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单词 tail
释义

tailn.1

Brit. /teɪl/, U.S. /teɪl/
Forms: Old English tægel, tægl, Middle English teil, Middle English– tail; also Middle English–1700s tayl, Middle English taille, Middle English–1500s tayll(e, Middle English–1600s taile, tayle, Middle English–1500s taill; ScottishMiddle English–1500s tale.
Origin: A word inherited from Germanic.
Etymology: Common Germanic: Old English tægel , tægl , = Old Norse tagl a horse's tail (Swedish tagel horse-hair of tail or mane); Old High German zagel , Middle High German zagel , dialect zail , zeil , tail of animal, etc., modern German dialect zagel , zâl , zael tail; Low German tagel a twisted scourge or whip of thongs or ropes, a rope-end, rope (Bremen Wörterbuch), Gothic tagl hair (of the head, of the camel). Ulterior etymology uncertain; but the evidence appears to show that the primary sense was either ‘hair’ or ‘hairy tail’, as of the horse, ox, fox, etc., whence it was extended to the tails of other animals. Already in Old English it was applied to the tails of ‘worms’ or reptiles, and to the sting of the bee. In Old English the tail was also called steort , start n.1 = Dutch staart.
1.
a. The posterior extremity of an animal, in position opposite to the head, either forming a distinct flexible appendage to the trunk, or being the continuation of the trunk itself behind the anus. Also, a representation or figure of this part.In most vertebrate animals, consisting of a number of gradually attenuated coccygeal vertebræ covered with flesh and integument; in quadrupeds often clothed with hair, in birds with feathers (see also peacock's tail n.), and in fishes bearing the caudal fin; in invertebrate animals, sometimes a distinct and well-marked member, at other times not distinctly marked off from the rest of the body.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > animal body > general parts > rump and tail > [noun] > tail
taila800
starteOE
mugglec1275
rumpc1425
caude1572
stern1575
fud1710
flag1859
pole1864
stern-ornament1885
a800 Laws of Ine c. 59 Oxan tægl bið scill[inges] weorð.
a1023 Wulfstan Homilies xlii. 200 Egeslice mycele deor..hi habbaþ tæglas ðam wyrmum gelice.
c1200 Vices & Virtues 151 Ðat ðe tail ware on auriche netene.
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 186 Sansunes foxes..weren biþe tailes iteiȝet togedere..& in euchanes tail anblase bearninde.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 14751 Heo..nomen tailes of rehȝen and hangede on his cape.
c1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 363/38 And teiden him sethþe to a wilde hors at þe taile bihinde.
1340 R. Rolle Pricke of Conscience 4419–23 He says, ‘with his tayle he droghe don even Þe thred part of þe sternes of heven,’..Þis was þe taille of þe dragon.
c1400 ( G. Chaucer Treat. Astrolabe (Cambr. Dd.3.53) (1872) ii. §4. 18 The tail of the dragoun, is in [the] hows of the assendent.
1413 Pilgr. Sowle (1859) i. xix. 19 No body had he under this hede, but only a tayl whiche semyd the tayle of a worme.
1470–85 T. Malory Morte d'Arthur v. iv. 165 The bore..whiche was x foote large fro the hede to the taylle.
1483 W. Caxton in tr. J. de Voragine Golden Legende 174 b/2 Castyng on hym the tayles of thornback or like fisshes.
1486 Bk. St. Albans b ij b The federis of the wynges and of the taylle.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VII f. xxx Thinkyng to haue gotten God by the foote, when she had the deuell by the tayle.
1600 J. Pory tr. J. Leo Africanus Geogr. Hist. Afr. ix. 341 Others affirmed that they had seene one of those tailes [of a sheep] of an hundred and fiftie pounds weight.
a1604 M. Hanmer Chron. Ireland 125 in J. Ware Two Hist. Ireland (1633) This reformation was but a sweeping of a house with a Foxes tayle.
1626 J. Yates Ibis ad Cæsarem i. 6 Though the head of this Hydra was cut off, yet it had still a frigling taile.
1690 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding iii. ii. 188 A Child..applies the Word Gold only to his own Idea of that Colour, and nothing else; and therefore calls the same Colour in a Peacock's Tail, Gold.
a1727 I. Newton Chronol. Anc. Kingdoms Amended (1728) i. 83 The Tayl of the South Fish [constellation].
1826 W. Kirby & W. Spence Introd. Entomol. III. xxxiii. 389 Cauaa (the Tail). Where the abdomen grows suddenly slenderer, and terminates in a long jointed tail, as in Scorpio and Panorpa.
1861 R. T. Hulme tr. C. H. Moquin-Tandon Elements Med. Zool. ii. iii. iii. 96 The abdomen [of the Crayfish], improperly termed the tail.
1894 A. Newton et al. Dict. Birds: Pt. III 701 The so-called ‘tail’ of the Peacock is formed not by the rectrices or true tail-feathers, but by the singular development of the tail-coverts.
b. The tail of a horse, of which one, two, or three were borne before a pasha as insignia of rank: see pasha n. (note), and horsetail n. 1b.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social class > symbol of rank > [noun] > horse's tail denoting rank of Pasha
horsetail1613
tail1717
1717 Lady M. W. Montagu Let. 17 May (1965) I. 356 The Bassas of 3 Tails have those Ensigns..plac'd in a very conspicuous manner before their Tents.
1820 T. S. Hughes Trav. Sicily II. i. 23 It was governed by beys, and pashas of two tails, sent by the Porte.
1836 Penny Cycl. V. 231/1 Bosnia..is governed by a pasha of three tails, to whom the governors of the six sandshaks, who are pashas of two tails, are subordinate.
†c. Contemptuously: expressing exhaustive clearance: cf. hoof n. 3. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
c1330 R. Mannyng Chron. (1810) 214 Of þe aliens ilk taile þe lond voided clere.
1525 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles II. xlix. 171 There shall not one tayle of them retourne agayne into fraunce.
2. A thing, part, or appendage, resembling the tail of an animal in shape or position.
a. In general sense.
ΚΠ
?1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Husbandry f. ix The rough otes..be very light and haue longe tayles wherby they wyll hang eche one to other.
1666 G. Harvey Morbus Anglicus xxxv. 112 The Distill'd water of those tails that hang on Willow Trees.
1683 T. Tryon Way to Health (1697) xix. 416 To see..a Man, (according to the Vulgar Proverb) appear like an Onion with a Gray Head and a Green Tail.
1776 W. Withering Brit. Plants (1796) II. 499 Flowers naked; seeds without tails.
1808 J. C. Curwen Hints Econ. Feeding Stock 54 Turnips..with the tops and tails cut off.
1883 R. Haldane Workshop Receipts 2nd Ser. 255/1 Be careful not to leave clouds or tails where the brush leaves the roof after the stroke.
1883 E. F. Knight Cruise of ‘Falcon’ I. 207 Some tails of strong black tobacco.
1884 W. C. Smith Kildrostan i. iv. 253 I..cannot rise Without it..More than the kite without its load of tail.
1901 Daily Chron. 12 Aug. 3/3 The Kallima butterfly..generally rests upon the trunk of a tree..with the ‘tails’ on the hind wings directed upwards.
b. The luminous train usually extending from the ‘head’ of a comet.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the universe > constellation > comet or meteor > comet > [noun] > tail
streamc1368
crest1387
train1559
beard1563
tail1572
streamer1621
antitail1957
1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (Rolls) 8604 Þe taylede sterre men clupeþ..Vor þer comþ fram hire a lem suiþe cler & briȝte, As a tayl oþer a launce.]
1572 T. Smith in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. (1846) 3rd Ser. IV. 7 The new faire Starre, or Comett, but without beard or taile, which hath appeared here this three weekes.
1690 W. Leybourn Cursus mathematicus f. 451 Kepler is of Opinion, that the Tail of a Comet is only enlightened by the Sun's Beams.
1738 Gentleman's Mag. May 244/2 They..terrify the gazing Nations, who from their glaring Tail and hideous Aspect forbode the worst of Consequences.
1849 J. F. W. Herschel Outl. Astron. xi. 342 The tail is..by no means an invariable appendage of comets.
†c. The germinating sprout of barley; = culm n.2 Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > cereal, corn, or grain > [noun] > barley > barley plant > radicle of
tail1594
1594 H. Plat Diuerse Sorts of Soyle 49 in Jewell House The duste and tailes of the malt, which are left in malting.
1763 Museum Rusticum (ed. 2) I. 114 In what manner to make a profitable use of malt~dust; that is, the dust, tails, &c. which fall off in the screening.
1805 R. W. Dickson Pract. Agric. I. 223 The dust which is screened from malt, mixed with the tails,..may be converted to the purpose of manure.
d. The stalk or peduncle of a fruit (obsolete); the stalk of a mushroom (dialect).
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > part of plant > stem or stalk > [noun] > pedicel or footstalk
stalkc1325
starta1400
tinea1400
petifoot?1440
footling1562
footstalk1562
strig1565
stem1600
tail1613
pedicle1626
pedal1660
pedicel1682
peduncle1702
ray1729
stipes1760
stipe1785
flower-stalk1789
fruit-stalk1796
podium1866
1613 S. Purchas Pilgrimage 184 If the tayle or woodden substance, whereby it groweth, be on it [an apple].
e. The attenuated part of a muscle at its insertion.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > structural parts > muscle > parts of muscle > [noun]
wella1400
fontanelle?a1425
head?a1425
belly1591
venter1615
tail1719
myotome1857
sclerotome1857
myomere1868
muscle spindle1894
spindle1894
Z line1916
Z band1950
dyad1957
triad1957
1719 J. Quincy Lexicon Physico-medicum (1722) 5 The Tendon formed by the Tails of several Muscles.
1877 I. Rosenthal Gen. Physiol. Muscles & Nerves (1881) 13 The ends are spoken of as the head and tail, of the muscle.
f. A twisted or braided tress of hair; a queue, pig-tail.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > beautification of the person > beautification of the hair > styles of hair > [noun] > tresses or plaits
tracec1380
plight?1387
tressa1400
plexc1450
braid1530
tuck1532
buoy-rope1546
trammels1589
entrammelling1598
border1601
point1604
pleat?1606
trammelets1654
maze1657
brede1696
queue1724
pigtail?1725
tie1725
cue1731
tuck-up1749
tutulus1753
club1786
tail1799
French twist1850
Grecian plait1851
French plait1871
horse's tail1873
Gretchen braid, plait1890
shimada1910
ponytail1916
French braid1937
cane row1939
dreadlocks1960
French pleat1964
Tom Jones1964
corn row1971
dread1984
club-pigtail-
1799 in Spirit of Public Jrnls. (1800) 3 320 Club nor queue, nor twisted tail Nor e'en thy chatt'ring, barber! shall avail.
1840 F. Marryat Poor Jack vii. 38 In a minute the tail was off.
1852 H. B. Stowe Uncle Tom's Cabin II. xx. 32 Her woolly hair was braided in sundry little tails.
1877 A. B. Edwards Thousand Miles up Nile xxii. 701 They wore their hair..plaited in long tails behind.
g. In writing and printing, A stroke or loop forming the lower portion of certain letters and figures, and usually passing below the line.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > writing > handwriting or style of > formation of letters > [noun] > part of letter
tittle1538
dash1607
taila1627
i-dot1897
lobe1957
society > communication > printing > printed matter > printed character(s) > [noun] > ascending or descending stroke
taila1627
descender1802
ascender1934
extruder1938
a1627 T. Middleton & W. Rowley Old Law (1656) iii. 30 The Cipher is turn'd into 9. by adding the taile.
1676 J. Moxon Regulæ Trium Ordinum 16 Describe the Arch for the inside of the Tail of a.
1770 P. Luckombe Conc. Hist. Printing 280 The J..should run to the depth of three lines, on account of its tail.
1852 H. B. Stowe Uncle Tom's Cabin I. iv. 41 Uncle Tom laboriously brought up the tail of his g the wrong side out.
1893 Furnivall Capgrave's Life S. Kath. (E.E.T.S.) p. xxxix (note) Hart's e has a curl or tail under it.
h. In musical notation, The line proceeding from the head of a note; the stem.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > written or printed music > notation > [noun] > character in notation > note > part of note
tailc1325
head1724
hook1782
stem1806
pennant1890
c1325 in T. Wright & J. O. Halliwell Reliquiæ Antiquæ (1845) I. 292 Ther is a streinant, with to longe tailes.
1597 T. Morley Plaine & Easie Introd. Musicke 9 If your first note lack a tayle.
1658 J. Playford Breif Introd. Skill Musick (new ed.) 31 Semiquavers are Tyed together by a long Stroke on the Top of their Tails.
1879 G. Grove Dict. Music at Crotchet But croche is a quaver..and is so called on account of the hook at the end of its tail.
i. A kind of wooden lever at the back of a windmill by which it is turned to the wind; also, a vane for the same purpose.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > mills > [noun] > windmill > other parts of windmill
rown-wheel1688
stair-tree1688
tail1712
roundhouse1772
wind-wheel1867
windmill-cap1875
tail-box1895
quant1924
tail-pole1945
1712 J. James tr. A.-J. Dézallier d'Argenville Theory & Pract. Gardening 192 Turning themselves to the Wind, by means of a Tail in Form of a Ship's Rudder, which turns about every way.
1892 P. H. Emerson Son of Fens xxxii. 336 I..got hold of the rope and pulled the gripe up, and made that fast round the tail so that wouldn't jerk her off.
j. The long handle of an implement, as a rake.
k. = queue n. 7a; in phrase in tail rendering the French en queue.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > arrangement in (a) row(s) or line(s > [noun] > a line or row > queue
queue1837
tail1837
line1930
1837 T. Carlyle French Revol. I. vi. iv. 323 Long strings of purchasers, arranged in tail, so that the first come be the first served.
1837 T. Carlyle French Revol. I. vi. iv. 323 In time, we shall see..the art..of standing in tail become one of the characteristics of the Parisian People, distinguishing them from all other Peoples.
l. The rear part of an aeroplane or air-balloon. (Except in the case of quot. 1804, the 19th-century examples refer to projected not actual aircraft.)
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > aeroplane > parts of aircraft > [noun] > rear part of aircraft
tail1804
stern1931
1804 G. Cayley in C. H. Gibbs-Smith Sir George Cayley's Aeronautics (1962) vi. 18 This rod..supported a tail, made of two planes crossing each other at right angles... The tail could be set to any angle.
1835 Naut. Mag. 4 612 An internal balloon is fitted for the purpose of ascending and descending at will, and the whole is intended to be propelled by fins, paddles, or wings we may call them... Finally the creature enjoys the important appendage of a tail abaft.
1848 Chambers's Edinb. Jrnl. 6 May 302/2 There was also a tail, which, turning on a joint, was to direct the Ariel's flight.
1909 A. Berget Conquest of Air ii. ii. 141 We have obtained the longitudinal stability of the aeroplane by the use of the ‘feathering tail’.
1913 A. H. Verrill Harper's Aircraft Bk. xi. 120 The parts of an aeroplane are mainly the frame, or ‘chassis’; the body, or ‘fuselage’;..the rudder and tail;..and the control system.
1915 D. O. Barnett Let. 13 June in In Happy Memory 176 Up went his tail, and he began going down in spirals.
1959 Chambers's Encycl. I. 99/1 Streamlining eliminates this feature of bluff sections, a narrow wake forming only as the tail is approached.
1978 J. Gardner Dancing Dodo iv. 24 One [body] had been found towards where the tail and elevators should have been... The other had been taken from..the wreckage of the tail cone.
m. Mathematics. An extremity of a curve, esp. that of a frequency distribution, as it approaches the horizontal axis of a graph; the part of a distribution that this represents.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > graph or diagram > [noun] > graph > part of
peak1785
flatline1867
tail1895
upper bound1917
valley1935
trough1938
skirt1940
shoulder1956
spike1961
1895 K. Pearson in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) A. 186 397 We require to have the ‘tail’ as carefully recorded as the body of statistics. Unfortunately the practical collectors of statistics often..proceed by a method of ‘lumping together’ at the extremes of their statistical series.
1930 E. Rutherford in Proc. Royal Soc. A. 129 221 It is seen that the curve is very nearly symmetrical, but that there is a small ‘tail’ on the low-velocity side.
1980 K. Randsborg Viking Age in Denmark vii. 157 The Russian and Scandinavian finds of the ninth century have long tails of older coins.
n. Woodworking. In a dovetail joint: (see quot. 1966).
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > constructing or working with wood > [noun] > wooden structures or wooden parts of > means of fitting together > types of joint > other part
rabbeta1382
tail1963
1963 K. Wright Woodworking iii. 122 The strongest dovetails are those where pins and tails are equal in size.
1966 A. W. Lewis Gloss. Woodworking Terms 22 Dovetail, joint in which the ‘tail’, shaped like a dove's spread tail, fits between correspondingly shaped pins. This locks the joint and prevents it from being pulled apart in one direction.
1977 Reader's Digest Bk. of Do-it-yourself Skills & Techniques 129 Cut down the tails with a dovetail saw, skimming the lines on the waste side.
o. A piece or ‘slip’ of irregularly bounded land jutting out from a larger piece. Scottish. Obsolete.Represented in medieval Latin by cauda, e.g. 1546–80 in Regr. of Great Seal of Scotl. No. 268 Croftam seu caudam; Exch. Rolls of Scotl. VII. 169 Cauda de Lekkok vel tale de Lekkok.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > land > tract > [noun] > strip
sideling1250
tail1472
strake1503
vein1555
slip1591
neckland1598
slang1610
spang1610
screed1615
gore1650
spong1650
belt1725
slinget1790
stripe1801
strip1816
wedge1867
ribbon1923
1472 Rental Bk. Cupar Angus (1879) I. 162 With the twa talis of land left and made to ws be the last perambulatioun.
1541 in W. Cramond Rec. Elgin (1903) I. 64 Mr Thomas Gaderar..complenit vpon Robert Mawar for cassin ane stank upon ane taill pertynyng to the said Mr Thomas.
1550 in W. Cramond Rec. Elgin (1903) I. 100 Ane taill of land lyand on the north syid of the said burgh.
1690 in W. Cramond Rec. Elgin (1903) I. 349 Croftis, taillis, yairdis and utheris lyabill in paying the teynd scheaff.
3. The train or tail-like portion of a woman's dress (in later use colloquial); the pendent posterior part of a man's dress-coat or a peasant's long coat; the loose part of any coat below the waist; (often in plural) the bottom or lower edge of a gown, a skirt, etc., which reaches quite or nearly to the ground; in plural, a tail-coat; a dress suit with tail-coat; dialect the skirt of a woman's dress; tails, skirts. Also (in singular or plural), the back part of a man's shirt that reaches below the waist.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > parts of clothing > [noun] > train
tail1297
traina1393
traila1400
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > parts of clothing > [noun] > other
netOE
sheepskinc1175
tail1297
panec1300
slipc1440
cukera1500
peak1509
waist1590
bumbarrel1609
winglet1611
armhole1731
fullness1792
stride1807
bottom1820
patte1835
buckling1861
ventilator1870
tie-back1880
shield1884
organ pleat1886
outer1904
flarea1910
uplift1929
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > clothing for body or trunk (and limbs) > [noun] > coat > parts of > tail or skirt
tail1532
coat-taila1600
lappet1726
sparrow-tail1888
swallowtail1894
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > clothing for body or trunk (and limbs) > [noun] > shirt > part of > tail(s)
shirt lapc1300
shirttail1659
tails1845
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > set or suit of clothes > [noun] > evening dress or dress suit
evening suit1807
soup-and-fish1829
white tie1849
tails1857
monkey suit1920
black tie1951
penguin suit1961
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > clothing for body or trunk (and limbs) > [noun] > coat > types of > tail-coat
tail-coat1846
tails1857
lap1878
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > clothing for body or trunk (and limbs) > [noun] > dress, robe, or gown > parts of > skirt(s)
skirta1400
basea1509
coat1620
tail1888
1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (Rolls) 2513 Þis maide..side drou hire tail Akne to þe king ȝo sede, Louerd king, washayl.
a1450 Knt. de la Tour 30 Her hodes, taylles, and sleues be not furred ynowgh after the shape that rennithe now.
1532 in J. B. Paul Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1905) VI. 80 Ane doublat with ane taile, to the Kingis grace.
1568 (?a1513) W. Dunbar in W. T. Ritchie Bannatyne MS (1928) II. 150 Sic fowill tailis, To sweip the calsay clene.
1575 J. Rolland Treat. Court Venus iv. f. 61 And Venus taill twa Ladeis vp it beiris.
1690 J. Crowne Eng. Frier v. 47 Madam, speak to the Ladies now I am here, to let down their Trains, 'tis not manners in the presence of a man o' my quality, to cock up their tayls.
1764 S. Foote Lyar i. i. 1 The draggled tail of my tatter'd academical habit.
1845 J. J. Hooper Some Adventures Capt. Simon Suggs 13 From the time he was a ‘shirt-tail boy’, [his wits] were always too sharp for his father's.
1857 T. Hughes Tom Brown's School Days i. viii. 192 His friends at home..had'nt put him into tails.
18.. St. Nicholas (U.S.) XIV. 406 (Cent. D.) Once a boy [at Harrow] has reached the modern remove, he puts on his tails, or tailed coat.
1888 Cent. Mag. May 128/1 He crossed the room, stepping over the tails of gowns, and stood before his old friend.
1890 Parnell Speech House of Commons 14 Feb. To go about like the traditional Irishman at Donnybrook Fair, and exclaim ‘Will nobody tread on the tail of my coat?’
1915 Mrs. H. Ward Eltham House ii. 23 You made up your mind from the time you got into tails at Eton.
1932 S. Gibbons Cold Comfort Farm i. 10 Charles looked well in tails.
1958 B. Nichols Sweet & Twenties 110 Young men wore tails and white ties as a matter of course.
1960 Guardian 16 Dec. 8/3 At balls, even in the London season, tails are not uncompromisingly de rigueur.
1965 R. P. Jhabvala Backward Place iii. 166 He ran after her into the street, the tails of his crumpled shirt flying as he ran.
4. The lower or hinder extremity of anything; the part opposite to what is regarded as the head.
a. in general application.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > low position > [noun] > lowest position > bottom or lowest part
bottomeOE
foota1200
lowestc1225
roota1382
tailc1390
founcea1400
basement1610
sole1615
fund1636
foot piece1657
footing1659
underneath1676
bottom side1683
ass1700
doup1710
keel1726
c1390 (a1376) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Vernon) (1867) A. v. 19 Beches and brode okes weore blowen to þe eorþe, And turned vpward þe tayl.
1731 C. Mortimer in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 37 107 They [packthreads] are all spread on a Cross-piece fastened to two Staples: These are called the Tail of the Mounture.
1778 W. Pryce Mineralogia Cornubiensis iv. ii. 234 The stony coarse poorer part settles..on the tail or lower end of the boards.
1805 R. W. Dickson Pract. Agric. I. 296 The tail, or terminating part of the strata.
1859 F. A. Griffiths Artillerist's Man. (1862) 114 The gun is at the tail of the platform.
1872 H. T. Ellacombe Church Bells Devon ii. 217 Bells are sometimes chimed..by hitching the rope round the flight or tail of the clapper.
1887 D. A. Low Introd. Machine Drawing (1892) 6 The head already formed on the rivet, and called the tail, is then held up, and the point is hammered or pressed so as to form another head.
1890 J. S. Billings National Med. Dict. II Tail of epididymis, the lower pointed extremity.
1898 in Daily News 8 Nov. 6/1 [Mr. Gladstone] would prefix the address and affix his signature, writing (as he called it) the ‘head and the tail’.
b. The terminal or concluding part of anything, as of a text, word, or sentence (cf. head n.1 29), of a period of time, or something occupying time, as a storm, shower, drought, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > order > order, sequence, or succession > end or conclusion > [noun] > the latter part
