T.

T (tē), the twentieth letter of the English alphabet, is a nonvocal consonant. With the letter h it forms the digraph th, which has two distinct sounds, as in thin, then. See Guide to Pronunciation, §§ 262-264, and also §§ 153, 156, 169, 172, 176, 178-180.

The letter derives its name and form from the Latin, the form of the Latin letter being further derived through the Greek from the Phœnician. The ultimate origin is probably Egyptian. It is etymologically most nearly related to d, s, th; as in tug, duke; two, dual, L. duo; resin, L. resina, tent, tense, a., tenuous, thin; nostril, thrill. See D, S.

T bandage (Surg.), a bandage shaped like the letter T, and used principally for application to the groin, or perineum. — T cart, a kind of fashionable two seated wagon for pleasure driving. — T iron. (a) A rod with a short crosspiece at the end, — used as a hook. (b) Iron in bars, having a cross section formed like the letter T, — used in structures. — T rail, a kind of rail for railroad tracks, having no flange at the bottom so that a section resembles the letter T. — T square, a ruler having a crosspiece or head at one end, for the purpose of making parallel lines; — so called from its shape. It is laid on a drawing board and guided by the crosspiece, which is pressed against the straight edge of the board. Sometimes the head is arranged to be set at different angles. — To a T, exactly, perfectly; as, to suit to a T. [Colloq.]

Ta (tā), v. t. To take. [Obs. or Scot.] Cursor Mundi. Used by Chaucer to represent a peculiarity of the Northern dialect.

Taas (tāās), n. A heap. See Tas. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Tab (tȧb), n. [Etymol. uncertain.] 1. The flap or latchet of a shoe fastened with a string or a buckle.

2. A tag. See Tag, 2.

3. A loop for pulling or lifting something.

4. A border of lace or other material, worn on the inner front edge of ladies’ bonnets.

5. A loose pendent part of a lady’s garment; esp., one of a series of pendent squares forming an edge or border.

Ta-bacʹco (tȧ-băkʹkō), n. Tobacco. [Obs.] B. Jonson.

|| Ta-baʹnus (tȧ-bāʹnŭs), n. [L., horsefly.] (Zoöl.) A genus of blood sucking flies, including the horseflies.

Tabʹard (tăbʹẽrd), n. [OF. tabard, tabart; cf. Sp. & Pg. tabardo, It. tabarro, W. tabar, LL. tabardum.] A sort of tunic or mantle formerly worn for protection from the weather. When worn over the armor it was commonly emblazoned with the arms of the wearer, and from this the name was given to the garment adopted for heralds. [Spelt also taberd.]

In a tabard he [the Plowman] rode upon a mare. Chaucer.

Tabʹard-er (-ẽr), n. 1. One who wears a tabard.

2. A scholar on the foundation of Queen’s College, Oxford, England, whose original dress was a tabard. Nares.

Tabʹa-ret (-ȧ-rĕt), n. [Cf. Tabby.] A stout silk having satin stripes, — used for furniture.

Tabʹa-sheerʹ (tăbʹȧ-shērʹ), n. [Per. tabshr: cf. Skr. tvakkshr, tvakshr.] A concretion in the joints of the bamboo, which consists largely or chiefly of pure silica. It is highly valued in the East Indies as a medicine for the cure of bilious vomitings, bloody flux, piles, and various other diseases.

Tabʹbi-net (tăbʹbĭ-nĕt), n. [Cf. Tabby.] A fabric like poplin, with a watered surface. [Written also tabinet.]

Tabʹby (-by̆), n.; pl. Tabbies (-bĭz). [F. tabis (cf. It. tabì, Sp. & Pg. tabí, LL. attabi), fr. Ar. ’attābī, properly the name of a quarter of Bagdad where it was made, the quarter being named from the prince Attab, great grandson of Omeyya. Cf. Tobine.] 1. A kind of waved silk, usually called watered silk, manufactured like taffeta, but thicker and stronger. The watering is given to it by calendering.

2. A mixture of lime with shells, gravel, or stones, in equal proportions, with an equal proportion of water. When dry, this becomes as hard as rock. Weale.

