towern.¹

Brit.

/ˈtaʊə/, U.S.

/ˈtaʊər/

Forms: α. Old English–1500s torr, Middle English tor; β. Middle English tur, ture, (1500s Scottish tuire); γ. Middle English–1700s tour, Middle English–1600s toure, 1800s Scottish toor /tur/; δ. Middle English towr, Middle English–1600s towre, (Middle English towyr, 1500s touuer), 1500s– tower, (1700s–1800s tow'r).

Etymology: In Old English torr (masculine), < Latin turris; in late Old English and early Middle English tūr, a1300 written tour, < Old French tor, tur (11th cent.), French tour (12th cent.) = Provençal tor, Spanish torre, Portuguese torre, Italian torre < Latin turr-em (-im), accusative of turris feminine ‘tower’. It is doubtful whether the Middle English tor(r was a survival of the Old English form, since Old French had also tor. (But the Scots examples in sense 1 α may perhaps belong to tore n.¹, and quot. c1400² in sense 4 to tor n. 2).

I. A tall structure, and related uses.

1. A building lofty in proportion to the size of its base, either isolated, or forming part of a castle, church, or other edifice, or of the walls of a town.Often with prefixed word expressing its nature or use, as bell-, church, gong-, Martello, round, sea-, watch-, water-tower: see the first element.Tower of Silence: see silence n. and int. Phrases 9.In the Border counties of England and Scotland, ‘tower’ is often the name of a solitary high fenced house, a tower-house or ‘peel-house’ (see peel n.² 4), too small to be called a ‘castle’, e.g. Gilnockie, Goldilands, Smailholm Tower.

ΘΚΠ

society > faith > artefacts > division of building (general) > tower or steeple > [noun]

towerc897

steeple1154

campanile1640

society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > types of building generally > [noun] > high building

towerc897

steeplec1000

Babel1554

pile1573

Babel tower1588

castle1642

minar1665

skyscraper1883

scraper1928

prang1929

slab1952

high-rise1962

multi-storey1969

society > armed hostility > defence > defensive work(s) > castle or fortified building > [noun] > tower or watch-tower

towerc897

bastillec1400

bastillion1525

cavalier1562

commander1572

torrion1572

mount1590

sentinel1600

sentry1611

cat1628

torne1637

rondel1686

rounder1774

Martello tower1803

α.

c897 K. Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care xi. 64 Ðin nosu is swelc swelce se torr on Libano ðæm munte.

c950 Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. xxi. 33 Faeder hiorodes seðe..dalf in ðær wintrog & getimberde torr [Ags. Gosp. stypel].

1508 Golagros & Gawane (Chepman & Myllar) sig. aii^v Ane ciete thai se With torris and turatis teirfull to tell.

?1553 (c1501) G. Douglas Palice of Honour (London) iii. l. 1433 in Shorter Poems (1967) 92 Gylt byrnyst torris, quhilk lyk til phebus schone.]

β. c1100Tur [see sense 2a]. c1122Tur [see sense 2a]. 1154Tur [see sense 2a]. c1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 143 On ure ledene tur, quod interpretatur turris.a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 661 To maken a tur wel heg & strong.γ. c1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 13/406 A suyþe heiȝ tour of gold and seluer.1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (Rolls) 8303 He ȝeld him vp..Þre toures of þe cite, þat in is warde were.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 2230 I rede we bigin a laboure And do we wel and make a toure.c1400 Mandeville's Trav. (1905) vi. 21 Þe toure of Babilon.c1400 Mandeville's Trav. (1905) ix. 35 A faire kirke with many kirnelles and toures.1559 D. Lindsay Test. Papyngo l. 633 in Wks. (1931) I Adew, fair Snawdoun, with thy touris hie.1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene iii. ix. sig. Ll6 Which they far off beheld from Troian toures.δ. 1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) Gen. xi. 4 Comeþ, and make we to vs a citee and a towr, whose heiȝt fulli ateyne vnto heuene.c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 498/2 Towre, turris.1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) ix. 451 And syne þe towris euerilkane And vallis gert he tummyll doune.1526 Bible (Tyndale) Matt. xxi. f. xxx Bilt a tower, and lett it out to husbandmen.1625 F. Bacon Ess. (new ed.) 262 Those Towers, are not to be of the Height of the Front.1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost xii. 44 They cast to build A Citie & Towre, whose top may reach to Heav'n. 1747 T. Gray Ode Eton Coll. 3 Ye distant Spires, ye antique Towers.1751 T. Gray Elegy iii. 5 From yonder ivy-mantled tow'r The mopeing owl does to the moon complain.1815 T. Rickman in J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art I. 131 If it be square-topt, it is called a tower.1849 J. H. Parker Introd. Study Gothic Archit. ii. 42 Early in the twelfth century occurred the fall of the tower of Winchester cathedral.1853 M. Arnold Scholar Gipsy in Poems (new ed.) 202 And the eye travels down to Oxford's towers.1910 E. Younghusband Glimpses E. Afr. & Zanzibar xxii. 262 Vultures, within one hour of a body being placed in the tower of silence, tear off all flesh from the bones, then the hot tropical sun soon dries and bleaches the bones.

a. Such a structure used as a stronghold, fortress, or prison, or built primarily for purposes of defence. (In this sense the name is sometimes extended to include the whole fortress or stronghold of which a ‘tower’ in sense 1 was the original nucleus.)Thus the Tower of London, in official designation His Majesty's Tower, and in English History or contextually often simply The Tower, is the entire fortress surrounding the original White Tower of William Rufus.