eveningOE
enda1200
eventide?c1225
finea1350
tail1377
latter (last) enda1382
issue1484
latter day?1498
waning1561
last days1572
heel1584
sunsetting1593
fall1596
lag-end1598
posterior1598
sunset1599
dotage1606
exit1615
stern1623
waning timea1639
last1683
heel piecea1764
shank1828
tail-end1845
tailpiece1869
tag1882
teatime1913
end-point1921
1377 W. Langland Piers Plowman B. iii. 347 And þat is þe taille of þe tixte.
a1450 J. Myrc Instr. to Par. Priests 1889 Cotte þow not þe wordes tayle.
1579 W. Fulke Heskins Parl. Repealed in D. Heskins Ouerthrowne 258 Here M. Hesk. choppeth off ye taile [of the sentence].
1613 Sir H. Nevill in Buccleuch MSS (Hist. MSS Comm.) (1899) I. 131 The tail of this storm fell a little upon my Lord himself.
1771 T. Smollett Humphry Clinker I. 34 I now sit down to execute the threat in the tail of my last [letter].
1773 R. Fergusson Poems 91 It's wearin on now to the tail o' May.
1833 H. Martineau Loom & Lugger i. i. 16 At the tail of their conversation.
1872 W. Black Strange Adventures Phaeton xx. 278 The tail of a shower sometimes overtaking us.
c. The rear-end of an army or marching column, of a procession, etc. Also spec., the non-combatant personnel of an armed service or of a military unit. (Cf. head n.1 23a(a).)
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > position at the back > [noun] > that which forms the back of anything > of a marching column
tail1565
society > armed hostility > armed forces > the Army > branch of army > [noun] > non-combatant personnel
tail1946
1565 T. Cooper Thesaurus at Agmen They cutte of the tayle of the armie, or kyll them that are behynde.
1610 P. Holland tr. W. Camden Brit. i. 43 They attempted to cut off the taile of our armie.
1800 Duke of Wellington Dispatches (1837) I. 197 Colonel Stevenson is after them, and will cut off part of the tail, I hope.
1858 O. W. Holmes Autocrat of Breakfast-table iii. 55 The wit knows that his place is at the tail of a procession.
1899 T. S. Baldock Cromwell 231 The King with the head of his column reached Harborough in safety, the tail quartering as far back as Naseby.
1946 Hansard Commons 30 Oct. 690 Our job must be to secure an efficient fighting force in which the tail is kept as short as possible, and the teeth as long and as keen as possible.
1950 Hansard Commons 26 July 555 If one is to provide an operational division,..the tail cannot be avoided, otherwise the division is not operational at all.
1961 B. Fergusson Watery Maze vii. 159 As ‘Teeth’ troops (to use a phrase which was then [sc. in 1942] both new and picturesque, but has long since become a cliché) there was little to equal them; but they lacked a ‘Tail’—those ancillaries which in modern war virtually wag the dog.
1972 D. Bloodworth Any Number can Play xiii. 116 When a soldier moves, all his basic needs are looked after by a vast administrative tail that..clothes him, feeds him, transports him.
1977 R.A.F. News 30 Mar. 7/2 It is possible to continue trimming the so-called ‘tail’ by successive cuts in defence expenditure.
d. The hinder part of a cart, plough, or harrow; = plough-tail n. (Cf. head n.1 24a.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > tools and implements > ploughing equipment > [noun] > plough > plough-tail or stilt
startOE
stiltc1340
plough-start1440
tail1466
plough handle?c1475
steer-tree1483
plough stilt?1523
plough-tail?1523
stilking?1523
steer1552
hale?1570
stive1693
plough-tree1799
by-tail1879
1466 Draft Will of Agnes Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 44 Wythouȝt they shuld hold the plowe be the tayle.
1526 R. Whitford tr. Martiloge 114 b They were tyed unto the tayles of cartes, & so drawen thrugh bushes, breres, & thornes unto deth.
1547 in Vicary's Anat. Bodie of Man (1888) App. iii. 174 John Launder..& John Croydon..beggers..shall..be whypped naked att A Cartes Taylle.
1563 J. Foxe Actes & Monuments 1684/2 They..should be tied to a cartes tayle, and be whypped three market daies through the citie.
1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry i. f. 21 The partes of the Plowe, are the Tayle, the Shelfe, the Beame [etc.].
1887 A. Jessopp Arcady iv. 117 Their sturdy sons will push their way, but not..at the plough's tail.
†e. The stern of a ship or boat. (Cf. head n.1 22) Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > parts of vessels > body of vessel > rear part of vessel > [noun]
sternc1300
after-ship1356
poop1489
tail1553
dockc1565
after-quarter1599
post1622
after-body1822
1553 J. Brende tr. Q. Curtius Rufus Hist. vii. f. 144v Swimming at the boates tailes.
a1684 J. Evelyn Diary anno 1645 (1955) II. 432 These Vessells [sc. gondolas] are built very long & narrow, having necks and tailes of steele.
1709 London Gaz. No. 4510/7 The Hoy Burthen 9 or 10 Tun, very full built forward, with a clean Tail.
f. The part of a mill-race below the wheel; the tail-race; the lower end of a pool or stream.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > rivers and streams > stream > [noun] > mill-tail
tail1533
mill-tail1569
tail-water1760
tail-race1776
flusha1825
millwash1861
tail-dam1903
1533–4 Act 25 Hen. VIII c. 7 Any other engine..at the taile of anie mille or were.
a1609 J. Dennys Secrets of Angling (1613) ii. sig. C7 See some standing..at the Tayles, of Mills and Arches small.
1725 D. Defoe New Voy. round World ii. 122 The Water..had made a Pit under it with the Fall like the Tail of a Mill.
1829 Nat. Philos. (Libr. Useful Knowl.) I. Hydraulics iii. 26 To permit a portion of the upper water to flow down into the tail or lower stream immediately in front of the wheel.
1867 F. Francis Bk. Angling i. 31 The tail of a pool..is a favourite place for them.
1886 Q. Rev. Oct. 341 The tail of a swift stream, where it broadens out before another white rapid.
g. The spit or extremity of a reef or sandbank, where it slopes under the water.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > land > land mass > reef > [noun] > part
tailing1684
tail1762
reef flat1886
reef platform1899
1762 Ann. Reg. 1761 i. 149/2 The Actaeon ran aground on the tail of the Pall-Bank.
1799 Hull Advertiser 6 Apr. 3/1 The cutter got up as far as the tail of the bank.
1817 Sporting Mag. 50 172 At what sailors call the ‘Tail’ of the land, there is always a turbulent sea, or rather Race.
1858 Mercantile Marine Mag. 5 225 Ships..should pass as close as possible to the tail of the Reef.
h. The reverse side of a coin; esp. in phr. head(s) or tail(s): see head n.1 4b.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > money > medium of exchange or currency > coins collective > [noun] > obverse or reverse of coin
pilea1393
cross and pile1584
reverse1605
averse1655
ranverse1656
obverse1658
heads1675
tail1684
endorse1688
woman1785
mazard1802
man1828
mick1918
1684 T. Otway Atheist ii. 17 As the Boys do by their Farthings..go to Heads or Tails for 'em.
1767 T. Bridges Homer Travestie (ed. 2) I. iii. 101 'Tis heads for Greece, and tails for Troy... Two farthings out of three were tails.
1801 J. Strutt Sports & Pastimes iv. ii. 251 The reverse to the head being called the tail without respect to the figure upon it.
1884 Punch 16 Feb. 73/1 A sovereign, a half sovereign,..or farthing, so long as it has a ‘head’ one side, and..a ‘tail’ the other.
1893 F. W. L. Adams New Egypt 267 The goddess who sits on the ‘tails’ side of our bronze currency.
i. The lower, inner, or subordinate end of a long-shaped block or brick; the bottom or visible part of a roofing slate or tile.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > stone or rock > [noun] > building stone > stone of the nature of slate > for roofing > piece of > part of
tail1793
1793 J. Smeaton Narr. Edystone Lighthouse (ed. 2) §82 The tail of the header was made to..bond with the interior parts.
1856 S. C. Brees Terms & Rules Archit. Tail,..the lower end of the slate or tile.
j. Surgery. Either end of an incision, which does not go through the whole thickness of the skin.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > healing > medical treatment > surgery > incision > [noun] > an incision > either end of
tail1846
tailing1864
1846 F. Brittan tr. J. F. Malgaigne Man. Operative Surg. 5 The bistoury must be repeatedly passed over the same course, so as to divide layer by layer. Here ‘tails’ are inevitable; but this inconvenience is light in comparison to the advantages to be sometimes derived from this mode of operating.
k. Printing and Bookbinding. The lower edge of a page or cover. (Cf. head n.1 32.)
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > printing > printed matter > arrangement or appearance of printed matter > [noun] > lower edge of paper
tail1835
society > communication > book > leaves or pages of book > [noun] > page > lower edge of page
tail1835
heel1930
1835 ‘J. A. Arnett’ Bibliopegia i. 33 The head being cut, the book is taken out of the press, and the quantity to be taken off the tail marked with the compasses.
1895 J. W. Zaehnsdorf Short Hist. Bookbinding 25 Headbander, the person who works the fine silk or cotton ornament at head or tail of the book as a finish to the edge.
l. tail of the eye, the outer corner of the eye. out of, with the tail of the eye, with a sidelong or furtive glance.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > seeing or looking > [adverb] > looking sideways
asquinta1250
sidelings?a1400
bagginglyc1400
askoyc1425
askilec1450
to look sideways1652
squintly1655
skew-eyed1658
with eye askant1753
skaunt1791
out of, with the tail of the eye1805
the world > life > the body > external parts of body > head > face > eye > [noun] > corner of eye
wickc1400
lacrimal?a1425
canthus1646
commissure1677
tail of the eye1805
1805 R. Anderson Ballads in Cumberland Dial. 35 But I only made luive thro' the tail o' my e'e.
1824 J. Galt Rothelan II. v. iii. 203 ‘Sir Gibrel’, cried the lady, at the same time winking to him with the tail of her eye.
1859 C. Reade Love me Little xiv Miss Lucy noticed this out of the tail of her eye.
1888 J. Payn Myst. Mirbridge II. xvii. 187 Mrs. Westropp watched him with the tail of her eye as she talked to Lady Trevor.
†m. A small evening party, subsequent to a dinner or a ball. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > social event > social gathering > party > [noun] > other parties
play-party1796
tail1837
surprise-party1840
street party1845
costume party1850
pound party1869
all-nighter1870
neighbourhood party1870
simcha1874
ceilidh1875
studio party1875
pounding1883
house party1885
private function1888
shower1893
kitchen shower1896
kitchen evening1902
bottle party1903
pyjama party1910
block party1919
house party1923
after-party1943
slumber party1949
office party1950
freeload1952
hukilau1954
BYOB1959
pot party1959
bush party1962
BYO1965
wrap party1978
bop1982
warehouse party1988
rave1989
1837 C. Ridley Let. in U. Ridley Cecilia (1958) 26 We went to Lady Domville's—the nicest ball I have been at this year... We afterwards went to a tail where we saw a collection of unwashed uncombed philosophers.
1912 G. W. E. Russell One Look Back viii. 164 ‘Tails’, as the name implies, were little parties tacked on to the end of big dinners, where a few people looked in, rather cross at not having been invited to dine, or else in a desperate hurry to get on to a larger party or a ball.
n. Phonetics. (See quot. 1922.)
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > linguistics > study of speech sound > speech sound > intonation, pitch, or stress > [noun] > accent > stress accent > stress group > syllables with respect to
subtonic1827
pretone1884
pretonic1892
head1922
nucleus1922
tail1922
peak1935
post-nuclear1944
precontour1945
nuclear1949
tonic1962
1922 H. E. Palmer Eng. Intonation iv. 10 Any syllable or syllables following the nucleus in the same Tone-Group is termed the ‘Tail’ of the group. The Tail-syllable or group of syllables following the Falling Nucleus..is pitched on the low level.
1965 Amer. Speech 40 72 Word order affects intonation in the tail, head, and nucleus.
o. The rear part of a motor vehicle.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > powered vehicle > parts and equipment of motor vehicles > [noun] > body or bodywork > rear part
rear1609
tail1928
tonneau1931
1928 E. Wallace Double xiii. 187 Outside he saw five police cars parked bonnet to tail.
1975 Drive New Year 106/3 The car's tail tends to drift out of corners at lower speeds than earlier models.
5.
a. The lower and hinder part of the human body; the fundament, posteriors, buttocks, backside. tail over top = top over tail at top n.1 and adj. Phrases 3b. Now dialect and colloquial (chiefly U.S., esp. in figurative phrases, as to work one's tail off, to work strenuously).
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > downward motion > falling > [phrase] > head over heels
tail over top1303
top over tailc1330
heels over headc1400
tail and top1558
head over heels1678
over head and heels1678
heels over gowdy1751
head over tip1824
arse over tip1922
ass over tea-kettle1963
the world > life > the body > external parts of body > trunk > back > buttock(s) > [noun]
flitcha700
arse-endseOE
culec1220
buttockc1300
tail1303
toutec1305
nagea1325
fundamentc1325
tail-end1377
brawna1382
buma1387
bewschers?a1400
crouponc1400
rumplec1430
lendc1440
nachec1440
luddocka1475
rearwarda1475
croupc1475
rumpc1475
dock1508
hurdies1535
bunc1538
sitting place1545
bottom?c1550
prat1567
nates1581
backside1593
crupper1594
posteriorums1596
catastrophe1600
podex1601
posterior1605
seat1607
poop1611
stern1631
cheek1639
breeka1642
doup1653
bumkin1658
bumfiddle1661
assa1672
butt1675
quarter1678
foundation1681
toby1681
bung1691
rear1716
fud1722
moon1756
derrière1774
rass1790
stern-post1810
sit-down1812
hinderland1817
hinderling1817
nancy1819
ultimatum1823
behinda1830
duff?1837
botty1842
rear end1851
latter end1852
hinder?1857
sit1862
sit-me-down1866
stern-works1879
tuchus1886
jacksy-pardy1891
sit-upon1910
can1913
truck-end1913
sitzfleisch1916
B.T.M.1919
fanny1919
bot1922
heinie1922
beam1929
yas yas1929
keister1931
batty1935
bim1935
arse-end1937
twat1937
okole1938
bahookie1939
bohunkus1941
quoit1941
patoot1942
rusty-dusty1942
dinger1943
jacksie1943
zatch1950
ding1957
booty1959
patootie1959
buns1960
wazoo1961
tush1962
1303 R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne 5416 Þarfor shul þey..Go to helle, both top and tayle.
c1330 R. Mannyng Chron. (1810) 70 Into þe waise þam fro he tombled top ouer taile.
c1400 Laud Troy Bk. 16727 He bar him tayl ouer top, That he lay ther as a sop.
?a1500 Chester Pl. (Shaks. Soc.) II. 176 Thou take hym by the toppe and I by the tayle.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 279/1 Tayle or arse, queue or cul.
1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes f. 81 He was forbidden to sitte on his taille & was charged to stand vpon his feete.
1686 tr. J. Chardin Trav. Persia 97 They go Barefoot, and all in Tattars that hardly cover their Tails.
1879 J. M. Duncan Clin. Lect. Dis. Women viii. 89 Ever since that time she has had pain in what she calls her ‘tail’.
1935 J. T. Farrell Judgment Day iv. 86 This idea of sweating your tail off with work..is the undiluted crap.
1942 W. Faulkner Go down, Moses & Other Stories 229 This is the first time you've had your tail out of that kitchen since we got here except to chop a little wood.
1969 New Yorker 14 June 72/3 Go out there and work your tail off. Don't wake up tomorrow morning regretting that you didn't give a hundred per cent.
1976 Billings (Montana) Gaz. 1 July 4- e/1 I worked my tail off to help win a pennant for the Dodgers.
b. at (†after) the tail of, at the back of, in the rear of, following; in the tail of, in the train of; so †to follow the tail of. Cf. 6.
ΚΠ
13.. K. Alis. (Bodl. MS.) 2142 Siweþ me after [Weber at] my taile.
1471 G. Ripley Compound of Alchymy v. xxviii, in E. Ashmole Theatrum Chem. Britannicum (1652) 155 Folys doe folow them at the tayle.
1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes f. 283v After his taille should come his owne souldyours.
a1547 Earl of Surrey tr. Virgil Fourth Bk. Aeneas (1554) iv. sig. Biii The heauens gan roumble sore: In tayle thereof, a myngled showre wyth hayle.
1549 H. Latimer 2nd Serm. before Kynges Maiestie sig. Di That ye wyll geue youre byshoppes charge yer they go home..to se your maiesties iniunctions better kepte, and sende youre visitours in theyr tayles.
1614 W. Raleigh Hist. World i. iv. ii. §4. 177 In the taile of these Horses the Regiment of foote marched.
1847 W. M. Thackeray Vanity Fair (1848) xxiii. 197 Peggy with the infantine procession at her tail.
1891 H. Caine Scapegoat I. vii. 142 She..had..come to Morocco at the tail of a Spanish embassy.
c. Sexual member; penis or (oftener) pudendum.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > sex organs > [noun]
shapea1000
shameOE
i-cundeOE
memberc1300
privy memberc1325
kindc1330
privitiesc1375
harness1382
shameful parts1382
genitoriesa1387
partc1390
tailc1390
genitalsa1393
thingc1405
genitalc1450
privy parts1533
secret1535
loin?1541
genitures1548
filthy parts1553
shamefulness1561
ware1561
meatc1564
natural places1569
secret members1577
lady ware1592
natural parts1601
lady's ware1608
gear1611
private parts1623
groin1631
pudendums1634
natural1650
privacies1656
sex1664
secrecyc1675
nudities1677
affair1749
sexual parts1753
person1824
sex organ1847
privates1940
naughty bits1972
the world > life > the body > sex organs > female sex organs > [noun] > vagina
quaintc1330
quivera1382
tailc1390
mousetrapc1500
cunnigar1550
placket1595
buttonhole1600
bumble broth1602
touch-hole1602
case1606
keyhole1607
vagina1612
nicka1625
nunquam satis1633
lock1640
twat1656
cockpit1658
Whitechapel portion?1695
tuzzy-muzzy1710
niche1749
can1772
bumbo1774
fuckhole1893
jelly roll1895
mole-catcher1896
manhole1916
vag1967
stank1980
pum-pum1983
punani1987
the world > animals > animal body > general parts > sexual organs and reproduction > [noun] > sexual organs > penis
tailc1390
pizzle1486
c1390 (a1376) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Vernon) (1867) A. iii. 126 Heo is Tikel of hire Tayl..As Comuyn as þe Cart-wei to knaues and to alle.
c1450 Cov. Myst. (Shaks. Soc.) 134 Suche a ȝonge damesel..Of hire tayle oftetyme be lyght.
1483 Cath. Angl. 377/1 A Tayle, penis equi est.
?1518 Cocke Lorelles Bote sig. C.iij Many whyte nonnes with whyte vayles That was full wanton of theyr tayles.
1716 A. Pope To Ingenious Mr. Moore 1 The Nymph, whose Tail Is all on Flame, Is aptly term'd a Glow-worm.
1785 F. Grose Classical Dict. Vulgar Tongue at Cab
1972 F. Warner Lying Figures III. 17 Give her her head..and she'll give you her tail.
1977 Transatlantic Rev. No. 60. 78 He had been after her tail for months, but Judy, being an old-fashioned girl, declined his advances.
d. slang. †(a) A prostitute (obsolete); (b) women regarded collectively (by men) as a means of sexual gratification; sexual intercourse; a sexual partner. Frequently in a piece (or bit) of tail. Cf. piece n. Phrases 13.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sexual relations > sexual activity > [noun] > sexual intercourse
ymonec950
moneOE
meanc1175
manredc1275
swivinga1300
couplec1320
companyc1330
fellowred1340
the service of Venusc1350
miskissinga1387
fellowshipc1390
meddlinga1398
carnal knowinga1400
flesha1400
knowledgea1400
knowledginga1400
japec1400
commoning?c1425
commixtionc1429
itc1440
communicationc1450
couplingc1475
mellingc1480
carnality1483
copulation1483
mixturea1500
Venus act?1507
Venus exercise?1507
Venus play?1507
Venus work?1507
conversation?c1510
flesh-company1522
act?1532
carnal knowledge1532
occupying?1544
congression1546
soil1555
conjunction1567
fucking1568
rem in re1568
commixture1573
coiture1574
shaking of the sheets?1577
cohabitation1579
bedding1589
congress1589
union1598
embrace1599
making-outa1601
rutting1600
noddy1602
poop-noddy1606
conversinga1610
carnal confederacy1610
wapping1610
businessa1612
coition1615
doinga1616
amation1623
commerce1624
hot cocklesa1627
other thing1628
buck1632
act of love1638
commistion1658
subagitation1658
cuntc1664
coit1671
intimacy1676
the last favour1676
quiffing1686
old hat1697
correspondence1698
frigging1708
Moll Peatley1711
coitus1713
sexual intercourse1753
shagging1772
connection1791
intercourse1803
interunion1822
greens1846
tail1846
copula1864
poking1864
fuckeea1866
sex relation1871
wantonizing1884
belly-flopping1893
twatting1893
jelly roll1895
mattress-jig1896
sex1900
screwing1904
jazz1918
zig-zig1918
other1922
booty1926
pigmeat1926
jazzing1927
poontang1927
relations1927
whoopee1928
nookie1930
hump1931
jig-a-jig1932
homework1933
quickie1933
nasty1934
jig-jig1935
crumpet1936
pussy1937
Sir Berkeley1937
pom-pom1945
poon1947
charvering1954
mollocking1959
leg1967
rumpy-pumpy1968
shafting1971
home plate1972
pata-pata1977
bonking1985
legover1985
knobbing1986
rumpo1986
fanny1993
society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > unchastity > prostitution > [noun] > a prostitute
meretrixOE
whoreOE
soiled dovea1250
common womanc1330
putec1384
bordel womanc1405
putaina1425
brothelc1450
harlot?a1475
public womanc1510
naughty pack?1529
draba1533
cat1535
strange woman1535
stew1552
causey-paikera1555
putanie?1566
drivelling1570
twigger1573
punka1575
hackney1579
customer1583
commodity1591
streetwalker1591
traffic1591
trug1591
hackster1592
polecat1593
stale1593
mermaid1595
medlar1597
occupant1598
Paphian1598
Winchester goose1598
pagan1600
hell-moth1602
aunt1604
moll1604
prostitution1605
community1606
miss1606
night-worm1606
bat1607
croshabell1607
prostitute1607
pug1607
venturer1607
nag1608
curtal1611
jumbler1611
land-frigate1611
walk-street1611
doll-common1612
turn-up1612
barber's chaira1616
commonera1616
public commonera1616
trader1615
venturea1616
stewpot1616
tweak1617
carry-knave1623
prostibule1623
fling-dusta1625
mar-taila1625
night-shadea1625
waistcoateera1625
night trader1630
coolera1632
meretrician1631
painted ladya1637
treadle1638
buttock1641
night-walker1648
mob?1650
lady (also girl, etc.) of the game1651
lady of pleasure1652
trugmullion1654
fallen woman1659
girlc1662
high-flyer1663
fireship1665
quaedama1670
small girl1671
visor-mask1672
vizard-mask1672
bulker1673
marmalade-madam1674
town miss1675
town woman1675
lady of the night1677
mawks1677
fling-stink1679
Whetstone whore1684
man-leech1687
nocturnal1693
hack1699
strum1699
fille de joie1705
market-dame1706
screw1725
girl of (the) town1733
Cytherean1751
street girl1764
monnisher1765
lady of easy virtue1766
woman (also lady) of the town1766
kennel-nymph1771
chicken1782
stargazer1785
loose fish1809
receiver general1811
Cyprian1819
mollya1822
dolly-mop1834
hooker1845
charver1846
tail1846
horse-breaker1861
professional1862
flagger1865
cocodette1867
cocotte1867
queen's woman1871
common prostitute1875
joro1884
geisha1887
horizontal1888
flossy1893
moth1896
girl of the pavement1900
pross1902
prossie1902
pusher1902
split-arse mechanic1903
broad1914
shawl1922
bum1923
quiff1923
hustler1924
lady of the evening1924
prostie1926
working girl1928
prostisciutto1930
maggie1932
brass1934
brass nail1934
mud kicker1934
scupper1935
model1936
poule de luxe1937
pro1937
chromo1941
Tom1941
pan-pan1949
twopenny upright1958
scrubber1959
slack1959
yum-yum girl1960
Suzie Wong1962
mattress1964
jamette1965
ho1966
sex worker1971
pavement princess1976
parlour girl1979
crack whore1990
the world > physical sensation > sexual relations > sexual partner > [noun] > woman considered in sexual terms or as a sexual partner > collectively
muttona1529
man's meat1629
charver1846
gash1914
poontang1945
poon1947
pussyc1947
crumpet1958
grumble1962
tail1967
fanny1993
1846 ‘Lord Chief Baron’ Swell's Night Guide (new ed.) 58 I takes my pitch last night on Fleet pave, then..a swell was sweet on me for a tail.
1869 F. Henderson Six Years in Prisons Eng. vii. 76 He meant a ‘flash-tail’, or prostitute who goes about the streets at nights trying to pick up ‘toffs’.