3. A brindled cat; hence, popularly, any cat.

4. An old maid or gossip. [Colloq.] Byron.

Tabʹby (taʹby̆), a. 1. Having a wavy or watered appearance; as, a tabby waistcoat. Pepys.

2. Brindled; diversified in color; as, a tabby cat.

Tabby moth (Zoöl.), the grease moth. See under Grease.

Tabʹby, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Tabbied (-bĭd); p. pr. & vb. n. Tabbying (-bĭ-ĭng).] To water; to cause to look wavy, by the process of calendering; to calender; as, to tabby silk, mohair, ribbon, etc.

Tabʹe-facʹtion (tăbʹē-făkʹshŭn), n. [See Tabefy.] A wasting away; a gradual losing of flesh by disease.

Tabʹe-fy (tăbʹe-fī), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Tabefied (-fīd); p. pr. & vb. n. Tabefying (-fīʹĭng).] [L. tabere to waste away + -fy: cf. L. tabefacere to melt.] To cause to waste gradually, to emaciate. [R.] Harvey.

Ta-belʹlion (tȧ-bĕlʹyŭn), n. [L. tabellio, fr. tabella a tablet, a writing, document, dim. of tabula a board: cf. F. tabellion. See Table.] A secretary or notary under the Roman empire; also, a similar officer in France during the old monarchy.

Taʹber (tāʹbẽr), v. i. Same as Tabor. Nahum ii. 7.

Tabʹerd (tābʹẽrd), n. See Tabard.

Tabʹer-na-cle (tăbʹẽr-nȧ-k’l ; 277), n. [F., fr. L. tabernaculum, dim. of taberna nut. See Tabern.] 1. A slightly built or temporary habitation; especially, a tent.

Dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob. Heb. xi. 9.

Orange trees planted in the ground, and secured in winter with a wooden tabernacle and stoves. Evelyn.

2. (Jewish Antiq.) A portable structure of wooden framework covered with curtains, which was carried through the wilderness in the Israelitish exodus, as a place of sacrifice and worship. Ex. xxvi.

3. Hence, the Jewish temple; sometimes, any other place for worship. Acts xv. 16.

4. Figuratively: The human body, as the temporary abode of the soul.

Shortly I must put off this my tabernacle. 2 Pet. i. I4.

5. Any small cell, or like place, in which some holy or precious things was deposited or kept. Specifically: —

(a) The ornamental receptacle for the pyx, or for the consecrated elements, whether a part of a building or movable.

(b) A niche for the image of a saint, or for any sacred painting or sculpture.

(c) Hence, a work of art of sacred subject, having a partially architectural character, as a solid frame resting on a bracket, or the like.

(d) A tryptich for sacred imagery.

(e) A seat or stall in a choir, with its canopy.

6. (Naut.) A boxlike step for a mast with the after side open, so that the mast can be lowered to pass under bridges, etc.

Feast of Tabernacles (Jewish Antiq.), one of the three principal festivals of the Jews, lasting seven days, during which the people dwelt in booths formed of the boughs of trees, in commemoration of the habitation of their ancestors in similar dwellings during their pilgrimage in the wilderness. — Tabernacle work, rich canopy work like that over the head of niches, used over seats or stalls, or over sepulchral monuments. Oxf. Gloss.

Tabʹer-na-cle, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Tabernacled (-k’ld); p. pr. & vb. n. Tabernacling (-klĭng).] To dwell or reside for a time; to be temporary housed.

He assumed our nature, and tabernacled among us in the flesh. Dr. J. Scott.

Tabʹer-nacʹu-lar (-năkʹū-lẽr), a. 1. Of or pertaining to a tabernacle, especially the Jewish tabernacle.

