tarn.1
/tɑː/, U.S. /tɑr/ 1.
a. A thick, viscid, black or dark-coloured, inflammable liquid, obtained by the destructive distillation of wood (esp. pine, fir, or larch), coal, or other organic substance; chemically, a mixture of hydrocarbons with resins, alcohols, and other compounds, having a heavy resinous or bituminous odour, and powerful antiseptic properties; it is much used for coating and preserving timber, cordage, etc. See also coal tar n. Also formed in the combustion of tobacco, etc. In some early quots. used for bitumen n.: cf. 2.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > processed resinous materials > [noun] > tar
tara700
tar-pitcha1400
the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > tobacco > smoking > [noun] > liquid formed by burning tobacco
tar1921
α.
β. 1355–6 Abingdon Rolls (Camden) 9 In tarr et rubea petra xx d.c1440 Pallad. on Husb. xii. 239 Rubrike and taar [L. pix liquida] wormys & auntis sleth.?a1500 Chester Pl. vii. 33 Heare is tarr in a pot.a1555 J. Philpot Let. 9 July in J. Foxe Actes & Monuments (1570) III. 2006/2 He that toucheth tarre can not but be defyled thereby.a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) ii. ii. 51 She lou'd not the sauour of Tar nor of Pitch. View more context for this quotation1681 Brit. Patent 214 (1856) 1 A new way of makeing pitch and tarre out of pit coal.1813 H. Davy Elements Agric. Chem. iii. 87 Tar and pitch principally consist of resin, in a partially decomposed state.1872 D. Oliver Lessons Elem. Bot. (new ed.) ii. 247 Tar is distilled from faggots of Pine, chiefly Scotch Fir, in the North of Europe.1921 U.S. Patent 1,398,734 2/1 The catch basins..are adapted to concentrate the heavier particles of tar from smoke.1932 Amer. Jrnl. Cancer 16 1513 The tar of cigarette smoke contains nicotine, phenolic bodies, pyridine bases, and ammonia.1974 M. C. Gerald Pharmacol. viii. 155 Some of these are polycyclic hydrocarbons, commonly referred to as ‘tars’, and are undoubtedly responsible for the disproportionately greater incidence of lung cancer among cigarette smokers.γ. c1000 Ælfric Homilies I. 20 geclæm ealle þa seamas mid tyrwan.a1175 Cott. Hom. 225 Iclem hall þe seames mid tirwan.a700 Epinal Gloss. 677 in H. Sweet Oldest Eng. Texts Napta, blaecteru.
a700 Epinal Gloss. 858 Resina, teru.
c725 Corpus Gloss. 1360 Napta, blaec-teoru.
c725 Corpus Gloss. 1716 Resina, teoru.
c1000 Sax. Leechd. II. 76 Meng wiþ sote, sealt, teoro, hunig, eald sape, smire mid.
c1050 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 412/6 Gluten, lim, oððe tero.
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 662 To maken a tur wel heg & strong Of tigel and ter for water-gong.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 11899 Þai..drund him in pike and terr.
1436 Libel Eng. Policy in Pol. Poems (Rolls) II. 171 Peltre-ware, and grey pych, terre, borde and flex.
1483 Cath. Angl. 380/2 Ter, bitumen.
1508 W. Kennedy Flyting (Chepman & Myllar) in Poems W. Dunbar (1998) I. 211 Thou salbe brynt, Wyth pik, fire, ter, gun puldre or lynt.
c1522 T. More Treat. Memorare Nouissima in Wks. (1557) I. 74 Thei had leuer eate terre than tryacle.
1720 in Jrnl. Derbysh. Archæol. Soc. (1905) 27 215 Ter and oile.
b. Proverb. to lose the sheep (dialect ship) for a ha'p'orth of tar: see halfpennyworth n. Phrases.
c. Applied figuratively in derogatory reference to someone of mixed black (or Indian, etc.) and white origin: cf. tar-brush n. b.
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > ethnicities > division of mankind by physical characteristics > mixed race > [noun] > white and black or Indian
tar-brush1859
tar1897
1897 A. Page Afternoon Ride 68 There was a touch of tar in this buxom dame.
d. to beat (knock, etc.) the tar out of: to beat unmercifully, to reduce to a state of helplessness. Cf. to —— the shit out of (a person or thing) at shit n. and adj. Phrases 2. U.S. slang.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > impact > striking > beating or repeated striking > beat [verb (transitive)] > specifically a person
to-beatc893
threshOE
bustc1225
to lay on or upon?c1225
berrya1250
to-bunea1250
touchc1330
arrayc1380
byfrapc1380
boxc1390
swinga1400
forbeatc1420
peal?a1425
routa1425
noddlea1450
forslinger1481
wipe1523
trima1529
baste1533
waulk1533
slip1535
peppera1550
bethwack1555
kembc1566
to beat (a person) black and blue1568
beswinge1568
paik1568
trounce1568
canvass1573
swaddle?1577
bebaste1582
besoop1589
bumfeage1589
dry-beat1589
feague1589
lamback1589
clapperclaw1590
thrash1593
belam1595
lam1595
beswaddle1598
bumfeagle1598
belabour1600
tew1600
flesh-baste1611
dust1612
feeze1612
mill1612
verberate1614
bethumpa1616
rebuke1619
bemaul1620
tabor1624
maula1627
batterfang1630
dry-baste1630
lambaste1637
thunder-thump1637
cullis1639
dry-banga1640
nuddle1640
sauce1651
feak1652
cotton1654
fustigate1656
brush1665
squab1668
raddle1677
to tan (a person's) hide1679
slam1691
bebump1694
to give (a person) his load1694
fag1699
towel1705
to kick a person's butt1741
fum1790
devel1807
bray1808
to beat (also scare, etc.) someone's daylights out1813
mug1818
to knock (a person) into the middle of next week1821
welt1823
hidea1825
slate1825
targe1825
wallop1825
pounce1827
to lay into1838
flake1841
muzzle1843
paste1846
looder1850
frail1851
snake1859
fettle1863
to do over1866
jacket1875
to knock seven kinds of —— out of (a person)1877
to take apart1880
splatter1881
to beat (knock, etc.) the tar out of1884
to —— the shit out of (a person or thing)1886
to do up1887
to —— (the) hell out of1887
to beat — bells out of a person1890
soak1892
to punch out1893
stoush1893
to work over1903
to beat up1907
to punch up1907
cream1929
shellac1930
to —— the bejesus out of (a person or thing)1931
duff1943
clobber1944
to fill in1948
to bash up1954
to —— seven shades of —— out of (a person or thing)1976
to —— seven shades out of (a person or thing)1983
beast1990
becurry-
fan-
1884 National Police Gaz. (U.S.) 6 Sept. 11/1 (heading) The celebrated New York dubs get the tar knocked out of them.
1916 ‘Texas’ Trav. Tourist ‘Typo’ 46 The newsboy..whose chief occupation is..to wallop the tar out of smaller newsboys.