1933 M. Lowry Ultramarine ii. 67 It's not as though you were a bloody man who'd been having a bit of tail.
1942 L. V. Berrey & M. Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Slang §362/1 Copulation,..piece, piece or hunk of tail, -skirt, -ass or butt.
1951 J. D. Salinger Catcher in Rye xiii. 109 Innarested in a little tail t'night?
1953 H. Miller Plexus (1963) xi. 391 He's at loose ends. Hates his work, loathes his wife, and the kids bore him to death. All he thinks of now is tail. And boy, does he chase it!
1967 J. Potter Foul Play xiii. 157 Where's all the tail today? No Hermione, no Bunty, no Christabel.
1976 ‘R. Gordon’ Doctor on Job vi. 59 Even if it was deciding whether to go out on the booze at night or have a bit of tail off of the wife.
1977 Transatlantic Rev. No. 60. 39 He would yell, ‘How y'all doin, chief? Gettin much tail?’
6.
a. A train or band of followers; a following; a retinue. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > subjection > service > servant > retainer or follower > [noun] > collective or retinue
hirdc888
douthOE
gingc1175
folkc1275
hirdfolcc1275
tail1297
meiniec1300
meiniec1300
routc1325
suitc1325
peoplec1330
leading1382
retinuea1387
repairc1390
retenancea1393
farneta1400
to-draughta1400
sembly14..
sequelc1420
manya1425
followingc1429
affinity?1435
family1438
train1489
estatec1500
port1545
retain1548
equipage1579
suite1579
attendancy1586
attendance1607
tendancea1616
sequacesa1660
cortège1679
1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (Rolls) 10774 Hiderward Þe kinges conseilors londes hii destruede mid hor tayle.
1362 W. Langland Piers Plowman A. ii. 160 I haue no tome to telle þe Tayl [B. ii. 185 taille] þat hem folweþ.
c1420 J. Lydgate Assembly of Gods 754 Of vngracious gastes he bryngeth a long tayll.
1578 Reg. Privy Council Scotl. III. 15 To draw eftir thame a large taill of ignorant personis.
a1637 B. Jonson Tale of Tub ii. i. 40 in Wks. (1640) III Why should her worship lack Her taile of Maids? View more context for this quotation
1675 M. Clifford Treat. Humane Reason in Phenix (1708) II. 540 If Errors in Belief draw so ill a Tail after them as the Devils and Damnation.
1814 W. Scott Waverley I. xvi. 238 The Chief with his tail on..that is, with all his usual followers.
1838 J. C. Maitland Lett. from Madras (1843) 180 Everybody has a tail, consisting of poor followers, flappers, and flatterers... When head walks abroad, tail walks after him at a respectful distance.
1862 Sat. Rev. 15 Mar. 286 The glorious days when O'Connell's tail supplied Lord Melbourne's Cabinet with the means of protracting a miserable existence.
b. A person (as a detective or spy, etc.) who secretly follows and observes another. Also collective, people in the act of following. Cf. tag n.1 13, tail v.1 5b colloquial (originally U.S.).
ΘΚΠ
society > law > law enforcement > investigation of crime > [noun] > detective > who watches or follows
shadow1859
peeper1908
tail1914
tag1966
the mind > attention and judgement > enquiry > investigation, inspection > secret observation, spying > procedures used in spying > [noun] > following > person engaged in
shadow1859
shadower1889
tail1914
tag1966
1914 L. E. Jackson & C. R. Hellyer Vocab. Criminal Slang 83 Tail, verb. General circulation. To trail; to follow. Used as a noun in the same sense.
1933 A. Merritt Burn Witch Burn! (1934) xii. 181 One of the tails—one of the lads who's been looking—meets up with me.
1940 R. Stout Over my Dead Body xiv. 215 ‘You were having Miss Lovchen followed?’ ‘Yes, a double tail... Their instructions are to report in every two hours.’
1955 J. Cannan Long Shadows iii. 63 I'd like to put a tail on the lady.
1962 ‘K. Orvis’ Damned & Destroyed v. 42 I realized almost at once I'd picked up a tail. The two shadowing me..were..obvious.
1978 M. H. Clark Stranger is Watching xxvi. 112 We'll have a loose tail on you—an agent following you from a distance.
7.
a. (Also plural) The inferior, less valuable, or refuse part of anything; foots, bottoms, dregs, sediment. Also figurative. Cf. tailing n.1 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > refuse or rubbish > [noun] > refuse part of anything
dreg1531
tail1542
excrement1576
lee1593
garbage1598
recrement1599
tap-lash1623
ground1629
gross1708
tailings1889
1542 A. Borde Compend. Regyment Helth x. sig. F.ii It [sc. ale] must haue no weft nor tayle.
1642 D. Rogers Naaman 71 Abandoning the refuse and taile that remained.
1674 J. Ray Coll. Eng. Words 123 The wast Tin that falls hindmost in the Buddle and Wreck, which they call the tail.
1778 W. Pryce Mineralogia Cornubiensis iv. i. 221.
1778 W. Pryce Mineralogia Cornubiensis iv. Gloss. 329/1 Tails, the roughest refuse of stampt Tin thrown behind the tail or end of the buddle.
1890 Science 5 Sept. 129 The tails or faints, as well as the still less volatile or ordinary fusel oil, are mixtures of several alcohols and fatty acid ethers.
b. (Also in plural.) Short for tail corn at sense 12b, etc.: cf. tailing n.1 2a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > corn, cereals, or grain > [noun] > inferior grain
hummel corn1474
multure corn1546
tailings1764
tail1775
chicken corna1817
screening1824
pilkins1859
tail-end1859
1775 W. Marshall Minutes Agric. 14 Oct. (1778) Last year, we made a bushel of tail to every fifteen bushels of head.
1801 Farmer's Mag. Apr. 215 After grinding [it] produced 483 lb. English of barley meal, 3 lb. and a half of tails, and 40 lb. and a half of bran.
1880 R. Jefferies Round about Great Estate 110 He had a bushel of the ‘tail’, or second flour, from the mill.
8.
a.
(a) The inferior, least influential, or least skilful members of a body; e.g. of a profession, a political party, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > inferiority or baseness > inferior person > [noun] > collectively
tail1604
the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > [noun] > one who is unimportant > low or subordinate
squire1570
tail1604
monkey1957
1604 S. Hieron Preachers Plea in Wks. (1620) I. 493 Those that are but the refuse, and (as I may so speake) the taile of an honest profession.
1780 E. Burke Corr. (1844) II. 385 I will say nothing about that tail which draggles in the dirt, and which every party in every state must carry about it.
1855 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. III. xv. 553 These Whigs..belonged, not to the main body of the party, but either to the head or to the tail.
1876 J. Grant Hist. Burgh Schools Scotl. ii. xiii. 357 The more talented and industrious scholars are impeded for the sake of the tail of the class.
(b) spec. in Cricket, the lower end of the batting order, comprising the weaker batters in a team. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > cricketer > [noun] > batsman > last in order
last man1748
last wicket1775
tail1851
gravedigger1887
tail-end1888
1851 J. Pycroft Cricket Field xi. 221 Never put in all your best men at first, and leave ‘a tail’ to follow.
1879 C. W. Alcock in James Lillywhite's Cricketers' Ann. i. i. 17 The tail was again weak, the last five wickets only adding 16 runs.
1892 Pall Mall Gaz. 30 May 1/3 It would seem as if Sussex has a very bad ‘tail’ indeed this year, the last seven batsmen being good for 35 only in the first innings and for but 37 in the second.
1913 J. B. Hobbs How to make Century xii. 82 The fast bowler..was bowling far too accurately for ‘tail’ batsmen to do much with him.
1926 C. E. Montague Rough Justice iii. ix. 125 They seemed to be talking about the conflict then arising between the House of Lords and the..House of Commons. ‘If it comes to a Test Match,’ said Wynnant, ‘we'll lose. Too long a tail to our team.’
1955 Times 4 July 3/2 Due..to the obstinate wriggling of the tail, the last four Cambridge wickets more than doubled the score.
1977 J. Laker One-day Cricket 67 Marsh, with no support at all from the tail, was left high and dry with 52 not out.
b. spec. The inferior animals of a flock or herd.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > animals collectively > [noun] > inferior animals of group
tail1844
1844 H. Stephens Bk. of Farm II. 39 The lambs, dinmonts, or wethers, that are drafted out of the fat stock, are called the sheddings or tails.
1886 C. Scott Pract. Sheep-farming 88 With overstocking..not only is there a greater ‘tail’ among the lambs, but the death rate is higher.
9. In various figurative uses.
ΚΠ
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 61 Zuyche byeþ ycleped ine writinge: tayles. Vor hi wreþ þe uelþes of zenne of riche men uor zom timlich guod, hueruore hi byeþ anlicned to þe trayle of þe uoxe.
1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) Deut. xxviii. 13 The Lord thi God shal sett thee into heed, and not into tayl [a1425 L.V. the tail].
1579 L. Tomson tr. J. Calvin Serm. Epist. S. Paule to Timothie & Titus 1036/1 That the worde of God is a truth, a truth without a taile (as wee say).
?1608 S. Lennard tr. P. Charron Of Wisdome i. xx. 79 To swell and to be puffed up for euery good and profitable action, is to shew his taile while hee lifts vp his head.
1742 in Colonial Rec. Pennsylvania (1851) IV. 555 The names of ‘Imposter,..Invader of the Liberties of the People’ (with a Tail of et cetera's).
1786 W. Cowper Let. 24 Aug. (1981) II. 584 I catch a minute by the tail and hold it fast while I write to you.
1895 B. M. Croker Village Tales (1896) 64 One of the last joints in the tail of precedence.
10. Short for tail-ill n. at Compounds 2: see Compounds 2. Obsolete or dialect.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > animal disease or disorder > disorders of animals generally > [noun] > palsy
tail1577
tail-shot1790
tail-worm1811
tail-ill1824
tail-slip1846
tail-rot1847
1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry iii. f. 131 A disease which they call the Woolfe, others, the Tayle, which is perceaued by the loosenesse or softnesse betwyxt the ioyntes.
1736 Compl. Family-piece iii. 402 The Disease called the Tail, is by some Farmers called the Wolf.
11. Phrases.
†a. tail on end, said lit. of some beasts when running with the tail erect; hence attributive, headlong; precipitate(ly).
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > by locomotion > locomotion of animals > [adverb] > with tail between legs or erect
with the tail between the legsc1400
tail on end1790
the world > movement > rate of motion > swiftness > swift movement in specific manner > moving swiftly in specific manner [phrase] > headlong
neck over head1579
tail on end1790
1790 R. Tyler Contrast ii. ii I was glad to take to my heels and split home, right off, tail on end.
1850 R. Gordon-Cumming Five Years Hunter's Life S. Afr. I. v. 98 Hunted on horseback, and ridden down by a long, severe, tail-on-end chase.
1850 R. Gordon-Cumming Five Years Hunter's Life S. Afr. I. vi. 120 The oryx leading me a cruel long chase due north, tail-on-end, from my waggons.
b. with the tail between the legs, lit. of a dog or other beast; figurative with a cowed and dejected demeanour.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > by locomotion > locomotion of animals > [adverb] > with tail between legs or erect
with the tail between the legsc1400
tail on end1790
the mind > emotion > suffering > dejection > [adverb] > of an animal
with the tail between the legsc1400
the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > family Canidae > dog > [adverb] > with the tail between the legs
with the tail between the legsc1400
c1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 59 A wood hound..renneþ hidirward & þidirward..wiþ..his tail bitwene hise leggis.
1842 F. A. Kemble Let. 6 May in Rec. Later Life (1882) II. 218 She has scornfully..departed with her tail over her shoulder, leaving the behind scenes of Her Majesty's Theatre with their tails between their legs.
1884 W. E. Norris Thirlby Hall xii We shall have you back here very soon..with your tail between your legs.
1897 Westm. Gaz. 22 Jan. 2/3 If this sneaking tail-between-the-legs policy is persisted in no more Church votes for the Union!
†c. tail and top = top and tail at top n.1 and adj. Phrases 3a: see top n.1
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > downward motion > falling > [phrase] > head over heels
tail over top1303
top over tailc1330
heels over headc1400
tail and top1558
head over heels1678
over head and heels1678
heels over gowdy1751
head over tip1824
arse over tip1922
ass over tea-kettle1963
1558 T. Phaer tr. Virgil Seuen First Bks. Eneidos v. sig. N.jv Headlong down in dust he ouerturnyd tayle and topp.
d. to turn tail (originally a term of falconry), to turn the back; hence, to run away, take to flight.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > birds > order Falconiformes (falcons, etc.) > [verb (intransitive)] > actions of Falconiformes
aire1472
jouk1486
mantle1486
to turn taila1586
carry1614
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > going away > go away [verb (intransitive)] > run away or flee
fleec825
afleeeOE
atrina1000
atfleec1000
to run awayOE
to turn to or into flighta1225
to turn the ridgec1225
atrenc1275
atshakec1275
to give backa1300
flemec1300
startc1330
to take (on oneself) the flighta1500
to take the back upon oneselfa1500
fly1523
to take (also betake) (oneself) to one's legs1530
to flee one's way1535
to take to one's heels1548
flought?1567
fuge1573
to turn taila1586
to run off1628
to take flighta1639
refugea1641
to run for it1642
to take leg1740
to give (also take) leg-bail1751
bail1775
sherry1788
to pull foot1792
fugitate1830
to tail off (out)1830
to take to flight1840
to break (strike, etc.) for (the) tall timber1845
guy1879
to give leg (or legs)1883
rabbit1887
to do a guy1889
high-tail1908
to have it on one's toes1958
the world > food and drink > hunting > hawking > action of hawk > [verb (intransitive)] > fly away from quarry
to rake out (also away, off)1575
to turn tail1575
to turn taila1586
check1615
to fly at check1667
a1586 Sir P. Sidney Arcadia (1590) ii. iv. sig. Q2 Would she..turne taile to the Heron, & flie quite out another way.
1587 R. Greene Euphues sig. E To cast out no lure to such a haggarde as would turne taile to a full fist.
1589 G. Puttenham Arte Eng. Poesie iii. xxiv. 246 Such as retire from the Princes presence, do not by & by turne tayle to them as we do, but go backward or sideling for a reasonable space.
1615 G. Markham Countrey Contentments i. vii. 94 Short winged hawkes..will many times neither kill their game, nor flie their game to marke; but will give it over..and (as Faulconers terme it) turne taile unto it.
1639 Laud in J. Rushworth Hist. Coll.: Second Pt. (1721) II. 899 For him to turn tail against my Lord Deputy must needs be a foul Fault.
1719 D. Defoe Life Robinson Crusoe 358 The Wolves turn'd Tail.
1807 E. S. Barrett Rising Sun II. 128 Ashamed to avow that you are going to turn tail on your former principles.
e. to get one's tail down and variants, to become dispirited; to have one's tail up and variants, to be in good spirits.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > pleasure > cheerfulness > be cheerful [verb (intransitive)]
to be of (good) comfortc1320
risea1400
to feel good1821
to have one's tail up1853
the mind > emotion > suffering > dejection > be or become dejected [verb (intransitive)]
heavyOE
fallOE
droopena1225
lourc1290
droopc1330
to abate one's countenance (also cheer)a1350
dullc1374
fainta1375
languora1375
languisha1382
afflicta1393
gloppen?a1400
weary1434
appalc1450
to have one's heart in one's boots (also shoes, heels, hose, etc.)c1450
peak1580
dumpc1585
mopea1592
sink1603
bate1607
deject1644
despond1655
alamort?1705
sadden1718
dismal1780
munge1790
mug1828
to get one's tail down1853
to have (also get) the pip1881
shadow1888
to have (one's) ass in a sling1960
1853 ‘P. Paxton’ Stray Yankee in Texas 97 To use an expressive Westernism, ‘Dave's tail was up’, and every possible preparation was made to preclude a failure.
1874 Hotten's Slang Dict. (rev. ed.) 318 Tail-down, ‘to get the tail down’, generally means to lose courage. When a professional at any game loses heart in a match he is said to get his tail down. ‘His tail was quite down, and it was all over.’
1917 G. S. Gordon Let. 26 Apr. (1943) 75 We were getting jaded till this touch of spring came, and now we have our tails up again, and are prepared to attack anything.
1921 Punch 12 Jan. 23 I must try and keep my tail up.
1923 J. Galsworthy Captures 190 He was a Northumbrian..and his ‘tail still up’, as he expressed it.
1928 Sunday Disp. 15 July 14 I sincerely hope that..standard producers..will not get their tails down over this ‘cheap record boom’.
1933 P. G. Wodehouse Mulliner Nights iii. 93 ‘Tails up, Uncle Theodore, tails up!’ ‘Tails up!’ repeated the Bishop dutifully, but he spoke the words without any real ring of conviction in his voice.
1941 C. Morgan Empty Room ii. 88 May be a snag somewhere. Usually is when one gets one's tail up about an idea.
1960 E. P. C. Cotter Tackle Croquet this Way ix. 61 My opponent's tail was up so I decided to get him off balance if I could.
1978 R. Mark Office of Constable xv. 187 Nevertheless, in dealing with the worst forms of crime our tails were well up.
f. two shakes of a lamb's tail (and variants): see shake n.1 2h.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > duration > shortness or brevity in time > [noun] > moment or instant
hand-whileOE
prinkOE
start-while?c1225
twinkling1303
rese?c1335
prick1340
momenta1382
pointa1382
minutea1393
instant1398
braida1400
siquarea1400
twink14..
whip?c1450
movement1490
punct1513
pissing whilea1556
trice1579
turning of a hand1579
wink1585
twinklec1592
semiquaver1602
punto1616
punctilio of time1620
punctum1620
breathing1625
instance1631
tantillation1651
rapc1700
crack1725
turning of a straw1755
pig's whisper1780
jiffy1785
less than no time1788
jiff1797
blinka1813
gliffy1820
handclap1822
glimpsea1824
eyewink1836
thought1836
eye-blink1838
semibreve1845
pop1847
two shakes of a lamb's taila1855
pig's whistle1859
time point1867
New York minute1870
tick1879
mo?1896
second1897
styme1897
split-second1912
split minute1931
no-time1942
sec.1956
a1855 J. F. Kelly Humors of Falconbridge (1856) 137 In the wag of a dead lamb's tail.
1901 Dial. Notes 2 142 ‘I'll do it in three jerks of a lamb's tail,’ i.e., very quickly.
1901 Dial. Notes 2 429 She got all cleared up in the whisk of a lamb's tail.
1917 Dial. Notes 4 402 Two jerks of a lamb's tail, n. phr., an instant, a jiffy.
g. the tail wags the dog, the less important or subsidiary factor dominates the situation; the proper roles are reversed.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > be of no importance [phrase] > less important or subsidiary factor dominating
the tail wags the dog1935
1907 E. von Arnim Fräulein Schmidt xxvi. 84 Isn't it rather weak to let yourself be led round by the nose..? It is as though instead of a dog wagging its tail the tail should wag the dog.]
1935 F. S. Fitzgerald Let. 11 Mar. (1964) 260 This letter is a case of the tail (the parenthesis) wagging the dog.
1945 Jrnl. Royal Aeronaut. Soc. 44 463/1 The aeroplane developing an undamped short period oscillation in which rapid movement of the rudder from side to side plays an essential part—the tail wagging the dog.
1956 W. H. Whyte Organization Man ii. 19 The tail wagged the dog in this case and it still often does.
1968 Listener 4 Jan. 23/3 Most producers are going to continue resisting..indulgence in an academic exercise. There's a danger of the tail wagging the dog.
1980 Truck & Bus Transportation (Surry Hills, New S. Wales) Feb. 26/2 Tractor response during the lane-change manoeuvre shows how the externally-applied force through the fifth wheel induces tractor lateral motion. This is better known as ‘tail wagging the dog’.
h. to be on someone's tail and variants, to follow or pursue someone closely (see also quot. 1925). Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > progressive motion > order of movement > following behind > follow behind [verb (intransitive)] > follow closely
to tread on any one's heels or toesc1384
hang?a1513
dog1519
tag1676
to be on someone's tail1925
to be on someone's wheel1941
1865 ‘L. Carroll’ Alice's Adventures in Wonderland x. 151 There's a porpoise close behind us, and he's treading on my tail.]
1925 E. Fraser & J. Gibbons Soldier & Sailor Words 275 Tail, to get on the, an Air Force expression for an attack on the rear of an opponent.
1937 E. Partridge Dict. Slang 860/2 Tail, be—gen. shall or will be—on a person's, to look for, to pursue, a person with a view to punishing or severely scolding him: C. 20.
1962 ‘J. le Carré’ Murder of Quality iv. 54 I rather gathered..that his Chief Constable was treading on his tail, urging him to scour the country for tramps.
1971 B. Malamud Tenants 71 I wouldn't want anybody else on my tail or in my hair, with or without cause.
1971 M. Tak Truck Talk 154 Stay on his tail, to follow another truck closely.
1981 Sunday Times 1 Feb. 63/5 Sir Hugh thought the Lonrho boss had put a private eye on his tail.
i. to chase one's tail, to indulge in a futile pursuit; to go round in circles.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > disadvantage > uselessness > uselessness, vanity, or futility > be of no avail [verb (intransitive)] > expend effort on something futile
to shoe the goose14..
to send (also carry, etc.) owls to Athens1548
to break, crush, a fly upon the wheel1606
to carry coals to Newcastlea1614
to bang (also run, bash, etc.) one's head against a brick wall1689
to preach to the converted1857
to be on a hiding to nothing1905
to chase one's tail1963
1963 Times 14 May 8/4 ‘We have been chasing our tails overlong,’ he said. ‘Given a Labour Government committed to the principles of equity and justice, a coordinated wages policy may be possible.’
1973 Archivum Linguisticum 4 35 Is anything indeed to be gained from hunting for some notion embodying the cumulate surface exponency of..transitive and perfective..? It is all too easy at times to chase our conceptual tail.
j. Also crag and tail: see crag n.1 1b.cut and long tail: see cut adj. 9. head and (or, nor) tail: see head n.1 Phrases 3r(a). to twist the lion's tail: see lion n. 2g. to put salt on the tail: see salt n.1 2c.top over tail: see top n.1 and adj. Phrases 3b, and cf. 5.
12.
a. Forming or situated at the tail, bottom, or rear, hindmost; as tail decoy, tail half, tail hound, tail van; coming from the rear, as tail-wind.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > position at the back > [adjective] > farthest back
hindermost1398
hinderestc1405
hindmost1487
last1549
backermost1669
tail1673
rearmost1718
backmost1782
the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > wind > [noun] > wind as means of propulsion > favourable wind
fore-wind1561
trail wind1679
tail-wind1897
1673 tr. A. de Courtin Rules Civility (ed. 2) x. 104 Flounders, Place, or the like;..the tail-half is the best.
1857 T. Hughes Tom Brown's School Days i. vii. 164 The tail hounds all straining to get up with the lucky leaders [in hare-and-hounds].
1874 J. W. Long Amer. Wild-fowl Shooting xxv. 257 Wait until they are over the ‘tail’ decoys.
1897 Westm. Gaz. 1 Mar. 8/1 With a strong tail wind birds have accomplished more than sixty miles in the hour.
1927 C. A. Lindbergh ‘We’ iii. 39 I left Texarkana with a strong tail wind.
1970 T. Hughes Crow 15 He stuffed the head half headfirst into woman And it crept in deeper and up to peer out through her eyes Calling its tail-half to join up quickly.
1976 Evening Times (Glasgow) 1 Dec. 5/3 Tail winds across the Atlantic knocked up to an hour off the flying times of some transatlantic flights.
b. Forming the lowest or most inferior quality, as tail barley, tail corn, tail flour, tail meal, tail wheat.
ΚΠ
1765 Museum Rusticum 4 lxiii. 282 For tail barley..0l. 14s. 3d.
1851 Jrnl. Royal Agric. Soc. 12 i. 133 The light or tail corn goes a considerable length in feeding the horses upon a farm.
1887 O. Crawfurd Beyond Seas 35 The enemy's army but riff-raff and tail-corn fellows.