2. Formed in latticework; latticed. T. Warton.

3. Of or pertaining to huts or booths; hence, common; low. “Horribly tabernacular.” De Quincey.

|| Taʹbes (tāʹbēz), n. [L., a wasting disease.] (Med.) Progressive emaciation of the body, accompanied with hectic fever, with no well-marked local symptoms.

|| Tabes dorsalis (dôr-sāʹlĭs) [NL., tabes of the back], locomotor ataxia; — sometimes called simply tabes. — || Tabes mesenterica (mĕsʹĕn-tĕrʹĭ-kȧ) [NL., mesenteric tabes], a wasting disease of childhood characterized by chronic inflammation of the lymphatic glands of the mesentery, attended with caseous degeneration.

Ta-besʹcent (tȧ-bĕsʹsent), a. [L. tabescens wasting, p. pr. of tabescere.] Withering, or wasting away.

Ta-betʹic (tȧ-bĕtʹĭk), a. (Med.) Of or pertaining to tabes; of the nature of tabes; affected with tabes; tabid. — n. One affected with tabes.

Tabʹid (tăbʹĭd), a. [L. tabidus: cf. F. tabide. See Tabes.] (Med.) Affected by tabes; tabetic.

In tabid persons, milk is the best restorative. Arbuthnot.

— Tabʹid-ly, adv. — Tabʹid-ness, n.

Ta-bifʹic (ta-bĭfʹĭk), Ta-bifʹic-al (-ĭ-kal), a. [Tabes + L. facere to make.] (Med.) Producing tabes; wasting; tabefying.

Tabʹinet (tăbʹĭ-nĕt), n. See Tabbinet. Thackeray.

Tabʹla-ture (-lȧ-tūr ; 135), n. [Cf. F. tablature ancient mode of musical notation. See Table.] 1. (Paint.) A painting on a wall or ceiling; a single piece comprehended in one view, and formed according to one design; hence, a picture in general. Shaftesbury.

2. (Mus.) An ancient mode of indicating musical sounds by letters and other signs instead of by notes.

The chimes of bells are so rarely managed that I went up to that of Sir Nicholas, where I found who played all sorts of compositions from the tablature before him as if he had fingered an organ. Evelyn.

3. (Anat.) Division into plates or tables with intervening spaces; as, the tablature of the cranial bones.

Taʹble (tāʹb’l), n. [F., fr. L. tabula a board, tablet, a painting. Cf. Tabular, Taffrail, Tavern.] 1. A smooth, flat surface, like the side of a board; a thin, flat, smooth piece of anything; a slab.

A bagnio paved with fair tables of marble. Sandys.

2. A thin, flat piece of wood, stone, metal, or other material, on which anything is cut, traced, written, or painted; a tablet; pl. a memorandum book. “The names … written on his tables.” Chaucer.

And the Lord said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first, and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest. Ex. xxxiv. 1.

And stand there with your tables to glean
The golden sentences. Beau. & Fl.

3. Any smooth, flat surface upon which an inscription, a drawing, or the like, may be produced. “Painted in a table plain.” Spenser.

The opposite walls are painted by Rubens, which, with that other of the Infanta taking leave of Don Philip, is a most incomparable table. Evelyn.

St. Antony has a table that hangs up to him from a poor peasant. Addison.

4. Hence, in a great variety of applications: A condensed statement which may be comprehended by the eye in a single view; a methodical or systematic synopsis; the presentation of many items or particulars in one group; a scheme; a schedule. Specifically: —

(a) (Bibliog.) A view of the contents of a work; a statement of the principal topics discussed; an index; a syllabus; a synopsis; as, a table of contents.

(b) (Chem.) A list of substances and their properties; especially, a list of the elementary substances with their atomic weights, densities, symbols, etc.

(c) (Math.) Any collection and arrangement in a condensed form of many particulars or values, for ready reference, as of weights, measures, currency, specific gravities, etc.; also, a series of numbers following some law, and expressing particular values corresponding to certain other numbers on which they depend, and by means of which they are taken out for use in computations; as, tables of logarithms, sines, tangents, squares, cubes, etc.; annuity tables; interest tables; astronomical tables, etc.

(d) (Palmistry) The arrangement or disposition of the lines which appear on the inside of the hand.

Mistress of a fairer table
Hath not history for fable. B. Jonson.