1939 D. Trumbo Johnny got his Gun ii. 35 Naturally you..wanted Germany to get the tar kicked out of her.
1973 P. G. Wodehouse Bachelors Anonymous vii. 80 She is a fine upstanding woman, fully capable of beating the tar out of you.
e. Colloquial abbreviation of Tarmac n. or tarmacadam n.; a road surfaced with this.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > processed resinous materials > [noun] > tar > tar-based compositions for roads
macadam1826
mac1851
tarmacadam1882
tar-paving1883
Tarmac1903
Tarvia1912
tar1934
1934 D. Thomas 18 Poems 26 Nor city tar and subway bored to foster Man through macadam.
1971 E. Afr. Standard (Nairobi) 13 Apr. 6/5 He thought the tarmac was dangerous anywhere. Next year he wanted to see less tar and higher speeds elsewhere.
1980 G. Lord Fortress iii. 26 Both roads were dirt... The tar ended miles back.
2. Applied, with distinctive epithets, to natural substances resembling tar, as petroleum or bitumen: see quots. 1796, 1875, and mineral adj. Compounds 1.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > minerals > types of mineral > hydrocarbon minerals > [noun] > bitumen > asphalt
asphalt1366
glue1382
botemayc1400
pitcha1425
bitumena1464
slime1530
Jews' lime1543
Jews' pitch1562
Jews'-slime1640
tar1747
society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > mineral material > mineral and fossil resins > [noun] > bitumen or pitch
glue1382
botemayc1400
pitcha1425
slime1530
bitumen1605
tar1747
1747 J. Wesley Primitive Physick x. 33 Half a tea-spoonful of Barbadoes Tar.
1796 J. Morse Amer. Universal Geogr. (new ed.) I. 558 A spring, on the top of which floats an oil, similar to that called Barbadoes tar.
1875 R. Hunt & F. W. Rudler Ure's Dict. Arts (ed. 7) III. 397 In a great number of places..a more or less fluid inflammable matter exudes. It is known as Persian naphtha, Petroleum, Rock-oil, Rangoon tar, Burmese naphtha, &c.
3. A familiar appellation for a sailor: perhaps abbreviation of tarpaulin n. Cf. Jack tar n.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > one who travels by water or sea > sailor > [noun]
shipmanc900
seamanOE
buscarlOE
shipperc1100
ship-gumec1275
marinerc1300
skipper1390
marinela1400
waterman1421
maryneller1470
seafarer1513
sea-fardingera1550
navigator1574
marinec1575
sailer1585
Triton1589
Neptunist1593
canvas-climber1609
sea-crab1609
tar-lubber1610
Neptunian1620
salt-rover1620
sailora1642
tarpaulin1647
otter1650
water dog1652
tarpauliana1656
Jack1659
tar1676
sea-animal1707
Jack tar1709
sailor-man1761
tarry-breeks1786
hearty1790
ocean-farera1806
tarry-jacket1822
Jacky1826
nautical1831
salt water1839
matelotc1847
knight of the tar-brush1866
main-yard man1867
gobby1883
tarry-John1888
blue jersey1889
lobscouser1889
flat-foot1897
handyman1899
1676 W. Wycherley Plain-dealer ii. i Nov. Dear tar, thy humble servant.
1695 W. Congreve Love for Love iv. i. 66 You would have seen the Resolution of a Lover,—Honest Tarr and I are parted.
1706 J. Swift To Peterborough xi Fierce in war, A land-commander, and a tar.
1709 R. Steele Tatler No. 31. ⁋2 A Boatswain of an East-India Man..like a true Tar of Honour.
1820 W. Scoresby Acct. Arctic Regions I. 514 The chief mate..a resolute and noble tar.
1863 S. Baring-Gould Iceland 179 The jolly tars seize the horses and ride them helter skelter up hill and down dale.
Compounds
C1. General attributive.
a. Made of, from, or with tar; consisting of, containing, or derived from tar.
tar-bath n.
ΚΠ
1899 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. VIII. 605 A tar bath..has not only an anti-pruritic but also a curative action.
tar-creosote n.
ΚΠ
1868 Q. Rev. Apr. 346 A very singular product called tar-creosote or carbolic acid.
tar derivative n.
ΚΠ
1898 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. V. 45 Among the tar derivatives [may be specially mentioned] creosote and guaiacol.
tar-dye n.
ΚΠ
1894 Westm. Gaz. 8 Mar. 3/3 The stockings..are dyed with tar-dyes, which are perfectly harmless.
tar-lotion n.
ΚΠ
1899 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. VIII. 521 The use of tar soaps, followed by tar lotions, is sometimes more efficacious.
tar-mark n.
ΚΠ
1844 H. Stephens Bk. of Farm III. 1282 The letter P..on the rump to shew the tar-mark of the farm on which..it had been bred.
tar-oil n.
ΚΠ
1891 Cent. Dict. Tar-oil, a volatile oil obtained by distilling tar.
1895 Outing 26 365/1 The little black bottle of tar-oil.
tar-ointment n.
tar-pill n.
ΚΠ
1728 E. Smith Compl. Housewife (ed. 2) 304 The Tar Pills for a Cough. Take Tar and drop it on Powder of Liquorish, and make it up into Pills.
1808 Med. & Physical Jrnl. 19 225 Tar pills made up with magnesia were also administered.
tar-plaster n.
ΚΠ
1899 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. VIII. 582 A tar plaster is better than one of chrysarobin.
tar product n.
ΚΠ
1903 Westm. Gaz. 16 Sept. 2/1 The value of the annual output of tar products is over ten millions.
tar-salve n.
ΚΠ
1844 H. Stephens Bk. of Farm III. 1118 Applying tar-salve to sheep.
tar-soap n.
ΚΠ
1899 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. VIII. 584 To take frequent baths with tar soap.
tar-spring n.
ΚΠ
1776 R. Chandler Trav. Greece lxxix. 301 The tar-springs of Zante are a natural curiosity deserving notice.
tar-tincture n.
ΚΠ
1899 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. VIII. 605 To paint the skin with a strong tar tincture.
tar-vapour n.
tar-varnish n.
ΚΠ
1805 R. W. Dickson Pract. Agric. I. 48 The outside..properly payed over with pitch or tar-varnish.
tar-wash n.
ΚΠ
1898 J. Hutchinson in Archives Surg. 9 373 I prescribed a tar wash and it suited admirably.
b. Covered or impregnated with tar.
tar-bandage n.
ΚΠ
1891 Cent. Dict. Tar bandage, an antiseptic bandage made by saturating a roller bandage, after application, with a mixture of 1 part of olive oil and 20 parts of tar.
tar-cloth n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > covering > [noun] > a covering > cloth or textile > tarpaulin
tarpaulin1607
wadmiltilt1828
paulin1859
tar-cloth1899
tarp1906
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > textile fabric > textile fabric manufactured in specific way > treated or processed in specific way > [noun] > made waterproof > with tar
tarpaulin1607
tar-cloth1899
1899 T. Hardy in Academy 18 Nov. 599/1 Great guns were gleaming there—Cloaked in their tar-cloths.
tar-cord n.
ΚΠ
1879 R. Jefferies Wild Life 47 A couple of flakes fastened together with tar-cord.
tar-neckcloth n.