Compounds

C1.
a. General attributive.
tail-blotch n.
ΚΠ
1872 E. Coues Key to N. Amer. Birds 99 Tail-blotches small or obscure.
tail-cap n.
ΚΠ
1891 C. L. Morgan Animal Sketches 198 Each successive moult [of the rattlesnake] leaves an additional tail-cap of dried skin and these constitute the rattle.
tail-feather n.
ΚΠ
1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth V. 97 The common eagle..the tail feathers white, blackening at the ends.
tail-fur n.
ΚΠ
1902 Daily Chron. 18 Oct. 8/3 Ermine, spotted with the tips of the tail-fur.
tail-plumage n.
ΚΠ
1850 D. J. Browne Amer. Poultry Yard 153 A well-developed tail plumage.
tail-pocket n.
ΚΠ
1847 W. M. Thackeray Vanity Fair (1848) xiii. 109 The head of the family thrust his hands into the great tail-pockets of his great blue coat.
tail-quill n.
ΚΠ
1681 N. Grew Musæum Regalis Societatis i. iv. iii. 75 The two Tail-Quills of the same [Tropick Bird].
1894 A. Newton et al. Dict. Birds: Pt. III 705 In some [penguins] the tail-quills, which are very numerous, are also long.
tail-ring n.
ΚΠ
1907 Macmillan's Mag. July 673 His [a tiger's] tail rings were very finely marked.
tail-spot n.
ΚΠ
1872 E. Coues Key to N. Amer. Birds 101 Wing-bars and tail-spots ordinary.
tail-stroke n.
ΚΠ
1891 C. L. Morgan Animal Sketches 138 The vigorous tail-strokes..often leave their mark on the smooth surface of the water.
tail-temptation n.
ΚΠ
1690 C. Ness Compl. Hist. & Myst. Old & New Test. I. 25 The Son of God..broke the serpents head, and leaves only tail-temptations for us.
tail-tip n.
ΚΠ
1904 B. von Hutten Pam 135 If the proverbial worm had not only turned, but risen on its tail-tip.
tail-tuft n.
ΚΠ
1910 W. de la Mare Three Mulla-mulgars xvii. 224 They sat, with tail-tufts over their shoulders.
a1930 D. H. Lawrence Last Poems (1932) 260 The two lions who devoured one another, and left the tail-tufts wagging.
b. Objective.
(a)
tail-dangler n.
ΚΠ
1922 J. Joyce Ulysses iii. xvi. [Eumaeus] 615 It [sc. a horse] was a..taildangler, a headhanger.
tail-raiser n.
tail-wagger n.
ΚΠ
1948 in B. Vesey-Fitzgerald Bk. Dog i. 114 Organisations, such as the Tail Waggers Club, undertake to provide discs that can be attached to the collar.
1952 Chambers's Jrnl. Apr. 239/1 I reckon that about 3,000,000 folk would have to look elsewhere for their bread and butter if there were no trawlermen—or fish. We mustn't forget the tail-waggers.
1982 ‘L. Cody’ Bad Company iii. 26 ‘What's this then? The Tail-Waggers Club?’ he asked as he..fended off the retriever's enthusiastic welcome.
(b)
tail-buffeting n.
ΚΠ
1931 Flight 30 Jan. 90 To the new phenomenon the subcommittee gives the name ‘tail buffeting’.
1947 Times 8 Feb. 2/5 There was tail-buffeting within a certain speed range in very bumpy conditions.
tail-chasing n. and adj.
ΚΠ
1921 J. D. M. Rorke Musical Pilgrim's Progress iii. 49 The excitement and tail-chasing demonstrations of a dog at the home-coming.
1957 R. H. Smythe Conformation of Dog 123 Tail-chasing, spinning and walking in circles.
tail-pulling n.
tail-spreading n.
tail-switching adj.
ΚΠ
1905 R. Garnett William Shakespeare Pedagogue & Poacher 97 Tail-switching Lucifer, Hell's emperor.
tail-wagging n.
ΚΠ
1869 Platts tr. Ikhwanu-s-Safa 70 If watching, barking, and tail-wagging are required there, I am the one for it.
c. Instrumental and locative.
(a)
tail-cropped adj.
ΚΠ
1892 R. Kipling Barrack-room Ballads 186 The tail-cropped heifer's low.
tail-decorated adj.
tail-docked adj.
tail-joined adj.
ΚΠ
a1657 G. Daniel Trinarchodia in Poems (1878) III. To Rdr. 134 Tayle-Ioyn'd foxes hurrying Sylla's Nose, A Brand to wast the ffeilds.
tail-tied adj.
(b)
tail-fisher n.
ΚΠ
1865 E. B. Tylor Res. Early Hist. Mankind xii. 355 To proceed now to the story of the Tail-Fisher.
tail-fishing n.
ΚΠ
1865 E. B. Tylor Res. Early Hist. Mankind xii. 357 The curious mythic art of Tail-fishing.
(c)
tail-like adj.
ΚΠ
1835–6 Todd's Cycl. Anat. & Physiol. I. 208/2 The last segment of the tail-like abdomen.
(d)
tail-down adj. and adv.
ΚΠ
1916 H. Barber Aeroplane Speaks 87 An inclinometer..which will indicate a nose-down position by increase in air speed, and a tail-down position by decrease in air speed.
1916 H. Barber Aeroplane Speaks 113 If the angle of incidence..is too great, it will produce an excess of lift, and that way..result in a tendency to fly ‘tail-down’.
1935 P. W. F. Mills Elem. Pract. Flying vii. 103 When brought too quickly into tail-down attitude their wings retain an uncomfortable degree of buoyancy for some little time.
tail-first adj. and adv.
ΚΠ
1886 R. L. Stevenson Kidnapped xviii. 171 Alan's morals were all tail-first; but he was ready to give his life for them.
1904 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. June 818/2 A spaniel..dragged tail-first upstairs and downstairs by a child.
1914 H. M. Buist Aircraft in German War v. 101 The latter quality lead to the original example of this tail-first machine being purchased by the Rumanian Army.
1945 Sun (Baltimore) 7 Feb. 7- o/4 (heading) New ‘tail-first’ fighter plane appears to fly backward.
(e)
tail-foremost adv.
ΚΠ
1875 W. Morris tr. Virgil Æneids viii. 210 Which same..Tail-foremost dragged he to his den.
C2. Special combinations:
tail-area n. Statistics an area under the curve of a frequency distribution lying between one end of the curve and any ordinate on the same side of the mode.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > probability or statistics > [noun] > graph > tail-area
tail-area1957
1957 M. G. Kendall & W. R. Buckland Dict. Statist. Terms 290 Tail area (of a Distribution).
1971 D. C. Hague Managerial Econ. (rev. ed.) vii. 153 If we want to take the probability of there being less than 2 in of rain, we take the area of the first two bars [of the histogram], and so on. If we do this, we are said to be considering tail areas.
tail assembly n. [assembly n. 1c] Aeronautics = empennage n.; cf. tail unit n. below.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > aeroplane > parts of aircraft > [noun] > stabilizer > of tail > arrangement of
empennage1908
tail unit1926
tail assembly1968
1968 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 3 Feb. 1/2 The wreckage was a compacted heap of rubble... Only the tail assembly was intact.
1977 J. Cleary High Road to China iv. 128 The plane quivered..then the nose came up, the quivering slid out through the tail-assembly.
tailback n. in U.S. Football, the player stationed farthest from the forwards.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > football > American football > [noun] > types of player
side tackle1809
nose guard1852
rusher1877
goalkicker1879
quarterback1879
runner1880
quarter1883
full back1884
left guard1884
snap-back1887
snapper-back1887
running back1891
tackle1891
defensive end1897
guard1897
interferer1897
receiver1897
defensive back1898
defensive tackle1900
safety man1901
ball carrier1902
defensive lineman1902
homebrew1903
offensive lineman1905
lineman1907
returner1911
signal caller1915
rover1916
interference1920
punt returner1926
pass rusher1928
tailback1930
safety1931
blocker1935
faker1938
scatback1946
linesman1947
flanker1953
platoon player1953
corner-back1955
pulling guard1955
split end1955
return man1957
slot-back1959
strong safety1959
wide receiver1960
line-backer1961
pocket passer1963
tight end1963
run blocker1967
wideout1967
blitzer1968
1930 R. C. Zuppke Coaching Football vii. 208 The tail-back is four and one-half yards back of the scrummage line and directly back of the fullback.
1980 Washington Post 10 Oct. c6/5 Of the six Rattler touchdowns Keith pointed out FAMU ‘earned’ only one: the 69-yard first-quarter run by tailback Archie Jones.
† tail-band n. Obsolete = crupper n. 1.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping or management of horses > horse-gear > [noun] > tail-harness or crupper
after-ropeOE
crupperc1300
tail-ropec1325
dockc1400
tail-band1483
saker1607
1483 Cath. Angl. 377/1 A Taylbande (A. Taylle bande), caudile, subtela.
tail-bandage n. a bandage divided into strips at the end.
tail-bay n. (a) the space between a girder and the wall: cf. bay n.3; (b) in a canal-lock, the narrow water-space just below the lock, opening out into the lower pond: see quot.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > body of water > channel of water > [noun] > navigable waterway > canal > other structures in canals
overfall1764
aqueduct1791
tail-cut1791
waste-weir1793
boatlift1839
berm-bank1854
tail-bay1856
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > framework of building > [noun] > joist > support for > space between wall and
tail-bay1856
1856 S. C. Brees Terms & Rules Archit. Tail bays, a name given to common joists when one end is framed in a girder and the other rests on a wall.
1875 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. II. 1341/1 The tail bay or aft-bay, below the lock-chamber.
tail-beam n. a beam that is tailed in, as to a wall; a tailpiece.
ΚΠ
1899 F. E. Kidder Building Construction 57 In the West the headers are generally built up of plank, the inner one being mortised to receive the tail beam.
† tail-bearer n. Obsolete a train-bearer.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > subjection > service > servant > personal or domestic servant > attendant or personal servant > [noun] > train-bearer
train-bearer1587
tail-bearer1598
1598 J. Marston Scourge of Villanie ii. v. sig. E4v Codrus my well-fac'd Ladies taile-bearer, (He that..play'th Flauias vsherer).
tail-binder n. see quot.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > disposition of stones or bricks > [noun] > specific stone or brick
hirne-stonec1000
parpen1252
coin1350
coin-stone1350
angler1365
parpal1369
corner-stonea1382
cunye1387
tuss1412
quoin1532
table stone1554
quoining1562
copestone1567
ground-stone1567
lock bandc1582
quinyie1588
perpender1611
whelmer1618
parpen stone1633
capstone1665
headera1684
through1683
quoin-stone1688
stretcher1693
closer1700
bed-stone1723
coping-brick1725
girder1726
footstone1728
heading brick1731
bossage1736
lewis-hole1740
shoulder1744
headstone1745
pawl1753
tail-bond1776
coping-stone1778
slocking-stone1778
throughband1794
through-stone1797
stretching-bond1805
core1823
keystone1823
tail-binder1828
stretching-stone1833
header brick1841
coign1843
pawl-stone1844
bay-stone1845
bonder1845
pillar-stone1854
bond-piece1862
stretcher-brick1867
toothing-stone1875
bond-stone1879
pierpoint1891
jumper1904
tush1905
padstone1944
1828 W. Carr Dial. Craven (ed. 2) Tail-binder, a long stone..which rests upon the corner stone,..to bind, or give strength to the wall.
tail-block n. (a) Nautical: see quot. 1769; (b) in a sawmill carriage, a support of the log at the end where the cut ends; (c) in a lathe = tail-stock n.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > tackle or purchase > [noun] > system of) pulley(s) > specific forms of block
snap-block1626
tail-block1769
notch-block1788
strap-bound-block1794
monkey1834
strap-block1875
butterfly block1882
society > occupation and work > equipment > machine tool > lathe > [noun] > tail-stock
foot stock1855
tail-stock1864
tail-block1881
1769 W. Falconer Universal Dict. Marine Tail-block, a small single block, having a short piece of rope attached to it, by which it may be fastened to any object..either for convenience, or to increase the force applied to the said object.
1829 F. Marryat Naval Officer I. viii. 229 A tail block was attached to the boom iron.
1881 F. Young Every Man his own Mechanic §591 The tail-block [of a lathe] has a sliding spindle worked by the screw and wheel.
tail-bond n. Building a stone placed with its greatest length across a wall, serving as a tie to hold the face to the interior.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > disposition of stones or bricks > [noun] > specific stone or brick
hirne-stonec1000
parpen1252
coin1350
coin-stone1350
angler1365
parpal1369
corner-stonea1382
cunye1387
tuss1412
quoin1532
table stone1554
quoining1562
copestone1567
ground-stone1567
lock bandc1582
quinyie1588
perpender1611
whelmer1618
parpen stone1633
capstone1665
headera1684
through1683
quoin-stone1688
stretcher1693
closer1700
bed-stone1723
coping-brick1725
girder1726
footstone1728
heading brick1731
bossage1736
lewis-hole1740
shoulder1744
headstone1745
pawl1753
tail-bond1776
coping-stone1778
slocking-stone1778
throughband1794
through-stone1797
stretching-bond1805
core1823
keystone1823
tail-binder1828
stretching-stone1833
header brick1841
coign1843
pawl-stone1844
bay-stone1845
bonder1845
pillar-stone1854
bond-piece1862
stretcher-brick1867
toothing-stone1875
bond-stone1879
pierpoint1891
jumper1904
tush1905
padstone1944
1776 G. Semple Treat. Building in Water 141 The Headers, Stretchers and Tail-bonds.
tail-bone n. any one of the caudal vertebræ in animals; also applied to the coccyx, when anchylosed into one bone.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > animal body > general parts > rump and tail > [noun] > tail > tail bone
tail-bone1577
1577 Vicary's Profitable Treat. Anat. sig. L.iv Three cartilaginis spondels of Ossa caude, called, The tayle bonne.
1898 New Sydenham Soc. Lexicon Tail-bone, the coccygeal vertebræ; coccyx, or os coccygis.
tail boom n. Aeronautics one of the main spars of the longitudinal framework carrying the tail of an aeroplane when not supported by the fuselage.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > aeroplane > parts of aircraft > [noun] > structural framework > specific supporting tail
tail boom1913
boom1916
1913 Flight 23 Aug. 927/1 One of our sketches shows the method of joining the struts to the tail booms.
1969 K. Munson Pioneer Aircraft 1903–14 142/1 The three tubular steel tailbooms formed a triangular section, and the tail control wires were led through the uppermost boom, which also acted as a propeller bearing.
tail-box n. see quot.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > mills > [noun] > windmill > other parts of windmill
rown-wheel1688
stair-tree1688
tail1712
roundhouse1772
wind-wheel1867
windmill-cap1875
tail-box1895
quant1924
tail-pole1945
1895 W. Raymond Smoke of War 22 The tail-box—one part of that revolving dome at the head of a stone [wind-] mill by which the sails are brought to face an ever-shifting wind.
† tail-castle n. Obsolete the poop of a ship.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > parts of vessels > part of vessel above water > [noun] > deck > after deck > raised
pulpit1512
tail-castle1585
hind-deck1600
poop1704
poop deck1717
poop-royal1769
monkey poop1926
1585 J. Higgins tr. Junius Nomenclator 222/1 Puppis,..la poupe, the hind decke, or taile castell.
tail-chain n. Logging (see quot. 1905).
ΚΠ
1905 Terms Forestry & Logging 50 Tail chain, a heavy chain bound around the trailing end of logs, as a brake, in slooping on steep slopes.
tail-coat n. a coat with tails; esp. a dress or swallow-tailed coat.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > clothing for body or trunk (and limbs) > [noun] > coat > types of > tail-coat
tail-coat1846
tails1857
lap1878
1846 A. Smith Christopher Tadpole (1848) ix. 86 He was..going to put on a tail-coat for the first time.
1879 R. L. Stevenson Trav. with Donkey (1895) 16 A tall peasant..arrayed in the green tail-coat of the country.
1889 S. J. Hickson Naturalist in N. Celebes 10 The visitor must assume a black tail-coat, a white shirt with a black tie,..and, pro forma, a hat.
tail-coated adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > wearing clothing > [adjective] > wearing clothing for body (and limbs) > wearing a coat > types of
blue-coateda1594
russet-coated1596
grey-coated1597
parti-coated1598
black-coated1600
red-coated1641
greatcoated1748
short-coated1813
frock-coated1850
tail-coated1850
buff-coated1856
overcoated1856
tunicked1876
raincoated1901
trench-coated1923
Crombie-coated1951
slickered1972
1850 T. T. Lynch Memorials Theophilus Trinal xi. 211 How he was born, cradled, schooled, tailcoated, colleged, and the like.
tail comb n. a comb with a tapering tail or handle used in styling to lift, divide, or curl the hair.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > beautification of the person > beautification of the hair > implements used in styling the hair > [noun] > comb
comba700
pocket-tortoise1687
whisk-comb1688
dressing comb1782
tail comb1782
rake-comb1790
reding comb1795
fine-tooth comb1852
hackle1903
rat-tail comb1937
rake1966
Afro pick1971
pick1972
detangler1984
1782 J. Woodforde Diary 24 Apr. (1926) II. 19 To a Tail Comb and another Comb for Nancy of Baker pd. 0. 0. 10.
1855 F. Duberly Let. 22 July in E. E. P. Tisdall Mrs. Duberly's Campaigns (1963) v. 153 Oh, please will you send me a tail comb in the box.
1907 Yesterday's Shopping (1969) 110/1 Tail or curling combs—buffalo horn.
1930 V. Sackville-West Edwardians i. 38 Don't drag my hair back... Give me the tail comb... It wants more fullness at the sides.
1976 J. Grenfell Joyce Grenfell requests Pleasure xvii. 246 Her dark hair was kept neat in a fine net... A tail-comb raised the waves.
tail cone n. Aeronautics the conical rear end of the fuselage of an aircraft.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > aeroplane > parts of aircraft > [noun] > fuselage > rear section
tail cone1944
1944 H. F. Gregory Anything Horse can Do xxi. 216 The tail rotor and approximately the last four feet of the tail cone were broken completely.
1978Tail cone [see sense 2l].
tail-coverts n. (also tail-covers) Ornithology (plural) the feathers that cover the rectrices or quill-feathers of the tail in birds; divided into upper and lower, according to their position on the dorsal or ventral surface.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > birds > parts of or bird defined by > [noun] > tail > feather(s) of > small or covering feathers
tail-coverts1815
under-covert1817
tectrix1874
1815 J. F. Stephens Shaw's Gen. Zool. IX. i. 6 Tail-coverts grey.
1850 D. J. Browne Amer. Poultry Yard 21 The wing coverts on the shoulders, and the tail coverts are dark-greyish.
1861 P. B. Du Chaillu Explor. Equatorial Afr. xvi. 306 Its back, tail-cover, and very long flowing tail are pure milk-white.
tail-crab n. [compare crab n.1 7] see quot.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > mining equipment > [noun] > rope for moving pumps in shafts > crab for overhauling or belaying
tail-crab1883
1883 W. S. Gresley Gloss. Terms Coal Mining Tail crab, a crab for overhauling and belaying the tail rope in pumping gear.
tail-cut n. see cut n.2 21a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > body of water > channel of water > [noun] > navigable waterway > canal > other structures in canals
overfall1764
aqueduct1791
tail-cut1791
waste-weir1793
boatlift1839
berm-bank1854
tail-bay1856
1791 Rep. Nav. Thames & Isis 12 A tail Cut from a Lock on River Navigations should be as short as possible.
tail-dam n. Scottish the tail-race of a mill.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > rivers and streams > stream > [noun] > mill-tail
tail1533
mill-tail1569
tail-water1760
tail-race1776
flusha1825
millwash1861
tail-dam1903
1903 J. Lumsden Toorle v. i. 100 His speech rusht out o' the mou' o' him like water out o' a tail dam.
tail-dragger n. Aeronautics an aeroplane that lands and taxis on a tail wheel or tail skid, its nose off the ground.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > aeroplane > [noun] > with specific type of undercarriage
ski-plane1930
tricycle1942
tail-dragger1971
1971 Flying Apr. 39/2 If you trace the 172 back to the rag~wing 170 taildragger of 1948.
1981 R.A.F. News 14 Jan. 12/3 The Chipmunk is well suited to the unit's role because, as a taildragger, it introduces characteristics that ‘sort out the men from the boys’.
tail-drain n. see quot. 1805.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > preparation of land or soil > ditching or drainage > [noun] > ditch
dikec893
gripa1000
ditch1045
fosselOE
water-furrowlOE
sow1316
furrowc1330
rick1332
sewer1402
gripplec1440
soughc1440
grindle1463
sheugh1513
syre1513
rain?1523
trench1523
slough1532
drain1552
fowsie?1553
thorougha1555
rean1591
potting1592
trink1592
syver1606
graft1644
work1649
by-ditch1650
water fence1651
master drain1652
rode1662
pudge1671
gripe1673
sulcus1676
rhine1698
rilling1725
mine1743
foot trench1765
through1777
trench drain1779
trenchlet1782
sunk fence1786
float1790
foot drain1795
tail-drain1805
flow-dike1812
groopa1825
holla1825
thorough drain1824
yawner1832
acequia madre1835
drove1844
leader1844
furrow-drain1858
1805 R. W. Dickson Pract. Agric. II. 923 Tail-Drain, the principal ditch which conveys the water out of the meadow.
1842 J. Aiton Domest. Econ. (1857) 183 Taking the levels, and laying off the main feeders, the floating gutters, the tail drains,..and the main drain to carry away the whole water.
tail-ducat n. [German Schwanzdukaten] a Prussian gold coin of Frederick William I (1713–40), worth about 10s. sterling, bearing the king's head with a queue.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > money > medium of exchange or currency > coins collective > foreign coins > [noun] > German or Prussian coins
hellera1549
kreutzera1549
morkina1549
pfenniga1549
dollar1553
batz1568
fennin1611
groschen1617
mariengroschen1617
mark1727
schilling1753
thaler1787
Joachimsthaler1831
tail-ducat1864
krone1871
1864 T. Carlyle Hist. Friedrich II of Prussia IV. xvi. v. 309 A Secretary came..told down on the table five Tail-ducats (Schwanz-dukaten), and a Gold Friedrich under them.
tail-dust n. see quot.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > drink > manufacture of alcoholic drink > malting > [noun] > malt > refuse malt
draffc1275
malt-culms?c1450
malt-dustc1450
ale grounds1577
grain1583
ale grains1630
culmings1688
malt-culmingsa1728
malt tails1743
tail-dust1764
1764 Museum Rusticum (1765) 3 lxi. 281 The tail~dust, which falls through the screen whilst the malt is cleaning before it is put up in sacks,..may be applied to a better use.
tail-fan n. in macrurous crustacea, the tail-end formed by the sixth pair of pleopods with the telson.
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the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Crustacea > [noun] > subclass Malacostraca > division Thoracostraca > order Decapoda > suborder Macrura > parts of
thelycum1888
tail-fan1893
1893 T. R. R. Stebbing Hist. Crustacea xi. 146 Except in the Lithodidæ, that [pair of pleopods] belonging to the sixth segment is always present, this pair with the telson forming the Rhipidura or tail-fan.
tail fin n. (a) the caudal fin of a fish; (b) Aeronautics (see quot. 1940); (c) an upswept ornamental projection forming a continuation of the fender line at the rear of a motor vehicle.
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the world > animals > fish > parts of fish > [noun] > fin or parts of fin > caudal
tail fin1681
society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > aeroplane > parts of aircraft > [noun] > stabilizer > of tail
tailplane1909
tail fin1940
stabilator1954
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > powered vehicle > parts and equipment of motor vehicles > [noun] > body or bodywork > fin
tail fin1954
fin1959
1681 N. Grew Musæum Regalis Societatis i. v. i. 85 The Tail-Finn, as it were half a Finn, being ½ a foot high.
1835–6 Todd's Cycl. Anat. & Physiol. I. 562/2 The horizontal position of the tail-fin..distinguishes the cetacean from the fish.
1940 Chambers's Techn. Dict. 333/1 Fin, in an aeroplane, a fixed vertical surface giving lateral stability of motion; usually placed at the tail, then sometimes called a tail fin.
1945 W. Langewiesche Stick & Rudder vii. 115 The purpose of the horizontal tail fin is not to hold the tail up, but to hold it down; it is a sort of wing, but a wing set at a negative Angle of Attack.
1954 Wall St. Jrnl. 22 Oct. 16/6 Its [sc. the car's] high fender-line sweeps backward in a straight line but is slightly lower at the tail fins than at the headlights.
1974 P. Dickinson Poison Oracle i. 22 The plane lay still... The symbol of the rising sun stared from the tall tail fin.
1982 Quarto Mar. 7/4 The American family car was a 425-horsepower, twenty-two-foot-long Buick Electra with tail fins in back.
tail-flap n. (a) the tail of a crustacean; (b) Aeronautics an adjustable control surface on the tail of an aircraft.
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the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Crustacea > [noun] > member of > parts of > tail
flap1774
flapper1836
tail-flap1847
society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > aeroplane > parts of aircraft > [noun] > movable control surface > rudder or elevator
rudder1784
tail-flap1847
horizontal rudder1875
elevator1910
ruddervator1945
taileron1966
1847 H. Miller First Impressions Eng. v. 93 Her [sc. a female lobster's] dorsal plates curve round from the joint at the carpace [read carapace] till the tail-flap rests on her breast.
1913 A. E. Berriman Aviation p. xxiv The glide..as the pilot switches on at the last moment and cocks up the tail flap to flatten out ere touching the ground.
1980 J. Ditton Copley's Hunch ii. i. 115 The tail-flaps were working all right, because he zoomed up and over to gain height.
tail-flower n. a West Indian araceous plant of the genus Anthurium; from its tail-like spicate inflorescence.
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the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > particular flower or plant esteemed for flower > [noun] > non-British flowers > tropical flowers > tail-flower
anthurium1833
flamingo flower1882
tail-flower1884
1884 W. Miller Dict. Eng. Names Plants 161 Anthurium, Banner-plant, Flamingo-plant, Tail-flower.
tail-fly n. Angling the fly at the end of the leader; a stretcher-fly.
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the world > food and drink > hunting > fishing > fishing-tackle > means of attracting fish > [noun] > artificial fly > one of a number on line
dropper1829
bob-fly1832
dropper-fly1834
bobber1837
stretcher1837
drop-fly1870
stretcher-fly1883
tail-fly1883
1883 Cent. Mag. 26 378 For a stretcher or tail-fly.
tail gas n. (see quot. 1967).
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the world > matter > gas > [noun] > specific gases > refinery gas not required for processing
tail gas1948
1948 Economist 31 July 193/2 Tail gases..carried..by pipe-line..will replace some of the coke at present used..for the production of ammonia, methanol and petrol.
1967 Gloss. Terms Gas Industry (B.S.I.) 12 Tail gas, refinery gas which is not required for further processing in the refinery.
tail-grape n. a name for the species of Artabotrys, N.O. Anonaceæ, shrubs of tropical Africa and the East Indies; so called from the hook-like form of the flower-stalks, by the aid of which the fruit is suspended.
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the world > plants > particular plants > trees and shrubs > shrubs > non-British shrubs > [noun] > African
Aspalathus1601
othonne1601
honey flower1712
amber tree1719
Melianthus1731
rhinoceros bush1731
Hottentot cherry1740
sparmannia1801
renosterbos1822
ratsbane1846
black parsley1861
tail-grape1884
milk-tree1885
poison-bush1885
rooibos1893
Natal bottlebrush1907
moonflower1913
1884 W. Miller Dict. Eng. Names Plants 163 Artabotrys, Tail-grape.
tail gunner n. = rear gunner n. at rear adj.2 and n.2 Compounds 2 (and adj.1) 9.
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society > armed hostility > hostilities in the air > airman > [noun] > aircrew with specific duties
observer1870
strafer1915
air gunner1916
air bomber1918
gunner1918
rear gunner1918
bombardier1932
bomb-aimer1935
tail gunner1939
tail-end Charlie1941
arse-end Charlie1942
waist-gunner1942
spotter pilot1944
1939 War Illustr. 29 Dec. 539/2 The tail gunner reported ‘Fighters on our tail’.
1971 P. O'Donnell Impossible Virgin xii. 246 A bloke called Worsfold, tail-gunner in a Lancaster during the war..fell over seven thousand feet... Only broke a leg and a few ribs.
tail-head n. the root of an animal's tail.
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the world > animals > animal body > general parts > rump and tail > [noun] > tail > part next to body
rump1608
tail-head1704
1704 London Gaz. No. 4018/4 A pretty large white Hound Bitch, with..a Tann'd Spot on her Fore~head, and another on the Tail-head.
1844 H. Stephens Bk. of Farm II. 164 The first point..handled is the end of the rump at the tail head.
1901 Westmorland Gaz. 26 Oct. 5/3 Lost, three Ewes and two Lambs,..ewes marked across tail-head.
tail-heaviness n. (used esp. with reference to aircraft).
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society > travel > air or space travel > specific movements or positions of aircraft > [noun] > attitude in relation to line of travel > tail-down or tail-heavy
cabré1913
tail-heaviness1919
1919 A. Klemin Text-bk. Aeronaut. Engin. xv. 178 The down stream from the propellers..is said to increase the safety from the point of view of longitudinal balance, giving tail heaviness with power, and nose heaviness without power.
1930 R. Duncan Stunt Flying iii. 26 Nose-heaviness, or tail-heaviness, can be corrected by adjusting the horizontal stabilizer.
1977 D. Beaty Excellency vi. 83 The tail-heaviness had been deliberate..this ingenious way of getting rid of him.
tail-heavy adj. of a motor vehicle, boat, etc.: having a tendency for the rear end to bear down more than the front.
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society > travel > air or space travel > specific movements or positions of aircraft > [adjective] > tendency of rear end to bear down
tail-heavy1916
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > [adjective] > heavy at rear
