Dictionary
An American Dictionary of the English Language
Revised and enlarged (Goodrich & Porter)
Springfield, Mass. · G. & C. Merriam · 1865
- Entries
- 95,912
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Look up a word as the writers of the time used it.
Tăn'gle, v. t. p. 1353To unite or knit together confusedly; to interweave or interlock, as threads, so as to make it difficult to unravel the knot; to entangle. 2. To insnare; to entrap; as, to be tangled in the folds of…Tăn'gle, v. i. p. 1353To be entangled or united confusedly.Tăn'gle, n. p. 1353A knot of threads, or other things, united confusedly, or so interwoven as not to be easily disengaged; as, hair or yarn in tangles. 2. [Ger. & Dan. tang, Sw. tång.] (Bot.) An edible sea-weed of…Tăn'gling-ly, adv. p. 1353In a tangling manner.Tān'gly, a. p. 1353In a tangle; intertwined; intricate. 2. Covered with the sea-weed called tangle. Prone, helpless, on the tangly beach he lay. Falconer.Tăn'grăm, n. p. 1353A Chinese toy made by cutting a square of thin wood, or other suitable material, into seven pieces, as shown in the cut, these pieces being capable of combination in various ways, so as to form a…Tăn'i-er, n. p. 1353(Bot.) A plant of the genus Caladium (C. sagittifolium). [Written also tannier.]Tān'ist, n. p. 1353A lord, or the proprietor of a tract of land, in Ireland; a governor or captain. This office or rank was elective, and often obtained by purchase or bribery. This family [the O'Hanlons] were tanists…Tān'ist-ry, n. p. 1353A tenure of lands, in Ireland, by which the proprietor had only a life estate; and to this he was admitted by election. ☞ The primitive intention seems to have been that the inheritance should…Tănk, n. p. 1353A large basin or cistern; an artificial receptacle for liquids.Tānk, n. p. 1353A small Indian dry measure, averaging 240 grains in weight; also, a Bombay weight of 72 grains, for pearls. Simmonds.Tān'kā, n. p. 1353A kind of boat at Canton about 25 feet long, rowed by women. [Written also tanka.] S. W. Williams.Tănk'ard, n. p. 1353A large vessel for liquors, or a drinking vessel, with a cover. Marius was the first who drank out of a silver tankard, after the manner of Bacchus. Arbuthnot.Tānk'ard, a. p. 1353Of, or pertaining to, a tankard or tankards; hence, convivial; festive; jovial.Tănk'ard-tūr'nip, n. p. 1353A sort of turnip that stands high above the ground.Tānk'-ĕn'ǵine, n. p. 1353A locomotive which carries the water and fuel it requires, thus dispensing with a tender.Tāp'kī-ā, n. p. 1353The same as TANKA, q. v.Tānk'-īron, n. p. 1353Plate-iron thinner than boiler-plate, and thicker than sheet-iron or stove-pipe iron.Tānk'ling, n. p. 1353A ringing noise; a tinkling. [Obs.]Tān'ling, n. p. 1353One tanned or scorched by the heat of the sun. [R.] “Hot summer’s tanlings.” Shak.Tăn'nate, n. p. 1353(Chem.) A compound of tannic acid and a base. Brande.Tăn'ner, n. p. 1353One whose occupation is to tan hides, or convert them into leather by the use of tan.Tăn'ner-y, n. p. 1353The house and apparatus for tanning.Tān'nic, a. p. 1353(Chem.) Of, pertaining to, or derived from, tan.Tannic acid p. 1353an acid occurring in oak bark and nut-galls, and in the bark of other trees, and which constitutes the astringent principle of these. It is obtained in a solid form by the action of ether on…Tăn'ni-er, n. p. 1353See TANIER.Tăn'nin, n. p. 1353(Chem.) Tannic acid; — applied also to any form of the astringent principle employed in tanning. Miller.Tăn'rec, n. p. 1353The same as TENREC, q. v.Tăn'-spŭd, n. p. 1353An instrument for peeling the bark from oak and other trees, for tan. [Local.]Tăn'-stōve, n. p. 1353A hot-house with a bark bed.Tăn'sy, n. p. 1353(Bot.) A plant of the genus Tanacetum, of many species. It is extremely bitter to the taste, has a strong aromatic odor, and is used for medicinal and culinary purposes. 