ΚΠ
1713 R. Steele Englishman No. 47. 303 I stood by just now, when a Fellow came in here with a Tar Neckcloth.
tar-paving n.
c. Used for holding, or in making, tar.† tar-boist n. Obsolete tar-box n. † tar-pough n. Obsolete † tar-stoup n. Obsolete
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > sheep-farming > [noun] > shepherds equipment
tar-boist?a1500
?a1500 Chester Pl. vii. 78 With Tarboyst most bene all tamed, Penigras, and butter for fat sheepe.
tar-bucket n.
ΚΠ
1723 Amer. Weekly Mercury 23–30 May 2/1 The forced Men..carryed the Brigantine into Curacao, with the Captains Head in a Tarr Bucket.
a1909 Joseph W. Caldwell: Mem. Vol. (1909) 66 There were a brindled cur dog under the wagon, keeping company with the tar bucket that swung from the coupling pole.
1931 Sun (Baltimore) 28 Oct. 13/4 Tall ‘tar-bucket’ helmets with the black plumes.
tar-can n.
ΚΠ
1888 ‘J. Shallow’ Templars Trials xi. 24 He approached..as cautiously as a boy with a tar can does a wasp's nest.
tar-copper n.
ΚΠ
1769 Ann. Reg. 1768 113/2 A fire broke out in a tar-yard..by the tar-copper boiling over.
tar-funnel n.
tar-horn n.
tar-kettle n.
ΚΠ
1573 T. Tusser Fiue Hundreth Points Good Husbandry (new ed.) f. 15v A sheepe marke, a tarre ketle [1580 tar kettle].
tar-pit n.
ΚΠ
1839 A. Ure Dict. Arts 963 A considerable quantity is distilled over into the tar-pit.
ΚΠ
c1394 P. Pl. Crede 618 Þei may trussen her part in a terre powȝe!
tar-trough n.
ΚΠ
1534 in J. B. Paul Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1905) VI. 235 For the lane of ane tar troch, viij d.
tar-tub n. figurative
ΚΠ
1697 tr. C'tess D'Aunoy's Wks. (1715) 375 He ran to his nasty Tar-tub of a Mistress.
C2. Objective, instrumental.
a.
tar-burning n.
ΚΠ
1864 T. Carlyle Hist. Friedrich II of Prussia IV. xv. i. 9 Mankind..took to..tar-burning and te-deum-ing on an extensive scale.
b.
tar-bedaubed adj.
ΚΠ
1906 Daily Chron. 31 Aug. 3/2 In his patched and very much tar-bedaubed punt.
tar-bind v.
ΚΠ
1909 Westm. Gaz. 30 Aug. 2/1 There are two distinct methods of tar-binding the surface of our roads.
tar-brand v.
ΚΠ
1878 E. S. Elwell Boy Colonists 205 It took a good month to muster and tar-brand all the sheep.
1890 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Colonial Reformer (1891) 120 Flock..to be counted, or drafted, or shifted, or tar-branded.
tar-clotted adj.
ΚΠ
1900 H. G. Graham Social Life Scotl. 18th Cent. (1901) xv. 513 Thin, short tar-clotted fleeces of the sheep.
tar-laid adj.
ΚΠ
1856 E. K. Kane Arctic Explor. II. i. 26 We have been using up our tar-laid hemp hawsers.
tar-mark v.
ΚΠ
1825 J. Jamieson Etymol. Dict. Sc. Lang. Suppl. at To Lug-mark An old Angus laird,..on observing that one of the young ladies had both earrings and patches, cried out..in obvious allusion to the means employed by store-farmers for preserving their sheep; ‘Wow, wow! Mrs. Janet, your father's been michtilie fleyd for tyning you, that he's baith lug-markit ye and tar-markit ye.’
1918 Chrons. N.Z.E.F. 30 Aug. 61 Tar-marking and branding cattle.
tar-paint v.
ΚΠ
1906 Westm. Gaz. 13 Sept. 10/2 The cost of tar-painting a road eight yards wide averages about £60 a mile.
tar-painted adj.
ΚΠ
1787 P. M. Freneau Journey from Philadelphia ii. 14 You tar-painted [Poems (1795) vii. 343: Tar-smelling] monster!.. If Snip should be drownded, and lost in the sea, You never once think what a loss it would be!
tar-paved adj.
ΚΠ
1883 Proc. Assoc. Municipal Engineers 10 53 The tar macadam roadways and tar paved footways..I found in good..order.
tar-roofed adj.
ΚΠ
1896 W. D. Howells Impressions & Experiences 282 A tar-roofed shanty.
tar-scented adj.
tar-smelling adj.
ΚΠ
1972 R. Adams Watership Down xxiv. 173 He sat..on the bank above the tar-smelling road.
tar-soaked adj.
ΚΠ
1892 Pall Mall Gaz. 22 Sept. 14/2 The tar-soaked logs burn with a peculiar brilliance.
tar-streaked adj.
ΚΠ
1782 J. Trumbull MʽFingal (new ed.) iv. 70 Adown his tarstreak'd visage, clear Fell..th' indignant tear.
1939 S. Spender Still Centre iv. 94 You stood once In the tar-streaked drizzling street.
c.
tar-spraying n.
ΚΠ
1909 Westm. Gaz. 30 Aug. 2/1 Roads..treated by the cheaper method of tar-spraying them on the surface.
tar-sprinkling n.
d.
tar-like adj.
ΚΠ
1683 T. Robinson in J. Ray Corr. (1848) 137 I have observed the inhabitants of Languedoc get a tar~like like substance out of the Juniperus.
C3. See also tar-barrel n., tar-box n., tar-brush n., etc.† tar-breech adj. Obsolete wearing tarry breeches: epithet for a sailor (cf. tarry-breeks n. at tarry adj. Compounds). † tar-pitch n. (also terpiche) Obsolete = sense 1.
tar acid n. any of numerous phenolic constituents of coal-tar distillates that react with dilute caustic soda to give water-soluble salts.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > chemistry > organic chemistry > organic acids > [noun] > phenolic acids, named
benzoic acid1791
oil of spiraea1842
toluic acid1857
itatartaric acid1872
aspirin1899
phenylarsonic acid1905
tar acid1909
pteroic acid1946
1909 Chem. Abstr. 3 1079 (heading) Hydrocarbons obtained from the tar acids of petroleum.
1946 Sat. Evening Post 18 May 151 (advt.) Coal-Tar Chemicals—Benzol, toluol, naphthalene, tar acids, tar bases, solvents, [etc.].