tail-heavy1916
1916 H. Barber Aeroplane Speaks 110 The aeroplane will, in flight, be nose-heavy or tail-heavy.
1923 G. Sturt Wheelwright's Shop Gloss. 223 Tail-heavy, the opposite fault to fore-heavy. In a tail-heavy cart the tendency was to lift the horse off the ground.
1957 A. C. Clarke Deep Range iv. 48 By keeping the torp tail-heavy and nose-up he was able to scorch along on the surface like a speed-boat.
1978 R. V. Jones Most Secret War xvi. 131 The weight of two cameras, about 120 lbs., would pull back the centre of gravity of the aircraft making it ‘tail heavy’ and dangerous to fly.
tail-hold n. Logging (see quot. 1905.)
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1905 Terms Forestry & Logging 50 Tail hold. 1. A means of obtaining increased power in moving a log by tackle... 2. The attachment of the rear end of a donkey sled, usually to a tree or stump.
tail-hook n. (a) Angling the hook of a tail-fly; (b) Logging = dog n.1 19a.
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the world > food and drink > hunting > fishing > fishing-tackle > hook > [noun] > hook baited with a fly
fly-hook1706
upright1878
tail-hook1888
1888 G. B. Goode Amer. Fishes 8 Use a ‘tail-hook’ to avoid the risk of losing the minnow without gaining the Perch.
1905 Terms Forestry & Logging 50 Tail hook.
tail-hounds n. the hounds in the tail of a pack.
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the world > food and drink > hunting > hunting with hounds > [noun] > pack of hounds > hounds at tail of pack
tail-hounds1849
the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > family Canidae > hound > [noun] > pack of > member(s) of
vanchasera1425
tail-hounds1849
1849 R. S. Surtees Soapey Sponge's Sporting Tour ix, in New Monthly Mag. Apr. 402 The tail-hounds are flying the fence out of the first field.
tail-house n. see quot.
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society > occupation and work > workplace > places for working with specific materials > place for working with metal > [noun] > for cleaning ore > place for treating or collecting refuse
tye-pit1602
slime-pit1778
tail-house1881
tail-mill1881
1881 Trans. Amer. Inst. Mining Engineers 1880–1 9 184 Tail-house, Tail-mill, the buildings in which tailings are treated.
tail-ill n. a name for palsy, supposed to be caused by looseness between the tail-joints.
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the world > health and disease > ill health > animal disease or disorder > disorders of animals generally > [noun] > palsy
tail1577
tail-shot1790
tail-worm1811
tail-ill1824
tail-slip1846
tail-rot1847
1824 J. Mactaggart Sc. Gallovidian Encycl. at Yirb-wives When a cow takes the Tailill, or is Elfshot, these females are sent for to cure them.
1846 J. Baxter Libr. Pract. Agric. (ed. 4) II. 134 This complaint is traced to a most ridiculous cause. The original evil is said to be in the tail; and all maladies of this kind, involving the partial or total loss of motion of the hind limbs of the animal, are classed under the name of tail-ill, or tail-slip.
tail-joint n.
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?1677 S. Primatt City & Covntry Purchaser & Builder 80 Observe that the Carpenter doth pin all his Tayl-Joynts, they being apt to slip.
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Categories »
tail-joist n. a joist tailed into the wall, a tailpiece.
tail-knife n. see quot.
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society > occupation and work > industry > whaling and seal-hunting > whaling > cutting up whale or seal > [noun] > knife or hook
blubber-spade1820
spade1820
strand knife1820
tail-knife1820
blubber-hook1835
whale-spade1852
mincing knifea1884
1820 W. Scoresby Acct. Arctic Regions II. 233 A ‘tail-knife’,..used for perforating the fins or tail of a dead whale.
tail-lamp n. = tail-light n.
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society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > parts and equipment of vehicles generally > [noun] > lights and reflectors
signal light1743
tail-light1844
headlight1845
headlamp1851
tail-lamp1891
reflector1909
spotlight1916
fogs1974
1891 Cent. Dict. Tail-lamp.
1908 Westm. Gaz. 17 Nov. 5/2 Side lamps, tail lamp, head~light with separate generator.
tail-light n. the (usually red) light or lights carried at the rear of a train, motor-vehicle, aeroplane, etc.
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society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > parts and equipment of vehicles generally > [noun] > lights and reflectors
signal light1743
tail-light1844
headlight1845
headlamp1851
tail-lamp1891
reflector1909
spotlight1916
fogs1974
1844 Illustr. London News 14 Dec. 374 Each train..is provided with..red tail lights.
1903 Westm. Gaz. 28 Jan. 5/1 He did not slow even when the red tail-lights of the standing local train were seen.
1937 Esquire Jan. 64/3 He turned and watched the red tail-light sink into the distant darkness.
1946 R. A. McFarland Human Factors Air Transport Design xii. 610 The pilot..had..mistaken the taillight of the stationary D.C.-3 for one of a row of..boundary lights.
1978 S. Brill Teamsters vii. 286 Only one man was working the night shift, replacing some tail lights on a trailer.
tail-lobe n. either of the two lobes of the caudal fin present in most fishes.
tail-lock n. a lock at the exit or lower end of a dock.
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the world > the earth > water > body of water > channel of water > [noun] > navigable waterway > canal > lock or chamber > types of lock
sidelock1761
tide-lock1808
weigh-lock1834
sea-lock1839
tail-lock1907
riser1908
1907 J. E. Ewart in Q. Rev. Apr. 558 At the base of the long dock there is no vestige of a tail-lock.
tail-mill n. = tail-house n.
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society > occupation and work > workplace > places for working with specific materials > place for working with metal > [noun] > for cleaning ore > place for treating or collecting refuse
tye-pit1602
slime-pit1778
tail-house1881
tail-mill1881
1881 Trans. Amer. Inst. Mining Engineers 1880–1 9 184 Tail-house, Tail-mill, the buildings in which tailings are treated.
tail-muscle n. any muscle in the tail of an animal; a caudal or coccygeal muscle.
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the world > animals > animal body > general parts > rump and tail > [noun] > tail > tail muscle
tail-muscle1891
1891 Cent. Dict. Tail-muscle.
1898 New Sydenham Soc. Lexicon Tail muscle, coccygeus, depressor of the tail.
tail parachute n. Aeronautics a deceleration parachute attached to the tail of an aircraft.
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society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > aeroplane > parts of aircraft > [noun] > deceleration parachute
drogue1919
tail parachute1937
brake parachute1942
parabrake1951
1937 Jrnl. Royal Aeronaut. Soc. 41 731 The Russian plane A.N.T.6 which was the first to land at the pole was provided with a tail parachute, which was released as soon as the skis touched the ice.
1978 A. Welch Bk. of Airsports ii. 29/2 Tail parachutes are ‘one-shot’ drag producers and are more useful as an emergency aid.
tail-piles n. see quot.
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the world > the earth > water > flow or flowing > flood or flooding > structures protecting from water or flooding > [noun] > groyne(s)
groyne1582
breakwater1721
tail-piles1837
horse1852
groyning1867
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > architecture > arch > [noun] > vaulting > specific part
ogee1356
voussoir1359
severy1399
orb1500
squinch1500
scutcheon1565
ogive1611
pendant1706
groin1725
groining1742
cross-springer1815
boss1823
tail-piles1837
scoinson shaft1842
sectroid1860
boss-stonea1878
groinery1880
1837 in Civil Engineer & Archit. Jrnl. 1 6/1 The component parts of a groin are piles, planking, land-ties,..tail-piles and keys, and screw~bolts.
1837 in Civil Engineer & Archit. Jrnl. 1 6/2 The relative proportions of the component parts are, four piles, one land-tie with tail-piles and keys [etc.].
tail-pin n. †(a) some part of an ancient gun or its carriage; †(b) a pin for the tail of a woman's gown; (c) the centre in the tail-spindle of a lathe; (d) Music (i) (see quot. 1961); (ii) a metal spike attached to the cello and other instruments to support them at the correct height from the ground.
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society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > device for discharging missiles > firearm > gun carriage > [noun] > other parts of carriage
tail-pin1497
brack1622
head-plate1647
transom1688
prise-bolt1705
bracket1753
bracket-bolt1753
pintle1769
rider1779
trail-plate-eye1828
cleat1834
wheel-guard1860
spade1862
nave-hole1867
chassis1869
turntable1889
gun-crutch1898
trail-spade1904
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > clothing for body or trunk (and limbs) > [noun] > dress, robe, or gown > parts of > skirt(s) > pin for
tail-pin1497
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > stringed instruments > bowable instrument > [noun] > violin > other parts of
neck1611
tailpiece1786
soul1830
scroll1836
belly1843
sound-bar1884
tail-pin1884
saddle1899
society > occupation and work > equipment > machine tool > lathe > [noun] > other parts of lathe
steel bow1680
shear1812
dog plate1834
wheel-plate1859
turning-gauge1877
spur centre1881
tail-pin1887
cat-head1940
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > stringed instruments > bowable instrument > [noun] > violincello > tail-pin of
tail-pin1923
1497 in M. Oppenheim Naval Accts. & Inventories Henry VII (1896) 84 Lymores with boltes forlokkes kayes lynces and a taile pynne for the said Curtowe.
?1544 J. Heywood Foure PP sig. B.iv The trymmynge and pynnynge vp theyr gere Specyally theyr fidlyng with the tayle pyn.
1884 E. Heron-Allen Violin-making xi. 195 The Tail-pin..is the peg of ebony or box-wood, which is firmly fixed into the bottom block..to which is fastened the loop..of the tail-piece.
1887 Cassell's Encycl. Dict. VI. Tail-pin, the back-centre pin of a lathe.
1923 E. S. J. Van Der Straeten Technics Violoncello Playing (ed. 4) iii. 18 The use of the tail pin is now generally adopted, and offers the double advantage of steadying the instrument and strengthening its tone.
1946 R. Alton Violin & 'Cello Building vii. 60 The tail-rest..over which the tail-gut passes on its way to the tail-pin, must now be inserted.
1946 R. Alton Violin & 'Cello Building xv. 147 With a tapered reamer fit the tail-pin into its place, gradually enlarging the hole until the tail-pin fits.
1961 A. C. Baines Musical Instruments through Ages 358 Tailpin, the button let into the bottom block of a violin, etc., to which the tailpiece is attached by a gut loop.
1978 Early Music 6 530/2 My own contribution to this debate..is concerned with thicknesses and struttings, lengths and positions of necks, bridge heights and string angles and tailpin hitches.
tailplane n. Aeronautics the horizontal stabilizing surface of the tail of an aircraft.
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society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > aeroplane > parts of aircraft > [noun] > stabilizer > of tail
tailplane1909
tail fin1940
stabilator1954
1909 A. Berget Conquest of Air ii. iv. 189 Tail planes.
1911 Aero Nov. 232/1 The construction of the empennage or fixed ‘non-lifting’ tail plane.
1948 ‘N. Shute’ No Highway i. 8 It had only been necessary to break one of these expensive tailplanes for the strength tests for the airworthiness of the machine.
1979 ‘D. Kyle’ Green River High xvii. 219 I tested the tailplane's firmness to be sure it would take my weight.
tail-pole n. a wooden lever or turning beam by means of which a post- or windmill is turned to the wind.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > mills > [noun] > windmill > other parts of windmill
rown-wheel1688
stair-tree1688
tail1712
roundhouse1772
wind-wheel1867
windmill-cap1875
tail-box1895
quant1924
tail-pole1945
1945 Archit. Rev. 98 71 This ‘winding’ of the mill was first accomplished by pushing the whole body of a post mill round by means of the ‘tail pole’, which projected downwards through the ladder.
1968 J. Arnold Shell Bk. Country Crafts 170 The problem of keeping the sweeps or sails into the wind was originally met by manual labour at the ‘tail-pole’, or turning beam.
tail-rhyme n. (also tail-rime) = tailed rhyme at tailed adj.1 1d.
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society > leisure > the arts > literature > poetry > part of poem > [noun] > stanza > stanza, couplet, etc., with tail
rime couée?a1400
tail-rhyme1838
tailed rhyme1890
1838 E. Guest Hist. Eng. Rhythms II. iv. i. 289 This, like the interwoven and tail-rhime, seems to have been first used by the Latinist.
1916 J. E. Wells Man. Writings Middle Eng. I. 86 Lines 3411 to the end are in tail-rime stanzas.
1945 E. K. Chambers Eng. Lit. at Close of Middle Ages i. 25 The metre of the Chester plays..is a Romance metre of the type known as rime couée or tail-rhyme.
1982 Notes & Queries June 242/2 With certain common patterns, of couplets, quatrains, and versions of the tail-rhyme stanza, predominating.
tail-rimed adj.
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society > leisure > the arts > literature > poetry > part of poem > [adjective] > stanzaic > tail-rimed
tail-rimed1886
1886 Schmirgel in Sir Beues (E.E.T.S.) App. xlv Romances with tail-rhymed stanzas.
tail-rod n. a continuation of the piston-rod, which passes through the back cover of the cylinder, and serves to steady the piston and rod by giving the former a double bearing.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > parts of machines > piston > [noun] > parts of
piston valve1735
piston rod1753
piston ring1754
piston head1824
gland1839
junk ring1839
slipper block1881
tail-rod1894
scraper ring1918
1894 Times 26 June 12/1 Rods, which pass through the covers of the low-pressure cylinders after the manner of a tail-rod.
1896 R. Kipling Seven Seas 43 Yon orchestra sublime Whaurto..the tail-rods mark the time.
tail-rot n. = tail-ill n.
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the world > health and disease > ill health > animal disease or disorder > disorders of animals generally > [noun] > palsy
tail1577
tail-shot1790
tail-worm1811
tail-ill1824
tail-slip1846
tail-rot1847
1847 W. C. L. Martin Ox 139/2 Palsy, or paralysis. This disease..bears among farmers and cow~leeches the ridiculous names of joint-yellows, tail-rot, tail-ill, or tail-slip.
tail rotor n. Aeronautics an auxiliary rotor at the tail of a helicopter designed to counterbalance the torque of the main rotor.
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society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > rotary wing aircraft > [noun] > parts of rotary wing aircraft > rotor > auxiliary rotor on tail
tail rotor1944
1944 H. F. Gregory Anything Horse can Do x. 107 The control stick..would decrease the pitch of the blades on the right horizontal tail rotor.
1979 Jrnl. Royal Soc. Arts 127 571/1 The helicopter for replacement of Sea King is rather a noisy beast, in that it has a tailrotor.
tail-screw n. in a lathe, the screw which moves the back centre tail-spindle to and fro: the tailpiece.
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1864 Webster's Amer. Dict. Eng. Lang. Tail~stock, the sliding block or support, in a lathe, which carries the tail-screw and adjustable center.
tail-seed n. the small ill-developed part of a quantity of seed.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > sowing > [noun] > condition of seed
tail-seed1786
1786 Ann. Agric. 5 114 Tail-seed from my seed mill.
tail-shaft n. (in screw steamships) that section of the shaft nearest the propeller.
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society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > propulsion machinery > [noun] > propeller > propeller shaft bearings
thrust-bearing1858
thrust-bearer1869
thrust1874
thrust-collar1889
thrust-block1893
thrust-shaft1893
tail-shaft1894
thrust-ring1906
1894 Engineer 28 Sept. 281/2 The object shown in this figure is a piece cut from a condemned tail shaft.
1901 Scotsman 5 Mar. 7/8 Accidents principally of the kind known as tail-shaft breakages.
† tail-shot n. Obsolete = tail-ill n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > animal disease or disorder > disorders of animals generally > [noun] > palsy
tail1577
tail-shot1790
tail-worm1811
tail-ill1824
tail-slip1846
tail-rot1847
1790 J. Woodforde Diary 5 Feb. (1927) III. 169 My poor Cow rather better this morning, but not able to get up as yet, she having a Disorder which I never heard of before or any of our Somersett Friends. It is called Tail-shot, that is, a separation of some of the Joints of the Tail about a foot from the tip of the Tail, or rather a slipping of one Joint from another.
† tail-shotten adj. Obsolete
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the world > health and disease > ill health > animal disease or disorder > disorders of animals generally > [adjective] > palsy
tail-shotten1798
1798 J. Woodforde Diary 1 Aug. (1931) V. 130 She is tail-shotten, & hath something of the Gargut.
tail skid n. [skid n. 2f] Aeronautics that part of an aircraft's landing gear which supports its tail.
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society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > aeroplane > parts of aircraft > [noun] > landing gear > skid
skid1909
tail skid1913
1913 A. E. Berriman Aviation iii. 25 The tail-skid is comparatively an insignificant member of the design: provided it serves its purpose as a protection.
1973 J. D. R. Rawlings Pictorial Hist. Fleet Air Arm ii. 18 The fourth broke his tailskid and had to abort the sortie.
tail-slide n. Aeronautics (see quot. 1969).
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society > travel > air or space travel > specific movements or positions of aircraft > [noun] > rearward slip
tail-slide1916
1916 H. Barber Aeroplane Speaks ii. 73 Should the surface tend to assume too large an angle..the pressure D decreases, with the result that C.P. moves forward and pushes up the front of the surface, thus increasing the angle still further, the final result being a ‘tail-slide’.
1969 Gloss. Aeronaut. & Astronaut. Terms (B.S.I.) ii. 2 Tail slide, rearward motion of an aircraft along its longitudinal axis from a vertical or near vertical, stalled attitude.
tail-slip n. = tail-ill n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > animal disease or disorder > disorders of animals generally > [noun] > palsy
tail1577
tail-shot1790
tail-worm1811
tail-ill1824
tail-slip1846
tail-rot1847
1846Tail-slip [see tail-ill n.].
tailsman n. rare a ploughman.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > breaking up land > ploughing > [noun] > ploughman or woman
earthlingOE
ploughman1223
earmana1250
ploughswain1296
earera1382
plougher?1518
balker1549
scratcher1557
bawker1591
plough-jogger1600
plough-jobber1667
plough woman1783
tailsman1867
1867 D. G. Mitchell Rural Stud. 121 Every man who can use a hoe or a pitchfork is supposed to be a competent tailsman for the plow.
tail-soaked adj. see quot.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > animal disease or disorder > disorders of cattle > [adjective] > other disorders of cattle
fly-bitten1598
whethered1614
belly-shot1694
tail-soaked1766
blown1833
actinomycotic1883
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > group Ruminantia (sheep, goats, cows, etc.) > cow > [adjective] > having a diseased tail
tail-soaked1766
1766 Compl. Farmer Tail-soaked, a disease incident to cows, by which the joint of the tail near the rump, will, as it were, rot away.
tail-spindle n. the spindle in the tail-stock of a lathe.
tail-stern n. the tail-piece of a musical instrument.
tail-stock n. = deadhead n.1 2b: see quot.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > machine tool > lathe > [noun] > tail-stock
foot stock1855
tail-stock1864
tail-block1881
1864 Webster's Amer. Dict. Eng. Lang. Tail~stock, the sliding block or support, in a lathe, which carries the tail-screw and adjustable center.
tail-tackle n. a handy tackle consisting of a double and a single block, or two double blocks, having the strop of one of the double blocks lengthened as in a tail-block.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > lifting or hoisting equipment > [noun] > tackle > other types
robinet1407
tail-tackle1859
1859 F. A. Griffiths Artillerist's Man. (1862) 318 If the moveable block of a tackle be strapped with a tail, it is called a tail, or jigger block: and the tackle a tail, or jigger tackle.
tail-trimmer n. Building see quot.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > framework of building > [noun] > joist > support for
raisingeOE
raising-piece1286
summer1324
reasonc1330
rib-reasonc1350
wall-plate1394
wall-plat1420
summer-piecec1429
summer-tree1452
resourc1493
summer beam1519
wall-rase1523
girt1579
bridle1587
girder1611
out-footing1611
sommier1623
raising plate1637
trimmer1654
main beama1657
corbel1679
dwarf1718
brick trimmer1774
summer stonea1782
tail-trimmer1823
wood brick1842
1823 P. Nicholson New Pract. Builder 594 Tail-trimmer, a trimmer next to the wall, into which the ends of joists are fastened.
tail-twist v.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > state of being harassed > harass [verb (transitive)]
tawc893
ermec897
swencheOE
besetOE
bestandc1000
teenOE
baitc1175
grieve?c1225
war?c1225
noyc1300
pursuec1300
travailc1300
to work (also do) annoyc1300
tribula1325
worka1325
to hold wakenc1330
chase1340
twistc1374
wrap1380
cumbera1400
harrya1400
vexc1410
encumber1413
inquiet1413
molest?a1425
course1466
persecutec1475
trouble1489
sturt1513
hare1523
hag1525
hale1530
exercise1531
to grate on or upon1532
to hold or keep waking1533
infest1533
scourge1540
molestate1543
pinch1548
trounce1551
to shake upa1556
tire1558
moila1560
pester1566
importune1578
hunt1583
moider1587
bebait1589
commacerate1596
bepester1600
ferret1600
harsell1603
hurry1611
gall1614
betoil1622
weary1633
tribulatea1637
harass1656
dun1659
overharry1665
worry1671
haul1678
to plague the life out of1746
badger1782
hatchel1800
worry1811
bedevil1823
devil1823
victimize1830
frab1848
mither1848
to pester the life out of1848
haik1855
beplague1870
chevy1872
obsede1876
to get on ——1880
to load up with1880
tail-twist1898
hassle1901
heckle1920
snooter1923
hassle1945
to breathe down (the back of) (someone's) neck1946
to bust (a person's) chops1953
noodge1960
monster1967
1898 Westm. Gaz. 9 Dec. 7/1 He was..in the hands of clerks and restless explorers who longed to tail-twist and otherwise annoy.
tail-twister n.
tail-twisting n. the twisting of a tail or tails; (a) literal in the fur-trade; (b) in political slang, the act of ‘twisting the lion's tail’: see lion n. 2g; (c) in gen. figurative use, harassment or malicious annoyance.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > state of being harassed > [noun] > harassment
baiting1303
cumbrance1377
persecutiona1382
pursuita1387
aggrievancea1400
vexing?a1425
molestation1435
stroublance1439
inquietation1461
distrouble1483
infestance1490
encumberment1509
molesting1523
vexationa1525
inquieting1527
inquietance1531
molestie1532
infestationc1540
moiling1565
plaguing1566
pesterment1593
commacerating1599
molestance1642
harass1667
harassing1689
harassment1753
aggrievement1778
badgering1785
pesteration1802
bedevilment1844
worrying1848
tail-twisting1887
bloodhounding1891
aggravation1902
static1923
crap1935
hassle1969
monstering1979
society > society and the community > dissent > quarrel or quarrelling > [noun] > picking quarrels > provocation
tail-twisting1887
coat-trailing1927
society > occupation and work > industry > working with specific materials > working with skins > [noun] > furriery > specific processes
secretage1791
fur-pulling1886
tail-twisting1887
pointing1900
stranding1935
1887 R. Kipling Watches of Night in Civil & Mil. Gaz. 25 Mar. 3/3 The Colonel's Wife..went away to devise means for ‘chastening the stubborn heart of her husband’. Which, translated, means, in our slang, ‘tail-twisting’.
1889 C. Edwardes Sardinia 375 A terrible amount of tail-twisting, kicking and anathematization.
1896 Westm. Gaz. 4 Nov. 1/3 If the temper of the British lion is at all affected by the tail-twisting process, he must be in a rage just now and roaring loudly. Tail-twisting seems to be the principal employment of the New York Bryanites.
1902 Daily Chron. 13 May 10/6 Fur Trade.—Girls wanted, used to boa and tail twisting.
1937 E. Linklater Juan in China ii. 58 He had no reason to feel friendly..and the idea of a little tail-twisting was pleasant.
1982 W. J. Burley Wycliffe's Wild-goose Chase vi. 110 If there is any attempt at tail twisting you can rely on me to see 'em off.
tail unit n. Aeronautics = empennage n.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > aeroplane > parts of aircraft > [noun] > stabilizer > of tail > arrangement of
empennage1908
tail unit1926
tail assembly1968
1926 Chambers's Jrnl. Aug. 580/1 In every aeroplane the tail unit..comprises the rudder [etc.].
1977 D. Beaty Excellency i. 8 A lot of junk..six DC6 wheels, a Viscount tail unit.
tail-valve n. (a) the air-pump valve in some forms of condenser; (b) = snifting valve at snifting adj.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > machines which impart power > engine > steam engine > [noun] > parts of > valves
petcock1838
tail-valve1839
sea-cock1855
robinet1867
test-cock1877
Walschaerts1880
society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > machines which impart power > engine > steam engine > [noun] > parts of > valves > for expelling air
snifting clack1744
snifting pipe1744
snifting valve1744
eduction1839
tail-valve1839
1839 R. S. Robinson Naut. Steam Engine Explained 131 It will have to pass through the blow-through, or tail valve.
1885 C. G. W. Lock Workshop Receipts 4th Ser. 99/2 It is usual to fix an extra valve, called a ‘tail’ valve, to prevent the water from running out of the pipe when not in use.
tail-van n. the last van of a train.
ΚΠ
1891 Daily News 23 Oct. 5/8 When the last train, with two engines, got through..the tail van is said to have been floating on the water.
tail-vice n. a small hand-vice with a tail or handle to hold it by (Webster 1864).
tail-walk v. [as a back-formation] (intransitive) .
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > fish > [verb (intransitive)] > tail-walk
tail-walk1971
1971 W. Hillen Blackwater River viii. 72 The trout leaped, tail-walked, shook himself, leaped again, and ran past the raft for deep water.
1979 Angling July 53/2 A fish hits the bait. It runs, leaps, tail-walks.
tail-walking n. the movement of fish over the surface of water by means of propulsion with the tail.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > fish > [noun] > tail-walking
tail-walking1946
1946 Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch 16 June 12- b/2 Oh yes, there are certain salt-water fish which do a certain kind of tail-walking, but the way the bass performs these antics is peculiar to himself.
1970 Islander (Victoria, Brit. Columbia) 25 Oct. 3/3 Out in the salt-chuck where he [sc. a salmon] has a whole ocean to play in you can expect to see some fancy tail-walking.
tail-water n. the water in a mill-race below the wheel, or in a canal or navigable channel below a lock.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > rivers and streams > stream > [noun] > mill-tail
tail1533
mill-tail1569
tail-water1760
tail-race1776
flusha1825
millwash1861
tail-dam1903
1760 J. Smeaton in Philos. Trans. 1759 (Royal Soc.) 51 138 An overshot [wheel], whose height is equal to the difference of level, between the point where it strikes the wheel and the level of the tail-water.
1825 ‘J. Nicholson’ Operative Mechanic 103 When the water in the mill-tail will not run off freely, but stands pent up in the wheel-race, so that the wheel must work or row in it, the wheel is said to be tailed, or to be in back-water or tail~water.
1905 Westm. Gaz. 17 Mar. 9/1 At Molesey Lock the tail water was almost five feet above the summer level.
tail wheel n. Aeronautics = tail skid n. above.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > aeroplane > parts of aircraft > [noun] > landing gear > wheel
tail wheel1910
nose wheel1934
ski-wheel1938
1910 R. Ferris How it Flies xx. 472 Tail wheel, a wheel mounted under the rear end of an aeroplane as a part of the alighting gear.
1933 Jrnl. Royal Aeronaut. Soc. 37 29 But with the advent of tail wheels, that difficulty should not arise.
1981 Pilot Jan. 12/2 A 110 hp tailwheel model.
tail-worm n. = tail-ill n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > animal disease or disorder > disorders of animals generally > [noun] > palsy
tail1577
tail-shot1790
tail-worm1811
tail-ill1824
tail-slip1846
tail-rot1847
1811 G. S. Keith Agric. Surv. Aberdeen 491 The tail~worm is also cured by cutting off a few inches of the tail, which bleeds pretty freely.
1816 L. Towne Farmer & Grazier's Guide 67 Tail Worm. In that Part of the Tail which is affected..the Spine appears deprived of Sensibility.
tail-worts n. a name given by Lindley to plants of the N.O. Triuridaceæ.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > Triuridaceae (tail-worts) > [noun]
tail-worts1846
1846 J. Lindley Veg. Kingdom 213 Triuridaceæ. Tailworts.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1910; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