2. A dish common in the…Tănt, n. p. 1353(Zoöl.) A small spider with two eyes and eight long legs, and of an elegant scarlet color.Tăn'ta-lism, n. p. 1353The punishment of Tantalus; a teasing or tormenting by the hope or near approach of good which is not attainable; tantalization. Is not such a provision like tantalism to this people? J. Quincy.Tăn'ta-līte, n. p. 1353(Min.) The same as COLUMBITE, q. v.Tan-tā'li-ŭm, n. p. 1353See TANTALUM.Tăn'ta-li-zā'tion, n. p. 1353The act of tantalizing.Tăn'ta-līze, v. t. p. 1353To tease or torment by presenting some good to the view and exciting desire, but continually frustrating the expectations by keeping that good out of reach; to tease; to torment. Thy vain desires, at…Tăn'ta-līz'er, n. p. 1353One who tantalizes.Tăn'ta-līz'ing-ly, adv. p. 1353In a tantalizing manner; by tantalizing.Tăn'ta-lŭm, n. p. 1353(Chem.) The metal columbium. See COLUMBIUM. [Written also tantalium.]Tăn'ta-lŭs, n. p. 1353(Myth.) A Phrygian king who was condemned to be plunged in water, with choice fruits hanging over him, without the power of reaching them to satisfy his hunger or his thirst. 2. (Ornith.) A genus of…Tăn'ta-mount', a. p. 1353Equivalent in value or signification; equal; as, a sum tantamount to all our expenses; silence is sometimes tantamount to consent. “The certainty that delay, under these circumstances, was tantamount…Tăn'ta-mount', v. i. p. 1353To be tantamount or equivalent. [Obs.] Bp. Taylor.Tan-tĭv'ȳ or Tăn'ti-vy, adv. p. 1353Swiftly; speedily; rapidly;—a hunting term. To ride tantivy, to ride with great speed. Johnson.Tan-tīv'y, n. p. 1353A rapid, violent gallop. [Rare.]Tăn′tle, v. i. p. 1353To fondle; to caress; to pet. [Prov. Eng.]Tănt'ling, n. p. 1353One exposed to be tantalized; one seized with the hope of pleasure unattainable. [Obs.]Tăn’trum, n. p. 1353A whim or burst of ill-humor; an affected air. [Colloq.] Thackeray.Tăn'-vät, n. p. 1353A vat in which hides are steeped in liquor with tan.Tăn'-yärd, n. p. 1353An inclosure where the tanning of leather is carried on.Tāp, v. t. p. 1353To strike with something small, or to strike with a very gentle blow; to touch gently; as, to tap one with the hand; to tap one on the shoulder with a cane. 2. To put a new sole or heel on, as a shoe…Tăp, n. p. 1353A gentle blow; a slight blow with a small thing. She gives her right-hand woman a tap on the shoulder. Addison. 2. The piece of leather fastened upon the bottom of a boot or shoe in tapping it, or in…Tăp, v. i. p. 1353To strike a gentle blow; as, he tapped at the door.Tāp, v. t. p. 1353To pierce so as to let out a fluid, as a cask, a tree, a humor, or any thing which contains a pent-up fluid. 2. Hence, to draw from in any analogous way.Tāp, n. p. 1353A hole or pipe through which liquor is drawn. 2. A plug or spile for stopping a hole pierced in a cask, or the like. 3. Liquor which is measured out, as through a tap. 4. A place where liquor is…Tāp'-bōlt, n. p. 1353A bolt with a head on one end and a thread on the other end, to be screwed into some fixed part, instead of passing through the part and receiving a nut.Tāpe, n. p. 1353A narrow fillet or band; a narrow piece of woven fabric used for strings and the like; as, curtains tied with tape.Tāpe'-line, n. p. 1353A painted tape, marked with inches, &c., and inclosed in a case, used by engineers and others in measuring.Tā'per, n. p. 1353A small wax-candle; a small lighted wax-candle, or a small light. Get me a taper in my study, Lucius. Shak. 2. A tapering form; gradual diminution of thickness in an elongated object; as, the taper…Tā'per, a. p. 1353Regularly narrowed toward the point; becoming small toward one end; conical; pyramidal; as, taper fingers.