1974Tar acid [see tar base n.]. tar acne n. Pathology an inflammatory disease of the skin produced by rubbing with tar, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of visible parts > skin disorders > [noun] > other diseases or conditions
impetigo1398
deadingc1400
St Anthonyc1405
foulness1559
acrochordon1565
foulness1583
heat1597
bleach1601
Anthony's fire1609
desquamation1726
sivvens1762
erythema1778
rupia1813
morula1817
dermalgia1842
mycosis1846
cheloid1854
keloid1854
morule1857
kelis1864
dermatosis1866
epithelioma1872
vagabond's disease1876
vagabond's skin1876
dermatitis1877
erysipeloid1888
Ritter's disease1888
acanthosis nigricans1890
angiokeratoma1891
sunburn1891
porokeratosis1893
acrodermatitis1894
epidermolysis1894
keratolysis1895
dermographism1896
neurodermatitis1896
peau d'orange1896
X-ray dermatitis1897
dermatomyositis1899
papulo-erythema1899
pyodermia1899
tar acne1899
dermographia1900
radiodermatitis1903
poikiloderma1907
neurodermatosis1909
leishmanoid1922
razor burn1924
pyoderma1930
photodermatosis1931
photodermatitis1933
necrobiosis lipoidica1934
pyoderma gangrenosum1936
fassy1943
acrodermatitis enteropathica1945
chicken skin1946
nylon stocking dermatitis1947
Sézary('s) syndrome1953
pigskin1966
washerwoman's skin1981
strimmer rash1984
1899 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. VIII. 918 A form of eruption very similar to this occurs in workers in creasote and tar—‘tar acne’.
tar and feathers n. U.S. (with reference to the practice of tarring and feathering see tar v.1 b).
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > punishment > public or popular punishments > [noun] > tarring and feathering > tar and feathers
tar and feathers1775
1775 P. V. Fithian Jrnl. 8 June in Jrnl. 1775–6 (1934) 25 He hears many of his Townsmen talking of Tar and Feathers—These mortifying Weapons.
1834 Southern Literary Messenger 1 87 If he remained longer, he was in danger of tar and feathers.
1954 J. Steinbeck Sweet Thursday xxxviii. 261 He left town, and just as well. There was talk of tar and feathers. He must have heard.
1982 W. Mankowitz Mazeppa vi. 97 The Vigilance Committees..had asserted law summarily with fast necktie parties, rail-rides and tar and feathers.
tar-baby n. (a) the doll smeared with tar, set to catch Brer Rabbit (see quot. 1881); hence transferred, spec. an object of censure; a sticky problem, or one which is only aggravated by attempts to solve it (colloquial); (b) a derog. term for a black person (U.S.) or a Maori (New Zealand).
Π
1881 J. C. Harris Uncle Remus ii. 20 Brer Fox..got 'im some tar, en mix it wid some turkentime, en fix up a contrapshun what he call a Tar-Baby.
1893 Richmond (Va.) Dispatch 26 Jan. 4/1 Hezekiah Brown, a little negro much resembling a tar-baby.
a1910 ‘M. Twain’ Autobiography (1925) II. 18 For two years the Courant had been making a ‘tar baby’ of Mr. Blaine, and adding tar every day—and now it was called upon to praise him.
1924 R. Kipling Debits & Credits (1926) 97 Number Five Study..were toiling inspiredly at a Tar Baby made up of Beetle's sweater, and half-a-dozen lavatory-towels;..and most of Richard's weekly blacking-allowance for Prout's House's boots.
1948 S. Lewis Kingsblood Royal (U.K. ed.) 334 ‘I didn't know she was a tar-baby.’.. ‘Don't be so dumb. Can't you see it by her jaw?’
1959 M. Shadbolt New Zealanders 140 ‘What a hide, though—’ ‘Those tar-babies and that fellow in the sweater.’
1976 National Observer (U.S.) 29 May 15 a/3 The troubled U.S. Postal Service is fast becoming the political tar baby of the year.
1978 J. Updike Coup (1979) iv. 135 She was one of those white women who cannot leave black men alone... Some questing chromosome within holds her sexually fast to the tarbaby.
tar ball n. (a) see quot. 1733; (b) a ball of crude oil found in or on the sea.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > minerals > types of mineral > hydrocarbon minerals > [noun] > oil > form of
slush oil1880
tar ball1972
society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > mineral material > mineral oil > [noun] > ball of on sea-bottom
tar ball1972
1733 H. Bracken in W. Burdon Gentleman's Pocket-farriery (new ed.) 32 There is a Ball under the name of Tar Ball.
1972 Science 16 June 1258/2 Crude oil lumps (‘tar balls’) are now universal constituents of the surfaces of the world oceans.
tar base n. any of numerous cyclic, nitrogen-containing bases present in coal-tar distillates.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > chemistry > organic chemistry > organic bases > [noun]
creatine1835
cystine1843
ammeline1846
creatinine1847
thialdine1847
toluidine1850
pyrrole base1853
parapicoline1857
pinacoline1866
xanthinine1868
choline1869
xanthocreatinine1887
xanthocreatine1891
Schiff base1892
tar base1921
thiocholine1929
1921 Jrnl. Amer. Chem. Soc. 43 1936 Crude coal tar bases vary greatly..in the nature and in the proportion of the bases which they contain.
1946 [see tar acid n.]. 1974 Encycl. Brit. Micropædia II. 1017/2 Tar bases are the basic constituents of the distillate oils, present after tar acids have been removed.
tar-beer n. a mixture of tar and beer, used medicinally (cf. tar-water n. 1).
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > healing > medicines or physic > medicines of specific form > medicinal potion or draught > [noun] > specific
barley waterc1320
metheglinc1450
wood-drink1611
nectarine1628
nectar1684
mechoacan-ale1696
clary-wine1727
celery whey1761
mustard whey1769
tar-beer1857
treacle-posset1876
1857 R. Dunglison Med. Lexicon (rev. ed.) 719/1 It [sc. tar water]..is employed chiefly in pulmonary affections... A wine or beer of tar, Tarbeer, Jews' beer, has been employed in Philadelphia in similar cases.
tar-board n. see quot.; ‘a building-paper saturated with tar’ ( Cent. Dict.).
ΚΠ
1877 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Tar-board, a strong quality of mill~board made from junk and old tarred rope.
tar-boiler n. (a) a boiler used for tar; †(b) U.S. slang = tarheel n. (obsolete).
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > nations > native or inhabitant of America > native or inhabitant of North America > native or inhabitant of U.S.A. > [noun] > specific state > states
Marylander1640
Rhode Islander1665
Jerseyman1679
Pennsylvanian1685
Carolinian1705
Georgian1732
Marylandian1750
Jersey blue1758
Californian1762
Louisianian1775
Mississippian1775
Acadian1776
Vermonteer1778
Kentuckian1779
Vermontese1783
Indianian1784
Cohee1786
Kentuck1789
Virginian1797
Michiganian1813
Michigan1814
Tennessean1815
Ohioan1818
Illinoian1819
Ohian1819
Missourian1820
buckeye1823
Vermonter1825
Hoosier1826
red horse1833
sucker1833
wolverine1833
puke1834
corn-cracker1835
Texian1835
Alaskan1836
Texan1837
Michigander1838
Oregonian1838
Rackensack1839
Arkansian1844
badger1844
Bay Stater1845
Lone Star Stater1845
Oregonese1845
tar-boiler1845
weasel1845
web foot1845
Alabaman1846
Iowanc1848
Arkansan1851
Minnesotian1851
Washingtonian1852
Minnesotan1854
Nebraskan1854
Kansian1855
Utahan1855
Floridan1856
fly-up-the-creek1857
Dakotian1861
Coloradan1862
Coloradian1862
Texican1863
Coloradoan1864
tarheel1864
Cajun1868
Kansan1868
Montanian1869
Floridian1870
mudcat1872
New Jerseyan1872
Arkansawyer1874
longhorn1876
Mainer1879
New Jerseyite1885
prune picker1892
Hawaiian1893
Oklahoman1894
Tex1909
blue hen's chicken1921
Tejano1925
Geechee1926
Arkie1927
sooner1930
wyomingite1930
New Mexican1940
Okie1948
1845 Cincinnati Misc. I. 240 The inhabitants of..N. Carolina [are called] Tar-boilers.
1885 W. Whitman in N. Amer. Rev. Nov. 433 Among the rank and file..[in the Civil War] it was very general to speak of the different States they came from by their slang names. Those from..North Carolina [were called] Tar Boilers.
tar-boy n. Australian and New Zealand an assistant hand in a shearing shed who treats injured sheep with tar or other disinfectants.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > sheep-farming > sheep-shearing > [noun] > sheep-shearer > other personnel
rouseabout1861
tar-boy1888
bluetongue1900
broomie1933
1888 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Robbery under Arms I. x. 123 There wasn't a man of the lot in the shed, down to the tarboy, that wouldn't have done the same.