tailn.2

Brit. /teɪl/, U.S. /teɪl/
Forms: Middle English–1500s tayle, tayll, taill, Middle English–1700s taille, taile, Middle English–1600s taylle, (Middle English tayille, 1500s tall), Middle English– tail.
Etymology: < Old French taille cut, cutting, division, partition or assessment of a subsidy or impost, tax (12th cent. in Hatzfeld & Darmesteter), verbal noun < taillier to cut, tail v.2 But, in sense 4, Old French taille was perhaps < Latin tālea , medieval Latin tālia stick, rod: compare tally n.1Tail in K. Alisaunder (Weber) 2217 appears to be a scribal error; MS. Bodley, Laud Misc. 622, has ‘among the toyle Hardapilon’.
I. Senses relating to shape or form.
†1. Shape, fashion, bodily form or appearance. [ < French taille; compare cut n.2 17.] Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > [noun]
hue971
shapec1050
form1297
casta1300
entailc1320
fashionc1320
featurec1325
tailc1325
suitc1330
figuringc1385
figure1393
makinga1398
fasurec1400
facea1402
makec1425
proportionc1425
figuration?a1475
protracture1551
physiognomy1567
set1567
portraiturea1578
imagerya1592
model1597
plasmature1610
figurature1642
scheme1655
morphosis1675
turn1675
plasma1712
mould1725
format1936
c1325 Poem Times Edw. II 282 in Pol. Songs (Camden) 336 A newe taille of squierie is nu in everi toun.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 11855 Yee se he has na mans taill [Gött. taille, Fairf. tale, Trin. Cambr. taile], þar-for yee sai me your consaill.
II. Senses relating to assessment or tax.
†2.
a. The individual assessment of a subsidy or tallage levied by the king or lord; a tax, impost, due, duty, or payment levied. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > impost, due, or tax > [noun]
yieldc950
tollc1000
tolne1023
mailOE
lotlOE
ransomc1325
tail1340
pensiona1387
contribution1387
scat gild14..
due1423
responsionc1447
impositionc1460
devoirs1503
excisea1513
toloney1517
impost1569
cast1597
levy1640
responde1645
reprise1818
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > impost, due, or tax > tax > [noun]
tacka1300
taxa1327
tail1340
stent138.
emption1467
duty1474
stint1485
teamc1485
liverage1544
stipend1545
toust1574
sess1579
cut1634
censure1641
gild1656
leviation1681
levation1690
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 38 Kueade lordes..þet be-ulaȝeþ þe poure men: þet hi ssolden loki, be tayles, be tornees.
a1450 Knt. de la Tour (1906) 89 That quene..dede mani aduersiteez to the pepille, by tailez and subsidiez.
c1460 J. Fortescue Governance of Eng. (1885) i. 109 [The king] mey sett vppon thaim tayles and other imposicions, such as he wol hym self, with owt thair assent.
c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Law of Armys (2005) 87 Kirk men suld pay tailles tributis and jnposiciouns to seclere kingis.
1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) xii. 320 Gif ony deis in this battaill, His air, but ward, releif, or taill, On the first day his land sall weild.
1583 Sir T. Smith's De Republica Anglorum i. xxi. 28 The yeomen or husbandman is no more subiect to taile or taxe in Englande.
1645 J. Milton Tetrachordon 76 Not the drudging out a poore and worthlesse duty forc't from us by the taxe, and taile of so many letters.
b. Now only as French, in form taille /tɑj/. A tax formerly levied upon the unprivileged classes in France.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > impost, due, or tax > tax > types of tax > [noun] > specific tax in France
tailc1515
tallya1613
c1515 Ld. Berners tr. Bk. Duke Huon of Burdeux (1882–7) lx. 210 He hath reysyd vp in all his londes new taylles & gables & impossessyons.
1554 Wotton Let. 29 July in State Papers Mary: Foreign IV. 193 (P.R.O.) The priuiledges of nobilite, emonge the which one is that the gentlemen pay nothing to the ordinarye taylles, which alle Fraunce payeth continuallye to the king.
?c1682 J. Warburton Treat. Hist. Guernsey (1822) 48 They should be exempted from all gendarmeries, tailles.
1787 A. Young Jrnl. 23 July in Trav. France (1792) i. 30 The money is raised by tailles, and, in making the assessment, lands held by a noble tenure are so much eased, and others by a base one so burthened, that 120 arpents..held by the former, pay 90 liv. and 400 possessed by a plebeian right..is, instead of that, assessed at 1400 liv.
1863 J. F. Kirk Hist. Charles the Bold I. v. 216 The taille and the gabelle levied on the villain burghers.
1877 J. Morley Crit. Misc. 2nd Ser. 200 The great fiscal grievance of old France was the taille, a tax raised..only on the property and income of the unprivileged classes.
III. Senses relating to entail.
3. Law.
a. The limitation or destination of a freehold estate or fee to a person and the heirs of his body, or some particular class of such heirs, on the failure of whom it is to revert to the donor or his heir or assign. [Compare tail adj., tail v.2 5; = tailye n. 3] Hence phrase in tail, as estate in tail, tenant in tail, heir in tail, i.e. within or under the limitation in question.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > transfer of property > settlement of property > [noun] > entailing or entail
tail1373
entailc1380
tailye1391
entailinga1538
entailmenta1641
1321–2 Rolls of Parl. I. 394/2 C'est son droit par vertu de la taille avantdit [i.e. an entail to heirs of the body of the spouses].]
1373–5 in Cal. Proc. Chancery Q. Eliz. (1830) I. Pref. 59 An olde dede..comprisynge the wordes of a tayll made in Kynge Edwardes tyme the second.
1439 in F. J. Furnivall Fifty Earliest Eng. Wills (1882) 125 And aftir him and his issue, to Iohn his brother, and his issue in the taile.
c1460 J. Fortescue Governance of Eng. (1885) xi. 136 To some parte þeroff the eyres off thaim þat some tyme owed it be restored; some bi reason off tayles, some bi reason off oþer titles.
1479 in S. Tymms Wills & Inventories Bury St. Edmunds (1850) 52 And after the decess of the seid Alice, I will that the seid maner shall remayne to the issues of my body lawfully begoten accordyng to the tayle therof made.
1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Surueyeng x. f. 11 If the gyfte were in the tayle and no remaynder in fe euer, nowe the reuercyon resteth styll in ye donor.
1607 J. Cowell Interpreter sig. Rrr4v Taile..is vsed for the fee, which is opposite to fee simple: by reason that it is so..minced, or pared, that it is not in his free power to be disposed..but is..tyed to the issue of the Donee... This limitation, or taile, is either generall, or speciall.
1718 M. Prior Chameleon 7 As if the Rain-bow were in Tail Settled on him [a Chameleon] and his Heirs Male.
1766 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. II. vii. 115 The incidents to a tenancy in tail.
1796 J. Morse Amer. Universal Geogr. (new ed.) I. 463 All estates given in tail..shall become fee simple estates to the issue of the first donee in tail [cf. quot. 1866].
1866 G. Bancroft Hist. U.S. IX. xv. 280 All donees in tail, by the act of this first republican legislature of Virginia, were vested with the absolute dominion of the property entailed.
1868 J. E. T. Rogers Man. Polit. Econ. xiii. 173 The defendant a donee in tail, i.e. a person in whose behalf an estate tail had been created.
1893 M. Cholmondeley Diana Tempest iii You're in the tail, I suppose?
b. With qualifying adjective: tail general, limitation of an estate to a man and the heirs of his body lawfully begotten; tail special, limitation of an estate to a special class of heirs, e.g. to a man and his wife and the heirs of their bodies lawfully begotten; tail male (or female), limitation of an estate to male (or female) heirs; also transferred, the line of descent of dogs or horses, considering either the male or female ancestors.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > transfer of property > settlement of property > [noun] > entailing or entail > type of entail
tail general1495
tail special1495
tail male (or female)1710
the world > life > biology > biological processes > genetic activity > heredity or hereditary descent > [noun] > line of descent
ancestry1837
tail male (or female)1926
1495 Rolls of Parl. VI. 485/1 Seised, in his or their Demeane as of Fee, Fee Tayll generall or speciall, or any other astate.
?1504 S. Hawes Example of Vertu sig. hh.iii To whome heuen by tayll generall Entayled is by a dede memoryall.
1642 tr. J. Perkins Profitable Bk. v. §302. 134 If Tenant in generall taile, take a wife, and enfeoff a stranger and take back an estate unto him and his wife in speciall taile.
1710 London Gaz. No. 4735/4 Then to his first Son in Tail Male, then to his Daughter in Tail general.
1766 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. II. vii. 113.
1796 J. Morse Amer. Universal Geogr. (new ed.) I. 707 They agreed to grant their lands in tail male in preference to tail general.
1845 J. Williams Princ. Law Real Prop. i. ii. 26 Tail female scarcely ever occurs.
1845 J. Williams Princ. Law Real Prop. i. ii. 26 An estate in tail male cannot descend to any but males, and male descendants of males.
1926 Earl Bathurst Breeding of Foxhounds vii. 96 The top line perhaps may be considered important, for it represents the descent in tail-male.
1926 Earl Bathurst Breeding of Foxhounds vii. 99 The Bruce-Lowe system..is..the importance of the female line, or ‘tail-female’.
1931 Times Lit. Suppl. 23 Apr. 325/2 His blood is to be found in most of our ‘classic’ winners, and in tail female it never waned.
1957 C. Leicester Bloodstock Breeding ix. 144 This..leaves untouched the tail female line, i.e. the dam, grandam, etc. of the animal under investigation.
1972 Country Life 10 Feb. 332/1 One of Whipcord's descendants was the famous Four Burrow Pleader '38, whose ancestry can be traced..on his tail female to Mr. Darley's Damsel..and on tail male (through Whipcord) to the Brockelsby Bumper, 1748.
IV. Senses relating to an account or tally.
†4.
a. = tally n.1 1; hence, a score, an account. by tail, by means of tallies; on credit. (Cf. on tick.) Obsolete. [Compare Cotgrave ‘Taille..also, a tallie, or score kept on a peece of wood’.]
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > management of money > keeping accounts > account or statement of > [noun] > tally
tailstick1235
taila1325
white stick?c1430
senyec1440
tallyc1440
chalka1529
tally-stick1830
tally-board1849
chalk-score1867
society > trade and finance > management of money > keeping accounts > account or statement of > [noun] > an account or reckoning
accountc1300
taila1325
laya1400
tale1401
reckoningc1405
tailye1497
accounterc1503
lawing1535
note1587
post1604
chalking1613
tally1614
computus1631
tick1681
tab1889
slate1909
1114–18 Leges Henrici I. c. 56 §1 Si..controuersia oriatur, siue de taleis agatur siue de supplecione in ipso manerio.
1312 Rolls of Parl. I. 284/1 Les gentz ount diverses acquitaunces, les unes par tailes & par brefs, & les unes par diverses fraunchises.]
a1325 tr. Estatuz del Eschekere in MS Rawl. B. 520 f. 36v Ȝif ani bringe taille ase of paie imad ate chekere.
1362 W. Langland Piers Plowman A. iv. 45 He..bereþ awei my whete, And takeþ me bote a tayle [B. iv. 58 taile, taille] of Ten quarter oten.
c1405 (c1387–95) G. Chaucer Canterbury Tales Prol. (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 572 Wheither þt he payde, or took by taille [v.rr. taile, tayle].
1443 King Henry VI Let. 17 Aug. in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. (1846) 3rd Ser. I. 81 Ther shall be made and delivered..sufficient assignement for your repaiement therof by tailles to be rered at the said Eschequier.
?a1527 in Regulations & Establishm. Househ. Earl of Northumberland (1905) 61 The Stoke of the Taill to be delyveret to the Brewar ande the Swatche to the Butler.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 184 Vnes taylles, a payre of taylles, suche as folke use to score upon for rekennyng.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 644/1 I nycke, I make nyckes on a tayle, or on a stycke, je oche.
1556 J. Withals Short Dict. (new ed.) sig. Qiij/1 A Score or taile to marke the debte vpōn, tessera, vel, tessella.
1607 J. Cowell Interpreter sig. Sss1 Taile in the other signification, is that which we vulgarly call a Tallie,..a clouen peece of wood to nick vp an accoumpt vpon.
1647 City-law Guild-Hall London 49 A Taile of debt ensealed by usage of the city, is as strong as an obligation.
1677 R. Cary Palæologia Chronica i. i. i. i. 2 These were the Tailles (as I may so say) by which they marked..the Signal Occurrences of their Life.
†b. figurative. Account, reckoning. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > enumeration, reckoning, or calculation > [noun] > result, sum
telc1000
tale?c1225
tailc1330
reckoningc1392
suma1400
aggregatec1443
count1483
sum total1549
total1557
computation1586
calculation1646
quotient1659
tally1674
amount1751
tot1755
summation1841
c1330 R. Mannyng Chron. Wace (Rolls) 896 Wyþoute seriauntz & oþer pytaille Þat ar nought for to sette in taille.
c1330 R. Mannyng Chron. Wace (Rolls) 1316 Þre hundred schipes þer was in taille, And foure mo.
1421 Coventry Leet Bk. 24 Hit is do the maiour to witt þat tauerners haue sold wyne to certen men of hur alye, be Tailes maid bytwen them, derre than þe maiour hathe ordenyd hit to be sold.