5. An article of furniture, consisting of a flat slab, board, or the like, having a smooth surface, fixed horizontally on legs, and used for a great variety of purposes, as in eating, writing, or working.

We may again
Give to our tables meat. Shak.

The nymph the table spread. Pope.

6. Hence, food placed on a table to be partaken of; fare; entertainment; as, to set a good table.

7. The company assembled round a table.

I drink the general joy of the whole table. Shak.

8. (Anat.) One of the two, external and internal, layers of compact bone, separated by diploë, in the walls of the cranium.

9. (Arch.) A stringcourse which includes an offset; esp., a band of stone, or the like, set where an offset is required, so as to make it decorative. See Water table.

10. (Games) (a) The board on the opposite sides of which backgammon and draughts are played. (b) One of the divisions of a backgammon board; as, to play into the right-hand table. (c) pl. The games of backgammon and of draughts. [Obs.] Chaucer.

This is the ape of form, monsieur the nice,
That, when he plays at tables, chides the dice. Shak.

11. (Glass Manuf.) A circular plate of crown glass.

A circular plate or table of about five feet diameter weighs on an average nine pounds. Ure.

12. (Jewelry) The upper flat surface of a diamond or other precious stone, the sides of which are cut in angles.

13. (Persp.) A plane surface, supposed to be transparent and perpendicular to the horizon; — called also perspective plane.

14. (Mach.) The part of a machine tool on which the work rests and is fastened.

Bench table, Card table, Communion table, Lord’s table, etc. See under Bench, Card, etc. — Raised table (Arch. & Sculp.), a raised or projecting member of a flat surface, large in proportion to the projection, and usually rectangular, — especially intended to receive an inscription or the like. — Roller table (Horology), a flat disk on the arbor of the balance of a watch, holding the jewel which rolls in and out of the fork at the end of the lever of the escapement. — Round table. See Dictionary of Noted Names in Fiction. — Table anvil, a small anvil to be fastened to a table for use in making slight repairs. — Table base. (Arch.) Same as Water table. — Table bed, a bed in the form of a table. — Table beer, beer for table, or for common use; small beer. — Table bell, a small bell to be used at table for calling servants. — Table cover, a cloth for covering a table, especially at other than mealtimes. — Table diamond, a thin diamond cut with a flat upper surface. — Table linen, linen tablecloth, napkins, and the like. — Table money (Mil. or Naut.), an allowance sometimes made to officers over and above their pay, for table expenses. — Table rent (O. Eng. Law), rent paid to a bishop or religious, reserved or appropriated to his table or housekeeping. Burrill. — Table shore (Naut.), a low, level shore. — Table talk, conversation at table, or at meals. — Table talker, one who talks at table. — Table tipping, Table turning, certain movements of tables, etc., attributed by some to the agency of departed spirits, and by others to the development of latent vital or spriritual forces, but more commonly ascribed to the muscular force of persons in connection with the objects moved, or to physical force applied otherwise. — Tables of a girder or chord (Engin.), the upper and lower horizontal members. — To lay on the table, in parliamentary usage, to lay, as a report, motion, etc., on the table of the presiding officer, — that is, to postpone the consideration of, by a vote. — To serve tables (Script.), to provide for the poor, or to distribute provisions for their wants. Acts vi. 2. — To turn the tables, to change the condition or fortune of contending parties; — a metaphorical expression taken from the vicissitudes of fortune in gaming. — Twelve tables (Rom. Antiq.), a celebrated body of Roman laws, framed by decemvirs appointed 450 years before Christ, on the return of deputies or commissioners who had been sent to Greece to examine into foreign laws and institutions. They consisted partly of laws transcribed from the institutions of other nations, partly of such as were altered and accommodated to the manners of the Romans, partly of new provisions, and mainly, perhaps, of laws and usages under their ancient kings. Burrill.

Taʹble (tāʹb’l), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Tableed (tāʹb’ld); p. pr. & vb. n. Tabling (-blĭng).] 1. To form into a table or catalogue; to tabulate; as, to table fines.

2. To delineate, as on a table; to represent, as in a picture. [Obs.]