1910 A. H. Davis From Select. to City vii. 55 Steele can get his name down for tar-boy.
1936 A. Russell Gone Nomad iii. 19 Then I found myself a tar-boy in the shearing-shed.
1956 G. Bowen Wool Away! (ed. 2) 157 Tar-boy, the hand who walks the board where sheep are subject to the fly and who puts a smear of tar on the cuts made on sheep.
1977 C. McCullough Thorn Birds x. 231 Luke took himself off on the shearing circuit as a tar boy, slapping molten tar on jagged wounds if a shearer slipped and cut flesh as well as wool.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > one who travels by water or sea > sailor > [adjective]
tar-breech1582
nautic1613
tarpaulin1647
altumal1711
tarpaulian1719
maritime1743
tarrish1841
1582 R. Stanyhurst tr. Virgil First Foure Bookes Æneis iv. 75 A runnagat hedgebrat, A tarbreeche quystroune dyd I take.
tar-bush n. one of several aromatic shrubs of western North America, esp. one of the genus Eriodictyon, of the family Hydrophyllaceæ, which includes several sticky or tomentose evergreens.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > trees and shrubs > shrubs > non-British shrubs > [noun] > North-American
wild tea1728
bastard indigo1730
mountain heath1731
groundsel-tree1736
amorpha1751
buttonbush1754
moosewood1778
pipestem wood1791
modesty1809
sand myrtle1814
wicopy1823
lead-plant1833
false indigo1841
sleek-leaf1845
arrow weed1848
rabbit bush1852
ribbonwood1860
rabbit brush1877
sea myrtle1883
pencil tree1884
tar-bush1884
ocean spray1906
1884 W. Miller Dict. Eng. Names Plants 134/2 Tar-bush, Californian. Eriodictyon californicum.
1902 Out West Oct. 452 There were the innumerable cacti with their brilliant flowers, and the tar bush.
1949 Chicago Tribune 20 Feb. 30/3 Cedar and mesquite alone are costing Texas ranchers 115 million dollars a year. Add the..blue oak, creosote, tarbush..and prickly pear and the toll is terrific.
tar kiln n. a covered heap of wood or coal from which tar is obtained by burning.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > furnace or kiln > kiln > [noun] > tar kiln
tar kiln1755
1755 Gentleman's Mag. Dec. 551/1 A sufficient crop of these old knots (which are full of rosin) for the tar-kilns.
1834 D. Crockett Narr. Life v. 39 I was so mad that I was burning inside like a tarkiln.
1943 H. Parkes in C. Goerch Down Home xx. 99 Any one who has ever seen a tar kiln in operation or been around a turpentine distillery will realize what sticky and dirty work it is.
tar-lamp n. a lamp in which tar is used as the illuminant (E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. 1877).
tar-lubber n. contemptuous name for a sailor (cf. 3).
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > one who travels by water or sea > sailor > [noun]
shipmanc900
seamanOE
buscarlOE
shipperc1100
ship-gumec1275
marinerc1300
skipper1390
marinela1400
waterman1421
maryneller1470
seafarer1513
sea-fardingera1550
navigator1574
marinec1575
sailer1585
Triton1589
Neptunist1593
canvas-climber1609
sea-crab1609
tar-lubber1610
Neptunian1620
salt-rover1620
sailora1642
tarpaulin1647
otter1650
water dog1652
tarpauliana1656
Jack1659
tar1676
sea-animal1707
Jack tar1709
sailor-man1761
tarry-breeks1786
hearty1790
ocean-farera1806
tarry-jacket1822
Jacky1826
nautical1831
salt water1839
matelotc1847
knight of the tar-brush1866
main-yard man1867
gobby1883
tarry-John1888
blue jersey1889
lobscouser1889
flat-foot1897
handyman1899
1610 J. Healey tr. J. L. Vives in tr. St. Augustine Citie of God xviii. xxiii. 707 Another Tarre-lubber bragges that hee is a souldiour.
tar-marl n.
tar-marline n. dialect tarred twine used in thatching.
ΚΠ
1863 Stamford Mercury 27 Sept. He got some tar-marline and tied the horse's mouth.
tar-paper n. chiefly North American paper saturated with tar; often used as a building material; frequently attributive.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > material for making paper > paper > [noun] > coated papers
porcelain paper1829
wax-paper1844
silver paper1875
lead-paper1890
tar-paper1891
baryta paper1900
coated paper1902
flint paper1916
everdamp1922
silver-foil1944
society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > processed resinous materials > [noun] > tar > tar-paper
tar-paper1891
1891 H. Campbell Darkness & Daylight xxxi. 611 If he ventures to charge more, except for a dress..or for tar-paper..he is liable to lose the license.
1907 Putnam's Monthly July 482/1 A whole house covered with tar paper and studded with brass tacks sat complacently upon a hay wagon.
1919 S. Lewis Free Air 122 Then a lonely, tight-haired woman in the doorway of a tar-paper shack waved to her.
1966 D. F. Galouye Lost Perception ix. 89 The plane..taxied up to a frame building with a tarpaper roof.
1978 R. Ludlum Holcroft Covenant xxxii. 370 The tar paper..bulged slightly next to the wall.
tar-pavement n.
ΚΠ
1883 Proc. Assoc. Municipal Engineers 10 53 My first experience in tar pavement was in 1850.
tar-paving n. a form of surfacing for roads, pathways, etc., composed mainly of tar.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > processed resinous materials > [noun] > tar > tar-based compositions for roads
macadam1826
mac1851
tarmacadam1882
tar-paving1883
Tarmac1903
Tarvia1912
tar1934
1883 Proc. Assoc. Municipal Engineers 10 53 Tar paving had been used to some extent for footways previous to..March 1881.
1967 Gloss. Highway Engin. Terms (B.S.I.) 47 Tar paving, a surfacing of tarmacadam laid in one or two courses for footpaths, playgrounds, and similar areas for pedestrian or very light vehicular traffic.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > processed resinous materials > [noun] > tar
tara700
tar-pitcha1400
a1400 J. Mirfield Sinonoma Bartholomei (1882) 34 Pix liquida,..terpiche.
tar-pot n. (a) a pot containing tar; (b) humorously applied to a sailor (cf. 3); (c) an opprobrious name for a black person (U.S.) or a Maori (New Zealand) (cf. tar-baby n. (b) above).