ΚΠ

c1100 Anglo-Saxon Chron. ann. 1097 Þurh þone weall þe hi worhton on butan þone tur [on Lundenne].

c1122 Anglo-Saxon Chron. ann. 1101 Se b[iscop] Rannulf..ut of þam ture on Lunden nihtes oðbærst.

1154 Anglo-Saxon Chron. ann. 1140 Me læt hire dun on niht of þe tur [at Oxford] mid rapes.

?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 168 Þe tur nis naut asaillet ne castel.

c1330 R. Mannyng Chron. (1810) 50 Edrik was hanged on þe toure, for his trispas.

1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Rolls) VII. 449 Men myȝte wade bytwene Temsebrugge and þe toure of Londoun.

a1400–50 Alexander 1296 With trawynns and trebgetes þe towre to assaylle.

c1600 Diurnal of Remarkable Occurrents (1833) 84 Thay war commandit to remayne in waird within the auld tuire quhairin my lord of Murray lugeit.

c1600 Wriothesley's Chron. Eng. (1875) I. 5 In Februarie, died Queene Elizabeth at the Towre of London.

1623 W. Shakespeare & J. Fletcher Henry VIII v. iii. 123 That forthwith, You be conuaid to th' Tower a Prisoner.

1625 J. Chamberlain Let. 25 June in R. F. Williams Birch's Court & Times Charles I (1848) (modernized text) I. 36 A lioness hath whelped in the Tower.

1768 L. Sterne Sentimental Journey II. 22 The Bastile is but another word for a tower.

1813 W. Scott Bridal of Triermain ii. xvii. 80 She has fair Strath-Clyde, and Reged wide, And Carlisle tower and town!

1813 W. Scott Bridal of Triermain ii. xvi. 78 Carlisle town and tower.

1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. viii. 357 A warrant..directing the Lieutenant of the Tower to keep them [seven Bishops] in safe custody.

b. In early religious use, often applied to heaven.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the supernatural > deity > heaven > [noun]

bliss971

heavenOE

paradiseOE

towera1240

seatc1275

heavenwarda1300

Abraham's bosomc1300

tabernaclea1340

wonea1350

sanctuary1382

pasturec1384

firmament1388

sky?1518

Canaan1548

welkin1559

happy land1562

sphere?1592

heavenwards1614

afterworld1615

patria1707

god-home1848

overworld1858

the invisible1868

a1240 Lofsong in Cott. Hom. 207 In syon þe heie tur of heouene.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 418 He fordestend tuin creature to serue him in þat hali ture.

c1400 (?c1380) Pearl l. 965 Þou may not enter with-inne hys tor.

3. figurative. (Cf. ‘stronghold’, etc.) Frequently in tower of strength. See also ivory tower n.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > safety > [noun] > safety or security > that which gives security

anchoreOE

tower13..

strengthc1425

rock1526

anchorage1596

assurer1607

anchor line1614

aventinea1625

anchorage ground1758

anchorman1895

the world > action or operation > easiness > aid, help, or assistance > support > [noun] > that which or one who supports > one who

uptakera1340

holder-upc1374

upbearer1387

bearera1398

undernimmera1400

weighera1400

upholderc1403

ally1406

allya1431

godfather?1541

propper1549

tower of strength1549

backer1583

moyener?1591

backfriend1599

stayer1611

suppositor1629

susceptor1652

standby1712

bottle holder1788

understander1875

buddy1893

anchorman1895

backer-up1921

13.. St. Ambrosius 793 in Horstm. Altengl. Leg. (1878) 20/2 Ambrose..him self was wal and tour, To kepe holi~chirches honour.

c1374 G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Cambr.) iv. met. iii. 96 For with inne is Ihydd the strengthe and vigor of men in the secre toure of hir hertes.

1483 W. Caxton tr. J. de Voragine Golden Legende 407/1 Thenne she began strongely to assayle the toure of hys conscience.

1549 Bk. Common Prayer (STC 16267) Matrimonie f. xv*^v O lorde..Bee vnto them a tower of strength.

1560 Bible (Geneva) Psalms cxliv. 2 He is my goodnes and my fortres, my tower and my deliuerer.

1597 W. Shakespeare Richard III v. iii. 12 Besides, the Kings name is a tower of strength .

1605 F. Bacon Of Aduancem. Learning i. sig. G3^v As if there were sought in knowledge..a Tower of State for a proude minde to raise it selfe vpon.