Compounds

† tail-maker n. Obsolete (?) one who fashioned the tallies used in the Exchequer.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > management of money > keeping accounts > [noun] > maker of tallies
tail-maker1589
1589 Sir T. Smith's Common-welth (rev. ed.) ii. xvi. 81 Other officers are Tellers, Auditors, Collectors, rent gatherers, taile makers.
† tailstick n. Obsolete a tally-stick.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > management of money > keeping accounts > account or statement of > [noun] > tally
tailstick1235
taila1325
white stick?c1430
senyec1440
tallyc1440
chalka1529
tally-stick1830
tally-board1849
chalk-score1867
1235–52 in C. J. Elton Rentalia et Custumaria (1891) (Som. Rec. Soc.) 217 j porcellum et taylstich' cujuslibet porci necati provenientis de sua custodia.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1910; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

tailadj.

Brit. /teɪl/, U.S. /teɪl/
Etymology: < Anglo-Norman taylé, tailé = Old French taillié , taillé , past participle of taillier to cut, shape, hence, to fix the precise form of, to limit, tail v.2; the final e having become mute in Middle English as in assign, avowe nouns, and some other legal terms.
Law.
Of a fee or freehold estate (= Anglo-Norman fee taylé, medieval Anglo-Latin feodum tāliātum): Limited and regulated as to its tenure and inheritance by conditions fixed by the donor: thus distinguished from fee simple or absolute ownership: see quot. 1592. See also fee-tail n., conditional adj. 7.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > inferiority or baseness > [adjective] > most
worsteOE
lastc1275
tail1473
worstest1768
society > law > transfer of property > settlement of property > [adjective] > entailed
tailed1430
tail1473
entailed?1530
tailzied1747
1284 De Banco Roll, Michaelmas 11–12 Edw. I. m. 70 d. Quod predicta Emma non habuit in predictis tenementis nisi feodum talliatum secundum formam donacionis predicte.
1285 Stat. Westm. ii. (13 Edw. I.) c. 4 Tenentes in maritagium per Legem Anglie, vel ad terminum vite, vel per feodum talliatum. [tr. 1543 tenantes in free maryage, by the lawe of Englande, or for terme of lyfe, or in fee taile.]
1292 Britton ii. iii. §9 Des queus douns aucuns sount condicionels et dount le fee est taylé et en pendaunt jekes autaunt qe cele chose aveigne ou cele.
1294 Year bks. 21–2 Edw. I (Rolls 1873) 641 Kar le estatut ‘quia emptores terrarum &c.’ est entendu la ou home feffe un autre en fee pur, e nent de fee tayle.]
1473 Rolls of Parl. VI. 81/1 That this Acte..extend not..to Sir Thomas Bourghchier Knyght, ne to his heires masles of his body lawfully begoten,..duryng the seid astate Taille, of, to, or for any Graunte or Grauntes unto hym made.
1473–5 in Calr. Proc. Chanc. Q. Eliz. (1830) II. Pref. 58 To make and delyvere unto her a lawefull estate tayle of alle the forseid landes.
1592 W. West Symbolæogr.: 1st Pt. §40 B A perticuler estate of inheritance, is an estate taile or limited: that is an estate expressing in certaine, whose issue and of what Sexe shall inherite; and it is generall or speciall.
1628 E. Coke 1st Pt. Inst. Lawes Eng. 26 If lands bee giuen to the husband & the wife, and to the heires which the husband shall beget on the body of the wife, in this case both of them haue an estate taile.
1766 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. II. vii. 112.
1818 W. Cruise Digest Laws Eng. Real Prop. (ed. 2) I. 90 Estates tail, like estates in fee simple, have certain incidents annexed to them, which cannot be restrained by any proviso or condition whatever.
1895 F. Pollock & F. W. Maitland Hist. Eng. Law II. ii. iv. §1. 19 In 1285 the first chapter of the Second Statute of Westminster, the famous De donis conditionalibus, laid down a new rule. The ‘conditional fee’ of former times became known as a fee tail (Lat. feodum talliatum, French fee taillé)..and about the same time the term fee simple was adopted to describe the estate which a man has who holds ‘to him and his heirs’.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1910; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

tailv.1

Brit. /teɪl/, U.S. /teɪl/
Etymology: < tail n.1; in various unconnected senses.
I. Transitive uses.
1. To furnish with a tail or final appendage.In early use only in the past participle: see tailed adj.1 1.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > position at the back > form the back or background of [verb (transitive)] > furnish with back part
back1728
tail1817
1817 S. T. Coleridge Satyrane's Lett. ii. 211 The cap behind tailed with an enormous quantity of ribbon.
1876 W. H. Preece & J. Sivewright Telegraphy 224 A double shackle is fixed, and each side is first ‘tailed’, that is to say, a wire is passed round the porcelain and bound in the ordinary way, leaving one end projecting to a distance of from eighteen inches to two feet.
1879 S. Baring-Gould Germany I. ii. 46 In England now anyone adopts arms, and tails his name with esquire, whether he have a right or not to these distinctions.
2. To grasp or drag by the tail. †to stave and tail, to take part in bear-baiting or bull-baiting, by staving the bear or bull, or tailing the dogs.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > fighting or baiting animals > animal baiting > take part in baiting [verb (intransitive)]
to stave and tail1663
the world > food and drink > hunting > fishing > type or method of fishing > [verb (transitive)] > catch with hands
tickle1707
guddle1818
ginnle1819
tail1872
the world > food and drink > hunting > fishing > type or method of fishing > [verb (transitive)] > other methods of fishing
angle1723
tail1872
electrofish1956
freeline1971
1663 S. Butler Hudibras: First Pt. i. ii. 83 Lawyers, lest the Bear defendant, And Plaintiff Dog, should make an end on't, Do stave and tail with Writs of Error, Reverse of Judgement, and Demurrer.
1663 S. Butler Hudibras: First Pt. i. iii. 173 First Trulla stav'd, and Cerdon tail'd, Until the Mastives loos'd their hold.
1872 F. Francis Bk. Angling (ed. 3) i. 11 Tailing a fish out is more often employed on salmon.
1892 Mrs. J. E. H. Gordon Eunice Anscombe 177 One..dived forward in a vain attempt to ‘tail’ the otter.
1893 Field 11 Mar. 360/2 Grasp it [the fish] above the tail—‘tail it’, to employ the technical phrase.
3. To dock the tail of (a lamb, etc.); to cut or pull off that which is regarded as the tail, esp. of a plant or fruit. (Cf. top v.1 II.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > place > removal or displacement > remove or displace [verb (transitive)] > remove or take away > other parts of
unhead1611
tail1794
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > animal keeping practices general > [verb (transitive)] > cut off tail, ears, or other bits
dockc1386
bobtail1577
dishorn1603
crop1607
strunt1828
de-tail1837
stern1858
decaudate1864
tail1886
dehorn1888
declaw1901
poll1907
defang1912
1794 D. Steel Elements & Pract. Rigging & Seamanship I. 61 Hemp..should be well topt, and tailed; that is, both ends cleared by the hatchell.
1824 L.-M. Hawkins Mem. II. 52 A gentleman..was topping and tailing gooseberries for wine.
1844 H. Stephens Bk. of Farm II. 42 Another worker..tops and tails the turnips.
1886 C. Scott Pract. Sheep-farming 88 The number of lambs castrated and tailed.
4. To form the tail or last member of (a procession, etc.); to terminate. (Cf. head v. 4.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > order > order, sequence, or succession > preceding or following in order > precede or follow in order [verb (transitive)] > be last of a series
to carry up the rear1629
tail1835
1835 Fraser's Mag. 11 465 A male author heads and a male author tails the procession.
1890 Pall Mall Gaz. 9 June 4/2 The quaint little procession headed..by the officially-robed Lord Chancellor, and tailed by the blue-gowned Common Councilmen.
1894 R. H. Davis Eng. Cousins 117 The boat which is to tail the procession.
5.
a. Australian and New Zealand. To follow, drive, or tend (sheep, cattle, or horses).
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > animal keeping practices general > herding, pasturing, or confining > [verb (transitive)] > herd
herdc1475
travel1576
pastor1587
drove1776
flog1793
tail1844
work1878
work1879
trail1906
1844 Port Phillip Patriot (Melbourne) 5 Aug. 3/6 I know many boys from the age of nine to sixteen years tailing cattle.
1852 G. C. Mundy Our Antipodes I. x. 314 The stockman..considers ‘tailing sheep’ as an employment too tardigrade for a man of action and spirit.
1852 J. R. Clough Jrnl. 29 Feb. in J. Deans Pioneers of Canterbury (1939) 291 I have had to tail the cattle on foot this five weeks as I have had no saddle.
1871 C. L. Money Knocking about in N.Z. ix. 133 The horses, after being ‘tailed’, or shepherded, all day by one of us.., were tied in rows..for the night.
1890 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Colonial Reformer (1891) 239 The cattle..being..‘tailed’ or followed daily as a shepherd does sheep.
b. To follow someone closely; spec. to follow secretly as a detective or spy, etc. Cf. tag v.1 4b, tail n.1 6b colloquial (originally U.S.).
ΘΚΠ
society > law > law enforcement > investigation of crime > investigate or discover as a detective [verb (transitive)] > follow
tail1907
tag1966
the mind > attention and judgement > enquiry > investigation, inspection > secret observation, spying > procedures used in spying > surveillance [verb (transitive)] > follow
tail1907
tag1966
1907 Everybody's Mag. Mar. 341/2 Detectives were assigned to ‘tail’ him.
1914 L. E. Jackson & C. R. Hellyer Vocab. Criminal Slang 83 Tail, verb. General circulation. To trail; to follow. Used as a noun in the same sense.
1925 E. Wallace Strange Countess ix. 81 ‘What's your idea in tailing me?’.. ‘“Tailing”? Oh, you mean following you, I suppose?’
1950 D. Hyde I Believed viii. 88 For some months I was tailed by a curious assortment of police agents.
1956 S. Plath in Granta 20 Oct. 22/2 Ben tailed us out to the kitchen, where the black old gas stove was, and the sink, full of dirty dishes.
1966 T. Pynchon Crying of Lot 49 v. 130 Oedipa gave him half a block's start, then began to tail him.
1978 S. Brill Teamsters iv. 127 I'm not gonna let you tail me like some kinda cop.
1978 G. Greene Human Factor v. iii. 278 Castle led the way down the stairs to the cellar. Buller followed him and Mr Halliday tailed Buller.
6. U.S. local. (See quots.)
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > transport > transport or conveyance in a vehicle > driving or operating a vehicle > drive a vehicle [verb (transitive)] > drive a wheeled vehicle > attach cattle to slow descent
tail1792
1792 J. Belknap Hist. New-Hampsh. III. 106 In descending a long and steep hill, they have a contrivance to prevent the load from making too rapid a descent. Some of the cattle are placed behind it; a chain..attached to their yokes is brought forward and fastened to the hinder end of the load, and the resistance which is made by these cattle checks the descent. This operation is called tailing.
1851 Harper's Mag. Sept. 518 In this manner the load is tailed down steeps where it would be impossible for the tongue~oxen to resist the pressure of the load.
7. To attach to the tail or hind end of something else; to join on behind, annex, subjoin to.
ΚΠ
1523 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles I. xci. 113 They toke foure Englysshe shyppes..and tayled them to their shyppes.
1589 G. Puttenham Arte Eng. Poesie ii. xii. 88 Wordes monosillables..if they be tailed one to another, or th' one to a dissillable or polyssillable.
1633 J. Clarke tr. Two-fold Praxis 44 in Dux Grammaticus Ne is alwayes tayled to the first word of the Interrogation.
1681 P. Rycaut tr. B. Gracián y Morales Critick 224 They met great Mules tailed one to the other.
1685 J. Scott Christian Life: Pt. II I. 155 What is this but to tail one folly to another?
1851 H. Mayhew London Labour II. 161/2 Each new row of houses tailed on its drains to those of its neighbours.
8. Building. To insert the tail or end of (a beam, stone, or brick) into a wall, etc.; to let in, dovetail.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > disposition of stones or bricks > lay stones or bricks [verb (transitive)] > in specific way
couch1531
bed1685
bond1700
coin1700
tooth1703
truss over1703
tail1823
rack1873
oversail1897
1823 P. Nicholson New Pract. Builder 365 Party-walls may also be cut into for the purposes of tailing-in stone steps.
1850 J. Greenwood Sailor's Sea-bk. 155 To tail, or dovetail, to let one piece of timber into another.
9. passive. Of a mill-wheel: To be clogged by tail-water (tail-water n. at tail n.1 Compounds 2).
10. slang. To copulate with (a woman).
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sexual relations > sexual activity > engage in sexual activity with [verb (transitive)] > have sexual intercourse with > specifically of a man
jape1382
overliec1400
swivec1405
foilc1440
overlay?a1475
bed1548
possess1592
knock1598
to get one's leg over1599
enjoy1602
poke1602
thrum1611
topa1616
riga1625
swingea1640
jerk1650
night-work1654
wimble1656
roger1699
ruta1706
tail1778
to touch up1785
to get into ——c1890
root1922
to knock up1934
lay1934
pump1937
prong1942
nail1948
to slip (someone) a length1949
to knock off1953
thread1958
stuff1960
tup1970
nut1971
pussy1973
service1973
1778 in C. M. Weis & F. A. Pottle Boswell in Extremes (1971) 248 When we talk of pleasure, we mean sensual pleasure. When a man says he had pleasure with a woman, he does not mean conversation, but that he tailed her.
1846 ‘Lord Chief Baron’ Swell's Night Guide (new ed.) 133/2 Tail, to cohabit with women.
1973 J. Wainwright Devil you Don't 51 So, I tailed his wife... So what?
II. Intransitive uses.
11. Of a ship: To run aground stern foremost.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > grounding of vessel > be aground [verb (intransitive)] > go aground > accidentally > by the stern
tail1725
1725 D. Defoe New Voy. round World i. 161 She tayl'd a-Ground upon a Sand.
1799 Naval Chron. 1 258 The Formidable..tailed on the..mud.
1850 J. Greenwood Sailor's Sea-bk. 117 It is to..preserve the main post, should the ship tail aground.
12. Of water, flame, etc.: To flow or creep back against the current; to run back, recoil.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > move in a certain direction [verb (intransitive)] > move in contrary direction > of current, flame, etc.
tail1799
1799 Trans. Soc. Arts 17 349 Floods are very apt to dam or tail-back, and thereby impede or clog the..wheel.
1883 W. S. Gresley Gloss. Terms Coal Mining (at cited word) When fire-damp ignites..and the flame..creeps backwards against the current of air..it is said to tail back into the workings.
13. Of a moving body of people or animals:
a. To lengthen out into a straggling line, as in hunting, racing, etc.; to drop behind, fall away.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > rate of motion > move at specific rate [verb (intransitive)] > lag or fall behind
latch1530
drawlatch1599
to fall behind1652
to hang behind1677
tail1750
lack1775
drop1823
1750 J. S. Gardiner Art & Pleasures of Hare-hunting ii. 9 [The hounds] not being of equal speed..will be found to Tail; which is an Inconveniency.
1862 G. J. Whyte-Melville Inside Bar x.
1864 G. O. Trevelyan Competition Wallah vi. 159 As down towards Barton Wold we sail, The Cockneys soon began to tail.
1897 W. H. Thornton Reminisc. Clergyman i. 2 Then straggling, tailing, as the fox-hunters phrase it, up came the field.
b. To move or proceed in the form of a line or tail; to fall into a line or tail.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > [verb (intransitive)] > move in a line
stringa1824
tail1859
trail1863
queue1893
1859 C. Kingsley Misc. (1860) I. 160 If ten men tail through a gap.
1882 T. Mozley Reminisc. Oriel I. xix. 128 The congregation..came down the road in a dense black mass, but obliged to tail a little.
1899 A. E. Holdsworth Valley Great Shadow x The procession was tailing to Bergstein.
14. To take a position in which the tail or rear is directed away from the wind, current, etc.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > action or motion of vessel > [verb (intransitive)] > swing (in specific way) at anchor
twive1576
to wind up1633
tend1769
to break her sheer1794
tail1849
the world > space > direction > specific directions > have specific directions [verb (intransitive)] > have backward direction or turn back > have rear in specific direction
tail1849
1849 J. D. Dana U.S. Exploring Exped.: Geol. (1850) ii. 115 In more moderate weather the vessel tails out against the wind.
1860 M. F. Maury Physical Geogr. Sea (ed. 8) ii. 29 Sea-weed always ‘tails to’ a steady or a constant wind.
1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. (at cited word) To tail up or down a stream, when at anchor in a river, is as a ship's stern swings.
15. Building. Of a beam, stone, or brick: To have its end let into a wall, etc.: cf. 8.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > building or providing with specific parts > specific parts built or constructed > [verb (intransitive)] > have end let into wall
tail1842
1842 J. Gwilt Encycl. Archit. Gloss. 1039 s.v. Where the end of a timber lies or tails upon the wall.
1892 J. H. Middleton Anc. Rome I. 62 Blocks of tufa..tailing 3 to 5 inches into the concrete backing.
16. Of a stream: To flow or fall into. (Cf. head v. 14.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > rivers and streams > action of river > flow (of river) [verb (intransitive)]
flowa1000
roil?c1400
resorta1552
rill1621
relate1653
put1670
toddle1773
vent1784
tail1889
1889 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Apr. 456 (note) The Dorak canal, which tails into the Jarrahi river.
1900 Westm. Gaz. 10 July 2/2 All the channels and spills tailed into the Ziraf.
17. Of a fish: To show its tail at the surface.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > fish > [verb (intransitive)] > show tail at surface
tail1892
1892 in Daily News 21 May 5/2 The Man sees there is no fly up. The Man sees the fish are tailing.
1908 Edinb. Rev. Apr. 391 When trout are ‘tailing’ they break the surface with their caudal fin as they grub with their noses for water shrimps.
Categories »
18. Calico-printing. Of a colour, etc.: To spread beyond its proper limits in a tail-like blur.