ΚΠ
1580 T. Tusser Fiue Hundred Pointes Good Husbandrie (new ed.) f. 16v With tar in a Tarpot.
a1642 H. Best Farming & Memorandum Bks. (1984) 25 One of the girles is to keepe fire under the tarr-potte.
1903 F. T. Bullen in Daily Chron. 8 June 3/3 Like many other old tar-pots, I have been intensely annoyed and disgusted by the so-called ‘real’ sea-books put forward.
1944 H. L. Mencken in Amer. Speech 19 174 Pickaninny was..used..affectionately. So..was tar-pot..signifying a Negro child.
1949 F. Sargeson I saw in my Dream xiii. 120 He'd never let the tarpots inside the shed with their lousy sheep.
tar-putty n. a viscid substance made by mixing tar and lamp-black.
ΚΠ
1888 Engineer LXVI. 521 ‘Tar-putty’..a viscous mixture of tar and well calcined lampblack.
tar-sand n. a deposit of sand impregnated with bitumen.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > minerals > mineral sources > [noun] > tar-sand
tar-sand1899
1899 Nature 15 June 159/1 Great trouble has been experienced in the effort to penetrate the ‘tar-sands’ at the base of the Cretaceous strata.
1927 Daily Express 19 Aug. 6/1 There are tar-sand areas which can be made to produce great supplies of oil and road-paving materials.
1978 Nature 29 June 703/3 The heavier oils will also have to be used as chemical feedstocks in the future: for example, Canada's ‘tar sands’, now the subject of a multi-million dollar project in Alberta.
tar-sheet n. a tarpaulin.
ΚΠ
1854 Poultry Chron. 1 73/1 All this may be prevented by letting a ‘tar-sheet’ be fixed closely every night.
tar-stick n. a stick used to apply tar to the cuts caused to sheep by the clippers.
ΚΠ
1910 A. H. Davis From Select. to City x. 90 He snatched the tar-stick out of my hand, and dabbed tar on the wound himself.
tar-weed n. U.S. name for plants of the genera Madia, Hemizonia, and Grindelia, from their viscidity and heavy scent.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > names applied to various plants > [noun]
heatha700
beeworteOE
leversc725
springworteOE
clotec1000
halswortc1000
sengreenc1000
bottle?a1200
bird's-tonguea1300
bloodworta1300
faverolea1300
vetchc1300
pimpernel1378
oniona1398
bird's nest?a1425
adder's grassc1450
cockheada1500
ambrosia1525
fleawort1548
son before the father1552
crow-toe1562
basil1578
bird's-foot1578
bloodroot1578
throatwort1578
phalangium1608
yew1653
chalcedon1664
dittany1676
bleeding heart1691
felon-wort1706
hedgehog1712
land caltrops1727
old man's beard1731
loosestrife1760
Solomon's seal1760
fireweed1764
desert rose1792
star of Bethlehem1793
hen and chickens1794
Aaron's beard1820
felon-grass1824
arrowroot1835
snake-root1856
firebush1858
tick-seed1860
bird's eye1863
burning bush1866
rat-tail1871
lamb's earsa1876
lamb's tongue plant1882
tar-weed1884
Tom Thumb1886
parrotbeak1890
stinkweed1932
1884 W. Miller Dict. Eng. Names Plants Tar-weed, Californian, the genera Madia and Hemizonia.
1909 Daily Chron. 8 Mar. 4/6 The unjustly named ‘tar-weed’..scattered over great tracts of wild country..California smells of it, and smells very pleasantly.
tar-well n. a receptacle in gas-works for collecting the tarry liquid which separates from the gas.
ΚΠ
1857 W. A. Miller Elements Chem. III. 558 The tar, as it accumulates..flows over into the tar wells.
tar-wood n. resinous wood from which tar is obtained.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > wood > [noun] > resinous wood
agila1555
pitchwood1662
tar-wood1856
1856 R. W. Emerson Eng. Traits iv. 65 King Hake..sets fire to some tar-wood.
tar-work n. (also tar-works) a place for making tar.
ΚΠ
1791 Trans. Soc. Arts 9 132 The iron-masters furnish the Tar-works with coal.
tar-worker n. a workman employed in making tar.
ΚΠ
1906 Westm. Gaz. 10 Aug. 10/2 The average life of tar-workers is eighty-six.
tar-yard n. a yard in which tar is made.
ΚΠ
1769Tar-yard [see tar-copper n. at Compounds 1c].
Draft additions 1993
U.S. slang. (a) Opium, taken as an intoxicant or stimulant drug (now rare); (b) = black tar n. at black adj. and n. Compounds 1e(a).
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > an intoxicating drug > [noun] > a) narcotic drug(s) > opium
poppyOE
opiec1385
opiuma1398
afion1542
meconium1601
mud1852
yen she1882
smoke1884
dope1886
hop1887
twang1898
weed1918
gow1922
yen1926
tar1935
gee1936
1935 A. J. Pollock Underworld Speaks 119/1 Tar, opium.
1956 Illicit Narcotics Traffic: Hearings Comm. on Judiciary U.S. Senate (84th Congress, 1st Sess.) viii. 4161 Opium in the underworld is referred to by various names. For instance, ‘mud’, ‘tar’, ‘black stuff’ [etc.].
1986 Calif. Reporter (Lexis) 229 292 The heroin was of the ‘tar’ variety.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1910; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
tarn.2
/tɑː/, U.S. /tɑr/ Anglo-Indian.
A telegram.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > telecommunication > telegraphy or telephony > telegraphy > [noun] > telegraphic message
