Early Modern English texts to refer to a belt-dagger; its form and usage declined after the 17th century, leaving mainly historical and literary occurrences in modern English.

Initially it referred to a specific type of short dagger (and by extension actions related to girding or equipping); over time the word became archaic and its primary surviving sense in references is the short dagger meaning.