Phrasal verbs

With adverbs. to tail away
intransitive. To fall away in a tail or straggling line; to die away.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > decrease or reduction in quantity, amount, or degree > decrease in quantity, amount, or degree [verb (intransitive)] > gradually
meltc1225
dwindle1598
to die down1836
to trail off1845
to taper off (away, down)1848
to tail off (out)1854
to tail away1860
fritter1874
1860 W. H. Russell My Diary in India 1858–9 II. xix. 369 They were, however, tailing away fast, as we afterwards discovered.
1905 R. Hichens Garden of Allah vii The aird, sunburnt tracts, where its life centred and where it tailed away into suburban edges not unlike the ragged edges of worn garments.
 to tail in
Coal-mining. (See quot. 1883.)
ΚΠ
1883 W. S. Gresley Gloss. Terms Coal Mining Tail in, to run out or terminate a length of holing stints at a buttock or other particular point along the stall face.
 to tail off (out)
1. transitive. To cause to fall away gradually towards the end; to taper off.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > fact or condition of tapering > taper [verb (transitive)]
taper1675
to thin off, down1793
snape1794
to tail off (out)1827
the world > relative properties > quantity > decrease or reduction in quantity, amount, or degree > reduce in quantity, amount, or degree [verb (transitive)] > reduce gradually
to wane away1601
wear1697
wean1707
whittle1736
to tail off (out)1827
to ease off1884
to taper off (away, down)1898
to run down1960
to wind down1969
1827 H. Steuart Planter's Guide (1828) 304 They [artificial hillocks] should be well ‘tailed out’, as the workmen call it,..letting their hard outline imperceptibly disappear, and, as it were, die away in the outline of the adjoining surface.
1842 S. Lover Handy Andy v He..finished it in a gentle murmur—tailed it off very taper, indeed.
2. intransitive. To fall away in a tail; to diminish and cease; to come gradually to an end; to subside.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > decrease or reduction in quantity, amount, or degree > decrease in quantity, amount, or degree [verb (intransitive)] > gradually
meltc1225
dwindle1598
to die down1836
to trail off1845
to taper off (away, down)1848
to tail off (out)1854
to tail away1860
fritter1874
1854 J. D. Hooker Himalayan Jrnls. I. xvii. 396 It tailed off abruptly at the junction of the rivers.
1862 London Society July 86 Already the weaker horses are weeded out, and the poorer spirited are tailing off.
1898 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. V. 977 The dull sound of valvular tension may be heard to precede it [a cardiac bruit], when it ‘tails off’ from the first sound.
1905 F. Young Sands of Pleasure i. iv His voice tailed off into a sigh.
3. intransitive. To turn tail, take to flight, go or run off; to withdraw. colloquial.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > going away > go away [verb (intransitive)]
wendeOE
i-wite971
ashakec975
shakeOE
to go awayOE
witea1000
afareOE
agoOE
atwendOE
awayOE
to wend awayOE
awendOE
gangOE
rimeOE
flitc1175
to fare forthc1200
depart?c1225
part?c1225
partc1230
to-partc1275
biwitec1300
atwitea1325
withdrawa1325
to draw awayc1330
passc1330
to turn one's (also the) backc1330
lenda1350
begonec1370
remuea1375
voidc1374
removec1380
to long awaya1382
twinc1386
to pass one's wayc1390
trussc1390
waive1390
to pass out ofa1398
avoida1400
to pass awaya1400
to turn awaya1400
slakec1400
wagc1400
returnc1405
to be gonea1425
muck1429
packc1450
recede1450
roomc1450
to show (a person) the feetc1450
to come offc1475
to take one's licence1475
issue1484
devoidc1485
rebatea1500
walka1500
to go adieua1522
pikea1529
to go one's ways1530
retire?1543
avaunt1549
to make out1558
trudge1562
vade?1570
fly1581
leave1593
wag1594
to get off1595
to go off1600
to put off1600
shog1600
troop1600
to forsake patch1602
exit1607
hence1614
to give offa1616
to take off1657
to move off1692
to cut (also slip) the painter1699
sheera1704
to go about one's business1749
mizzle1772
to move out1792
transit1797–1803
stump it1803
to run away1809
quit1811
to clear off1816
to clear out1816
nash1819
fuff1822
to make (take) tracks (for)1824
mosey1829
slope1830
to tail out1830
to walk one's chalks1835
to take away1838
shove1844
trot1847
fade1848
evacuate1849
shag1851
to get up and get1854
to pull out1855
to cut (the) cable(s)1859
to light out1859
to pick up1872
to sling one's Daniel or hook1873
to sling (also take) one's hook1874
smoke1893
screw1896
shoot1897
voetsak1897
to tootle off1902
to ship out1908
to take a (run-out, walk-out, etc.) powder1909
to push off1918
to bugger off1922
biff1923
to fuck off1929
to hit, split or take the breeze1931
to jack off1931
to piss offa1935
to do a mick1937
to take a walk1937
to head off1941
to take a hike1944
moulder1945
to chuff off1947
to get lost1947
to shoot through1947
skidoo1949
to sod off1950
peel1951
bug1952
split1954
poop1961
mugger1962
frig1965
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > going away > go away [verb (intransitive)] > run away or flee
fleec825
afleeeOE
atrina1000
atfleec1000
to run awayOE
to turn to or into flighta1225
to turn the ridgec1225
atrenc1275
atshakec1275
to give backa1300
flemec1300
startc1330
to take (on oneself) the flighta1500
to take the back upon oneselfa1500
fly1523
to take (also betake) (oneself) to one's legs1530
to flee one's way1535
to take to one's heels1548
flought?1567
fuge1573
to turn taila1586
to run off1628
to take flighta1639
refugea1641
to run for it1642
to take leg1740
to give (also take) leg-bail1751
bail1775
sherry1788
to pull foot1792
fugitate1830
to tail off (out)1830
to take to flight1840
to break (strike, etc.) for (the) tall timber1845
guy1879
to give leg (or legs)1883
rabbit1887
to do a guy1889
high-tail1908
to have it on one's toes1958
1830 A. Sedgwick Let. 21 Nov. in J. W. Clark Life A. Sedgwick (1890) I. 366 Many men will tail off, if they have an excuse.
1841 F. E. Paget St. Antholin's vii. 146 Mrs. Spatterdash..tailed off at last to a dissenting chapel.
1868 F. E. Paget Lucretia 102 He ducked his head; made a slouching bow; tailed off to his pigs.
1877 A. W. Kinglake Invasion of Crimea (ed. 6) VI. vi. 376 Some..even tailed off.
1885 H. R. Haggard King Solomon's Mines xvi I was tailing out of it as hard as my legs would carry me.
4. transitive. To pass and leave behind (other competitors in a race, etc.).
ΚΠ
1852 J. F. Bateman Aquatic Notes 52 They got close to them at Grassy [corner], but were tailed-off in the Long Reach.
1907 Times 6 June 4/3 He was..one of the leaders for half a mile, but afterwards he was tailed off.
 to tail on
1. transitive. To add on as an appendage.
ΚΠ
1825 B. Hall 3 Jan. in Lockhart Scott Anxious to tail on a branch from Melrose to meet the [projected railway from Berwick to Kelso].
2. intransitive. To join on in the rear.
ΚΠ
1862 H. Mayhew Boyhood Luther (1863) i. 11 As the long train swept by, the peasants and villagers tailed on to the rest.
1874 Burnie Mem. Thomas 451 A superb passenger car which tails on to the trucks.
1880 W. C. Russell Sailor's Sweetheart xiv All hands tailing on, we ran it [sc. a boom] through the bowsprit cap.
 to tail up
1. intransitive. Of a whale: to dive sharply so as to show the tail.
ΚΠ
1867 W. H. Smyth Sailor's Word-bk.
1911 Chambers's Jrnl. Oct. 646/1 [The whale] appeared two or three times, at a few seconds' interval, then ‘tailed up’.
2. transitive. To form into a tail.
ΚΠ
1928 Daily Express 12 June 3/4 Traffic coming across Westminster Bridge and proceeding east is soon tailed up in a long block.

Compounds

The verb-stem in combination.
tailback n. a queue of stationary or slowly moving motor vehicles.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > transport > transport or conveyance in a vehicle > vehicular traffic > [noun] > traffic jam
stop1625
stoppage1727
lock1834
block1861
pinch point1868
tie-up1889
traffic jam1891
traffic snarl1899
traffic snarl1933
traffic snarl-up1947
thrombosis1959
snarl-up1960
back-up1962
tailback1975
gridlock1980
1975 D. Lodge Changing Places v. 188 They hit a tailback of rush-hour traffic in the Midland Road.
1978 Times 26 July 8/3 One of the worst traffic jams in living memory with tailbacks of several miles.
tail-off n. colloquial a decline or tapering off of demand, etc.; a period of this.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > adversity > [noun] > fall from prosperous or thriving condition
rureOE
ebbingc1200
fallc1225
declinea1327
downfallingc1330
downfalla1400
fall of mana1400
wanea1400
ruinc1405
wrack1426
inclinationc1450
declination1533
labefactation1535
ebb1555
falling off1577
declining1581
inclining1590
declension1604
downset1608
neck-breaka1658
overseta1658
lapsing1665
reducement1667
lapse1680
labefaction1792
downshift1839
subsidence1839
downgrade1857
downturn1858
downslide1889
downswing1922
turn-down1957
tail-off1975
the world > relative properties > quantity > decrease or reduction in quantity, amount, or degree > [noun] > gradual
wastinga1425
leakage1642
dwindle1779
dwindling1884
rundown1890
diminuendo1891
phase-down1958
wind-down1969
tail-off1975
build-down1983
1975 D. Francis High Stakes vii. 109 There would be at first a patch of sporadic success..and then a long tail-off with no success at all.
1984 Times 15 Feb. 20/7 Laurie Millbank does not envisage any tail off in demand.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1910; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

tailv.2

Brit. /teɪl/, U.S. /teɪl/
Forms: Middle English taille, Middle English–1500s taylle, taile, Middle English–1600s tayle, (1500s talle, tale), 1500s– tail.
Etymology: Middle English taille , < Old French taillier, 3rd singular present taille (S. Leger a1000), to cut, shape by cutting, determine the form of, limit, etc.; in modern French tailler to cut, etc.; = Provençal talhar , talar , Catalan tallar , Spanish tajar , Portuguese talhar , Italian tagliare , to cut < late popular and medieval Latin tāliāre , talliāre , < tal(l)ia , in classical Latin tālea rod, twig, cutting: see tally n.1 Old French taillier gave taille verbal noun, tail n.2, whence again taillier verb to impose a tax on, to tax: see sense 6 below.
I. In literal and connected senses.
†1. transitive. To cut, esp. to a certain size or shape; to shape, fashion; well tailed, well shaped or fashioned. See also tailed adj.2 1. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > shape or give shape to [verb (transitive)] > by or as by cutting
hewc900
behewc1314
tailc1400
chisel1517
tailye1581
cut1600
nick1605
pare1708
whittle1848
nibble1987
the world > existence and causation > creation > [verb (transitive)] > fashion, shape, or form > form by cutting, pounding, tearing, rubbing, etc.
hewc900
smitec1275
tailc1400
carve1490
tear1597
wear1597
to work out1600
draw1610
to carve outa1616
effringe1657
shear1670
pare1708
sned1789
whittle1848
to rip up1852
slice1872
chop1874
c1400 Laud Troy Bk. 3154 Thenne by-gan this clerkes to tayle Parchemyn and lettres dite.
a1500 ( J. Yonge tr. Secreta Secret. (Rawl.) (1898) 227 Thay that haue the shuldres hangynge downe-ward and welle taillet, bene fre and lyberall.
1558 Acc. Fratern. Holy Ghost, Basingstoke (1882) 9 Paide..for fellinge the oke..Item payde..for tallinge and sawinge of the same.
†2. To cut up, cut to pieces, slaughter. Obsolete.Taile in K. Alisaunder (Weber) 2133 is a scribal error; MS. Bodley, Laud Misc. 622 has (l. 2137) ‘Bigynneþ ȝoure fomen coile Alto sleiȝtte & nouȝth to spoyle’.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > death > killing > kill [verb (transitive)]
swevec725
quelmeOE
slayc893
quelleOE
of-falleOE
ofslayeOE
aquellc950
ayeteeOE
spillc950
beliveOE
to bring (also do) of (one's) life-dayOE
fordoa1000
forfarea1000
asweveOE
drepeOE
forleseOE
martyrOE
to do (also i-do, draw) of lifeOE
bringc1175
off-quellc1175
quenchc1175
forswelta1225
adeadc1225
to bring of daysc1225
to do to deathc1225
to draw (a person) to deathc1225
murder?c1225
aslayc1275
forferec1275
to lay to ground, to earth (Sc. at eird)c1275
martyrc1300
strangle1303
destroya1325
misdoa1325
killc1330
tailc1330
to take the life of (also fro)c1330
enda1340
to kill to (into, unto) death1362
brittena1375
deadc1374
to ding to deathc1380
mortifya1382
perisha1387
to dight to death1393
colea1400
fella1400
kill out (away, down, up)a1400
to slay up or downa1400
swelta1400
voida1400
deliverc1400
starvec1425
jugylc1440
morta1450
to bring to, on, or upon (one's) bierc1480
to put offc1485
to-slaya1500
to make away with1502
to put (a person or thing) to silencec1503
rida1513
to put downa1525
to hang out of the way1528
dispatch?1529
strikea1535
occidea1538
to firk to death, (out) of lifec1540
to fling to deathc1540
extinct1548
to make out of the way1551
to fet offa1556
to cut offc1565
to make away?1566
occise1575
spoil1578
senda1586
to put away1588
exanimate1593
unmortalize1593
speed1594
unlive1594
execute1597
dislive1598
extinguish1598
to lay along1599
to make hence1605
conclude1606
kill off1607
disanimate1609
feeze1609
to smite, stab in, under the fifth rib1611
to kill dead1615
transporta1616
spatch1616
to take off1619
mactate1623
to make meat of1632
to turn up1642
inanimate1647
pop1649
enecate1657
cadaverate1658
expedite1678
to make dog's meat of1679
to make mincemeat of1709
sluice1749
finisha1753
royna1770
still1778
do1780
deaden1807
deathifyc1810
to lay out1829
cool1833
to use up1833
puckeroo1840
to rub out1840
cadaverize1841
to put under the sod1847
suicide1852
outkill1860
to fix1875
to put under1879
corpse1884
stiffen1888
tip1891
to do away with1899
to take out1900
stretch1902
red-light1906
huff1919
to knock rotten1919
skittle1919
liquidate1924
clip1927
to set over1931
creasea1935
ice1941
lose1942
to put to sleep1942
zap1942
hit1955
to take down1967
wax1968
trash1973
ace1975
c1330 R. Mannyng Chron. Wace (Rolls) 14136 Arthur sey þe day gan faille, He bod & stynte his folk to taille.
†3. To put into shape, trim, make ready. (Cf. Old French metre en taille.) Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > undertaking > preparation > prepare [verb (transitive)] > prepare or put in order
tailc1330
ordain1340
disposec1375
appoint1393
fettlea1400
tifta1400
richc1400
tiffc1400
orderc1515
instruct1534
prune1586
compose1612
to make up1759
fix1783
c1330 R. Mannyng Chron. (1810) 115 Dauid of Scotland hasted to þe bataile, Walter Spek ros on hand, þe folk to forme & taile.
c1330 R. Mannyng Chron. Wace (Rolls) 12081 Mariners dighte þem..þer takel for to righte & taille.
c1480 (a1400) Seven Sleepers 237 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 433 Þai..bad malchus he suld hyme taile, & pas to þe towne fore vitale.
II. [ < Anglo-Norman tailler, Old French taillier in sense ‘to determine, fix, appoint’: compare the Scots form tailye v. But, in sense 5, in later use apparently < tail n.2 3]
†4. To decide or determine in a specified way; to settle, arrange, or fix (a matter). [ < Old French taillier: compare c1250 in Godefroy ‘Puis fu la pais ensi taillie que..’.]
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > intention > planning > plan [verb (transitive)] > arrange
beteec1275
tailc1315
castc1320
ordaina1325
setc1330
tightc1330
accord1388
tailyec1480
assign1558
raise1652
settle1694
work1761
arrange1786
engineer1831
the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > absence of doubt, confidence > assured fact, certainty > making certain, assurance > assure, make certain [verb (transitive)] > make firm, establish
i-fastc950
tailc1315
terminea1325
foundc1394
stablish1447
terminate?a1475
tailyec1480
to lay down1493
ascertain1494
bishop1596
salve1596
pitch1610
assign1664
determinate1672
settle1733
to set at rest1826
definitize1876
cinch1900
c1315 Shoreham Poems vii. 817 And was þat conseyl so y-tayled, Þat hyt ne myȝte habbe faylled To bote of manne.
1472–3 Rolls of Parl. VI. 24/1 Yf the seid William Lord Berkeley and Johan his wyfe..cause or suffre any recovere to be had or tayled ayenst theym..by their covyne or assent.
1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) xix. 188 And eftir syne war trewis tane Betuix the twa kyngis, that wer Talit [1489 Adv. tailȝeit] to lest for thretten ȝheir.
1489 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (Adv.) xviii. 238 At that tyme he wald him taile [1487 St. John's Cambr. he thoucht him hale] To dystroy wp sa clene the land That nane suld leve thar-in lewand.
a1500 (c1425) Andrew of Wyntoun Oryg. Cron. Scotl. (Nero) viii. l. 5309 Had þe Talbot, as talyt [Wemyss talȝeit] was, Iustit, he had suelt in þat plasse.
5. transitive. Law. To limit (an estate of inheritance) to the donee and his heirs general or special; to grant in tail (tail n.2 3); to tie up by entail; to entail v.2
ΘΚΠ
society > law > transfer of property > settlement of property > settle (property) [verb (transitive)] > entail
entail1380
tail1425
tailyec1540
1292 Britton ii. iii. §9 Des queus douns aucuns sount condicionels et dount le fee est taylé et en pendaunt jekes autaunt qe cele chose aveigne ou cele.]
1425 in F. J. Furnivall Fifty Earliest Eng. Wills (1882) 64 My lande þat is tayled to him.
1425 Rolls of Parl. IV. 274/2 By cause ye name of Duc of Norffolke is tailled to me, and to my heirs males of my body commyng: and ye name of Erel of Norffolke is tailled to me, and to my heirs of my body commyng generaly.
1483 Rolls of Parl. VI. 253/1 Hereditaments, that were tailled to hym, or to eny other of his Auncesters, by dede or withoute dede.
1501 in T. Stapleton Plumpton Corr. (1839) 152 If Mr. Eleson can fynd any of your lands talled to the here male, send copies therof; I thinke none be.
1647 N. Bacon Hist. Disc. Govt. 106 In later times this estate was also tailed, or cut out sometimes to the sonnes and daughters severally.
1864 Serjt. Manning in Athenæum 27 Feb. 302/2 The great land~holders..obtained an Act of Parliament, called the statute de donis, which directed that thenceforth the will of the donor should be strictly observed. Upon this the lands so tailed (appointed) became inalienable.
III. Related to tail tax, impost (tail n.2 2).
†6. transitive. To impose a ‘tail’ or tax upon; to tax. [ < Old French taillier, medieval Latin tāl(l)iare, Du Cange.] Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > impost, due, or tax > tax > taxation > levy (a tax) [verb (transitive)] > tax (a person or thing)
layc1330
tailc1330
taxc1330
scot1432
patise1436
sess1465
task1483
assessa1513
cessa1513
lot1543
toust1565
imposea1618
talliate1762
c1330 R. Mannyng Chron. Wace (Rolls) 2382 Þe Duk of Cornewaille, Al þe souþ tyl hym gan taylle.
c1330 R. Mannyng Chron. Wace (Rolls) 16550 Ffro Scotland vntil Cornewaille, Al þe lond gan þey [the Saxons] taille.
1474 Rolls of Parl. VI. 165/1 That the Maier, Bailyfs and Cominalte..to xx li only..shulden be assessed, taxed and tailed.
1525 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles II. lxii. [lxv.] 210 Nowe they tayle theyr people at theyr pleasure.
1583 Sir T. Smith's De Republica Anglorum iii. viii. 109 In France the Lords doe taile them whom they call their subiectes at their pleasure, and cause them to pay..summes of money.
IV. Related to tail a tally (tail n.2 4).
†7. transitive. To mark or record on a tally; to charge (a person) with a debt; transferred to make a mark on, to mark. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > management of money > keeping accounts > keep accounts [verb (transitive)] > reckon up
tellOE
tail1377
foot1491
tailye1497
to tell over1579
total1716
tot1770
society > trade and finance > management of money > keeping accounts > keep accounts [verb (transitive)] > make or cut a tally
tail1377
tallyc1440
strike1626
society > communication > record > pictorial, etc., records > [verb (transitive)] > animal
tail?a1500
1377 W. Langland Piers Plowman B. v. 429 Ȝif I bigge and borwe it, but ȝif it be ytailled [v.r. tailled, 1393 C. viii. 35 y-tayled] I forȝete it as ȝerne.
?a1500 Chester Pl. vii. 410 Nay, he come by night—all things lafte—Our tuppes with tar to tayle.
1655 T. Fuller Church-hist. Brit. xi. 108 His bond of two thousand pounds wherewith he was tailed, continued uncancelled, and was called on the next Parliament.
†8. intransitive. To deal by tally, or on credit. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > other trading methods > [verb (intransitive)] > deal on credit
tail1514
tally1596
1514 Sir R. Jernegan Let. in J. Strype Eccl. Memorials (1721) I. App. v. 10 They [of the garrison] had offered the victualers to taylle with them and to set it upon scores:..for mony they had none.
1570 J. Foxe Actes & Monumentes (rev. ed.) I. 413/1 He was in great debt..dryuen to tale [so edd. 1576–83; ed. 1596 tallie] for his owne cates.
†9. transitive. To tally or agree with; to equal; = tally v.1 5. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > equality or equivalence > make equal [verb (transitive)] > be equal to or match
to be even witheOE
match?1529
countervail1530
even1582
suit1583
patterna1586
amate1590
proportionate1590
parallela1594
fellow1596
to hold its level with1598
adequate1599
coequal1599
twin1605
paragonize1606
peer1614
to come upa1616
proportiona1616
paragon1620
parallelize1620
tail1639
to match up to (also with)1958
1639 J. Ford Ladies Triall iii. sig. F3 Sure this bulke of mine, Tayles in the size a timpany of greatnesse Puffes up too monstrously my narrow chest.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1910; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

tailv.3

Etymology: Local variant of till v.1
transitive. To set (a trap or snare); to bait (a trap).
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > hunt [verb (transitive)] > trap > set traps
setc825
teldc1000
layc1200
to set up1579
tail1770
toila1819
1770 G. Cartwright Jrnl. Resid. Coast Labrador 27 Aug. (1792) I. 30 I tailed a couple of traps for otters, but did not find many rubbing places.
1862 Telegram (Yeovil) 15 Feb. The defendant..proceeded some distance lower, and tailed another trap.
1899 C. K. Paul Memories 250 To tail a trap, to set or bait it.
1901 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Nov. 691/1 There are the traps to tail.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1910; most recently modified version published online September 2018).
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n.1a800n.21235adj.1473v.11523v.2c1315v.31770
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