telegraph message1806
telegraph1821
telegram1852
wire1856
flash1857
telegrapheme1857
telepheme1857
gram1891
tar1893
1893 R. Kipling in Harper's Weekly 30 Dec. 1246/3 My father is at the tar-house sending tars.
1901 R. Kipling Kim xi. 286 Therefore I did not send a tar (telegram) to any one saying where the letter lay.
1978 ‘M. M. Kaye’ Far Pavilions iv. xxviii. 411 It would have been a simple matter for the Rana..to arrange for a tar (telegram) to be dispatched.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1986; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
tarv.1
/tɑː/, U.S. /tɑr/ a. transitive. To smear or cover with tar. Also absol.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > anger > irritation > irritate [verb (transitive)]
gremec893
grillc897
teenOE
mispay?c1225
agrillec1275
oftenec1275
tarya1300
tarc1300
atenec1320
enchafec1374
to-tarc1384
stingc1386
chafe?a1400
pokec1400
irec1420
ertc1440
rehete1447
nettlec1450
bog1546
tickle1548
touch1581
urge1593
aggravate1598
irritate1598
dishumour1600
to wind up1602
to pick at ——1603
outhumour1607
vex1625
bloody1633
efferate1653
rankle1659
spleen1689
splenetize1700
rile1724
roil1742
to put out1796
to touch (also get, catch, etc.) (a person) on the raw1823
roughen1837
acerbate1845
to stroke against the hair, the wrong way (of the hair)1846
nag1849
to rub (a person, etc.) up the wrong way1859
frump1862
rattle1865
to set up any one's bristles1873
urticate1873
needle1874
draw1876
to rough up1877
to stick pins into1879
to get on ——1880
to make (someone) tiredc1883
razoo1890
to get under a person's skin1896
to get a person's goat1905
to be on at1907
to get a person's nanny1909
cag1919
to get a person's nanny-goat1928
cagmag1932
peeve1934
tick-off1934
to get on a person's tits1945
to piss off1946
bug1947
to get up a person's nose1951
tee1955
bum1970
tick1975
society > occupation and work > industry > working with specific materials > working with coating or covering materials > work with coating or covering materials [verb (transitive)] > tar
pitcheOE
tarc1300
pay1610
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > dirtiness > dirt > soiled condition > soil [verb (transitive)] > smear > smear with specific substances
becolmea1300
tara1616
lard1740
coal-oil1872
becoom1882
tallow-candle1894
OE Beowulf 295 Niwtyrwydne [= new-tarred] nacan on sande arum healdan.]
c1300 Havelok (Laud) (1868) 707 Hise ship..He dede it tere, an ful wel pike.
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 2596 In an fetles of rigesses wrogt, Terred ðat water dered it nogt, Ðis child wunden ghe wulde don.
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 489/2 Terryn, wythe terre, colofoniso.
1495 in M. Oppenheim Naval Accts. & Inventories Henry VII (1896) 214 Hawsers olde & ffeble Tarred—iij; New Hawsers nott tarred—j.
a1616 W. Shakespeare As you like It (1623) iii. ii. 60 Our hands..are often tarr'd ouer, with the surgery of our sheepe.
1689 London Gaz. No. 2483/3 They had Tarr'd the Bridge, and laid Combustible Stuff in order to burn it.
1783 M. Cutler Jrnl. 21 Mar. in W. P. Cutler & J. P. Cutler Life, Jrnls. & Corr. M. Cutler (1888) I. 94 Tarred apple-trees to keep the millers from going up.
1840 H. W. Longfellow in S. Longfellow Life H. W. Longfellow (1891) I. 361 The canker-worms have begun their journey up the trees, and to-morrow I shall tar.
1884 Act 47 & 48 Vict. c. 76 §5 A person shall not, without due authority,..paint or tar any post office,..telegraph post, or other property.
b. To smear (a person's body) over with tar; esp. in to tar and feather, to smear with tar and then cover with feathers: a punishment sometimes inflicted by a mob (esp. in U.S.) on an unpopular or scandalous character. Also figurative.(The practice was imposed by an ordinance of Richard I in 1189 as a punishment in the navy for theft: see Rymer Foedera (1704) I. 65/2, Hakluyt Voy. (1599) II. 21, Holinshed Chron. (1807) II. 213; in Howell's Fam. Lett. (1650, I. iii. xxvii. 81) it is said to have been applied in 1623 by a bishop of Halverstade to a party of incontinent friars and nuns; but in neither case is the specific term used.)
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > punishment > public or popular punishments > [verb (transitive)] > tar and feather
emplume1611
tar1769
feathera1777
1769 Boston (Mass.) Chron. 30 Oct. 3/2 A person..was stripped naked, put into a cart, where he was first tarred, then feathered.
1774 J. Adams in J. Adams & A. Adams Familiar Lett. (1876) 12 Pote..railed away at Boston mobs, drowning tea, and tarring Malcom.
1774 T. Hutchinson Diary 1 July K[ing George III].—I see they threatened to pitch and feather you. H[utchinson].—Tarr and feather, may it please your Majesty.
1774 Chron. in Ann. Reg. 127/2 Mr. John Malcomb, an officer of the customs at Boston, who was tarred and feathered, and led to the gallows with a rope about his neck.
1775 E. Burke Speech Amer. Taxation 16 You must send the Ministers tarred and feathered to America.
1784 Duke of Rutland Corr. with Pitt (1890) 37 Persons are daily marked out for the operation of tarring and feathering.
1846 J. C. Hare Mission of Comforter I. 62 [We] tar and feather our feelings with the dust and dirt of the earth.
1850 N. Hawthorne in Bridge Pers. Recoll. (1893) 114 If I escape from town without being tarred and feathered, I shall consider it good-luck.
1925 A. Huxley Those Barren Leaves ii. iii. 113 Miss Carruthers, who has a short way with dissenters, would like to see them tarred and feathered—all except pacifists, who, like strikers, could do with a little shooting.
1960 N. Annan in Victorian Stud. June 331 The individualist, the eccentric, the man who offends against the trivial rules of the club, are tarred and feathered with gleeful brutality.
1977 Daily News (Perth, Austral.) 19 Jan. 6/5 The victims were stripped naked, tarred and shorn of their hair.
1981 A. Price Soldier no More 161 The Russians..wouldn't have cared less if we'd tarred and feathered Nasser and run him out of Suez on a rail.
c. figurative. To dirty or defile as with tar; esp. in tarred with the same stick (or brush), stained with the same or similar faults or obnoxious qualities. (In quot. a1612, ? to darken, obscure; in quot. a1640 in allusion to the protective and curative use of tar by shepherds, etc.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > safety > protection or defence > protect or defend [verb (transitive)]
shieldc825
frithc893
werea900
i-schield971
berghOE
biwerec1000
grithc1000
witec1000
keepc1175
burghena1225
ward?c1225
hilla1240
warrantc1275
witiec1275
forhilla1300
umshadea1300
defendc1325
fendc1330
to hold in or to warrantc1330
bielda1350
warisha1375
succoura1387
defencea1398
shrouda1400
umbeshadow14..
shelvec1425
targec1430
protect?1435
obumber?1440
thorn1483
warrantise1490
charea1500
safeguard1501
heild?a1513
shend1530
warrant1530
shadow1548
fence1577
safekeep1588
bucklera1593
counterguard1594
save1595
tara1612
target1611
screenc1613
pre-arm1615
custodite1657
shelter1667
to guard against1725
cushion1836
enshield1855
mind1924
buffer1958
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > types of vision > [verb (transitive)] > make sight dim
mist?a1439
beblear1609
tara1612
blast1757
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of eye > disordered vision > afflict with disordered vision [verb (transitive)] > dim
dima1300
blemish1440
troublea1500
misten1599
perstringe1603
blear1605
tara1612
disgregatea1631
purblind1644
obfuscate1656
blast1757
blur1791
bedim1811
society > morality > moral evil > evil nature or character > [phrase] > having the same bad qualities
tarred with the same stick (or brush)1817
society > morality > moral evil > moral or spiritual degeneration > degrading or impairing morally > degrade or impair morally [verb (transitive)] > pollute or defile
afileeOE
awemOE
filec1175
wemc1175
soila1250
foulc1330
defoula1340
bleckc1380
blemishc1380
pollutea1382
tache1390
sulpa1400
vilec1400
spota1413
stain1446
defilec1450
violate1490
tan1530
smear1549
beray1576
moil1596
discolour1598
smut1601
bespurtle1604
sullya1616
commaculatec1616
decolour?c1622
collutulate1623
deturpate1623
berust1631
smutch1640
discolorate1651
smoot1683
tarnish1695
tar1817
dirten1987
a1612 J. Harington Epigrams (1618) i. 68 To purge the vapors, that our cleere sight tarres.
a1640 J. Fletcher & P. Massinger Spanish Curat iii. ii, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Fv/2 I have nointed ye, and tar'd ye with my doctrine, And yet the murren sticks to ye.
1817 W. Scott Rob Roy II. xiii. 292 They are a' tarr'd wi' the same stick—rank jacobites and papists.
1823 W. Cobbett Rural Rides (1885) I. 283 ‘You are all tarred with the same brush’, said the sensible people of Maidstone.
1860 C. Reade Cloister & Hearth xl Now this Gerard is tarred with the same stick.
1881 W. E. Forster in T. W. Reid Life W. E. Forster (1888) II. viii. 368 My replacement by some one not tarred by the coercion brush.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1910; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
tarv.2
Obsolete or archaic.† 2. To weary, fatigue. Obsolete. rare.[Known only in form terw-yn. The sense in Promp. Parv. corresponds rather to the transitive use of Old English téorian to tire, but was possibly an offshoot from that of ‘vex, harass’. The same sense-development appears also in the cognate tary v. 2 ]† 3. intransitive. tar and tig, tig and tar, to act forcefully or wantonly; to use force and violence. Scottish.
1. transitive. To irritate, vex, provoke. Now only in tar on (Shakespeare tarre on), to incite, hound on.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > motivation > motivate [verb (transitive)] > incite or instigate > urge on or incite
tar ona900
wheta1000
eggc1200
spura1225
aprick1297
ertc1325
sharpa1340
abaita1470
sharpen1483
to set (a person) forth1488
to set forth1553
egg1566
hound1571
shove?1571
edge1575
strain1581
spur1582
spurn1583
hag1587
edge1600
hist1604
switch1648
string1881
haik1892
goose1934
α.
β. 13821Tarre [see α. ]. 1561 in Three 15th Cent. Chron. (Camden) 119 They came unto me rounde aboute my chamber,..stearde me, and tarde me, and so vexed me as I was never in my lyffe so soore troubled.a1616 W. Shakespeare Hamlet (1623) ii. ii. 354 The Nation holds it no sinne, to tarre them to Controuersie.a1616 W. Shakespeare King John (1623) iv. i. 116 And, like a dogge..Snatch at his Master that doth tarre him on. View more context for this quotationa1616 W. Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida (1623) i. iii. 384 Pride alone Must tarre [1609 arre] the Mastiffes on, as 'twere their bone.1837 T. Carlyle French Revol. I. ii. ii. 49 The cries, the squealings of children,..and other assistants, tarring them on, as the rabble does when dogs fight.1859 C. Kingsley Misc. II. v. 225 The selfishness of the memorialists led them to tar on the rival selfishness of the water companies.a900 Kentish Gl. 508 Tirhþ, inridet.
OE Guthlac A 288 Beoð þa gebolgne, þa þec breodwiað, tredað þec ond tergað, ond hyra torn wrecað.
10.. Lambeth Ps. lxxiii. 10 Usque quo deus improperabit inimicus: gl. hu longe tyrweþ fynd.
10.. Lambeth Ps. lxxvii. 8 Generatio praua et exasperans: gl. þweor mægþ & tyrwiende vel þurhbitter.
10.. Lambeth Ps. lxxvii. 40 Quotiens exacerbaverunt eum: gl. hu gelome hig tyrwedon hine.
10.. Lambeth Ps. lxxvii. 41 Hig tyrwadon vel gremedon.
10.. Lambeth Ps. lxxvii. 55 Hig costnadon & tyrwodan god þane healican.
c1380 Eng. Wycliffite Serm. in Sel. Wks. II. 44 To terre [v.r. ter] men for to fiȝte.
1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) Deut. iv. 25 That ȝe terren [v.r. MSS. a 1400 tarre] hym to wraþþe.
1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) Eph. vi. 4 Ȝe fadris, nyle ȝe terre ȝoure sones to wraþþe.
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1874) V. 355 Þe kynges..sone..gan to tarry [v.r. terre] and to angre [L. probrosis verbis lacessivit] þe Longobardes.
1395 J. Purvey Remonstr. (1851) 18 Thei blasfemen God and terren him to wraththe.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sleeping and waking > weariness or exhaustion > weary or exhaust [verb (transitive)]
wearyc897
tirea1000
travailc1300
forwearya1325
taryc1375
tarc1440
matec1450
break1483
labour1496
overwearya1500
wear?1507
to wear out, forth1525
fatigate1535
stress1540
overtire1558
forwaste1563
to tire out1563
overwear1578
spend1582
out-tire1596
outwear1596
outweary1596
overspend1596
to toil out1596
attediate1603
bejade1620
lassate1623
harassa1626
overtask1628
tax1672
hag1674
trash1685
hatter1687
overtax1692
fatigue1693
to knock up1740
tire to death1740
overfatigue1741
fag1774
outdo1776
to do over1789
to use up1790
jade1798
overdo1817
frazzlea1825
worry1828
to sew up1837
to wear to death1840
to take it (also a lot, too much, etc.) out of (a person)1847
gruel1850
to stump up1853
exhaust1860
finish1864
peter1869
knacker1886
grind1887
tew1893
crease1925
poop1931
raddle1951
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 489/2 Terwyn, or make wery or weryyn, lasso, fatigo. Terwyd, lassatus, fatigatus. Terwynge, lassitudo, fatigacio.
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 522/2 Weryyn, or make wery or terwyn, fatigo, lasso.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > violent behaviour > behave violently or use force [verb (intransitive)]
to do outragec1325
to make forcea1340
deray1340
outrayc1390
to make strengtha1393
tar and tig?a1500
bull1884
strong-arm1906
to kick ass1977
to get medieval1994
a1500 R. Henryson tr. Æsop Fables: Trial of Fox l. 802 in Poems (1981) 34 [The fox] That luifit weill with pultrie to tig and tar [v.r. tere].
a1568 Balnaves in Bannatyne Poems (Hunterian Club) 391 To tar and tig, syne grace to thig, That is ane petouss preiss.
a1568 Balnaves in Bannatyne Poems (Hunterian Club) 392 To tig and tar, syne get the war, It is evill merchandyiss.
Derivatives
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > anger > [noun] > causing anger
wrethinga1300
wrathingc1370
tarring1382
angeringa1393
provoking?a1425
provocationc1485
bear-baiting1587
passionating1598
exasperationa1631
exangeration1631
the mind > emotion > anger > irritation > [noun] > action of irritating
tarring1382
taryinga1400
provocationc1485
provokement1645
irritation1703
aggravation1792
chafing1845
needling1941
1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) 2 Kings xxiii. 26 The Lord is not turned aweye fro the wrath of his grete woodnes..for the terryngis in the whiche Manasses hadde terred hym.
1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) Ps. xciv. 9 As in the terring [a1425 L.V. the terrying to wroþþe], after the day of tempting in desert.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1910; most recently modified version published online December 2020).
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n.1a700
n.21893
v.1c1300v.2a900