1852 Ld. Tennyson Ode Wellington 7 O fall'n at length that tower of strength.

a1865 E. C. Gaskell Wives & Daughters (1866) II. xxii. 224 But, my dear Cynthia,—how soon Roger will be back,—a tower of strength.

1909 G. K. Chesterton Orthodoxy iii. 55 The whole modern world is at war with reason, and the tower already reels.

1956 A. Wilson Anglo-Saxon Attitudes ii. iii. 394 She's been such a tower of strength all this time.

1970 Bible (New Eng.) Prov. xviii. 10 The name of the Lord is a tower of strength, where the righteous may run for refuge.

1981 P. H. Johnson Bonfire ii. i. 84 He put his arms round Agnes... She thought of him as a ‘tower of strength’.

4. transferred. A lofty pile or material mass.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > vertical extent > [noun] > above a certain level > great or considerable > something having

towera1340

a1340 R. Rolle Psalter cl. 4 Orgyns þat is made as a toure of sere whistils.

c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 1983 A tempest hom toke on þe torres hegh [of waves].]

1604 E. Grimeston tr. J. de Acosta Nat. & Morall Hist. Indies iii. xxvii. 202 There is a place..where are seene as it were two towers or pikes of a very high elevated rocke, rising out of the middest of the sea.

1841 C. Dickens Barnaby Rudge iv. 257 Sundry towers of buttered Yorkshire cake.

1843 F. Marryat Narr. Trav. M. Violet III. x. 204 The Grand Tower, one of the wonders of the Mississippi. It is a stupendous pile of rocks, of a conical form.

1852 W. M. Thackeray Henry Esmond I. iii. 69 She had a tower of lace on her head, under which was a bush of black curls. (Cf. 6 b.)

5. In other transferred uses:

a. In ancient and medieval warfare, a tall movable structure, used in storming a fortified place. Cf. summercastle n.

ΘΚΠ

society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > engine of war > [noun] > siege-tower

belfryc1300

mate-griffonc1330

summercastle1382

bastillec1400

towerc1440

summertowera1450

bestial1488

bastide1523

turret1565

timber-tower1614

helepole1770

cat-castle1861

c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 498/2 Towre, made oonly of tymbyr, fala.

1483 Cath. Angl. 391/1 A Towre of a tree, fala.

1552 R. Huloet Abcedarium Anglico Latinum Towre made of tymbre, fala.

1665 T. Manley tr. H. Grotius De Rebus Belgicis 287 The Besiegers erected a great Tower of Wood, after the manner of Antiquity.

†b. The ‘castle’ borne on the back of an elephant. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > conveyance carried by person or animal > [noun] > litter > on elephant

castlec1380

tower1553

ambari1672

howdah1775

1553 R. Eden tr. S. Münster Treat. Newe India sig. Bvij^v Vpon the pack-saddels, they haue on euery side a litle house or towre. [margin] The Elephantes towre.

1701 W. Wotton Hist. Rome ii. 489 They had 700 Elephants, all loaden with Towers.

1762 [see tower-backed adj. at Compounds 3].

c1820 [implied in: S. Rogers Alps in Italy 24 The towered elephant Upheld his trunk. (at towered adj. 1)].

c. The gun-turret on an ironclad.

ΘΚΠ

society > armed hostility > hostilities at sea > naval weapons and equipment > [noun] > ship's guns collectively > gun-turret

citadel1860

cupola1862

turret1862

tower1889

1889 J. J. Welch Text Bk. Naval Archit. xiv. 143 The plan of placing the guns in revolving towers or turrets.

d. A railway signal-box. U.S.

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > rail travel > railway system or organization > [noun] > types of signal system > signal-box

signal box1822

signal cabin1861

switch-tower1897

tower1900

1900 Everybody's Mag. II. 442/2 The tower from which the traffic entering and leaving the Grand Central Station in New York city is directed, is located just outside the station itself.

1910 H. A. Franck Vagabond Journey 328 A man in the neighbouring tower opened the block, and the diminutive freight screamed by us.

1946 [see tower-house n. at Compounds 1b].

e. = pylon n. 5.

ΘΚΠ

the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > electrical power, electricity > distribution system > [noun] > pylon

pylon1923

tower1930

1930 Engineering 9 May 603/2 There are four standard types of tower for the single-circuit lines.

1946 D. C. Peattie Road of Naturalist (U.K. ed.) iv. 42 The car lamps picked up out of vacancy the marching towers of the power lines.

1963 A. Lubbock Austral. Roundabout 72 The electric pylons, or towers, as they are called here, stalk up and down great rides cut through the trees, carrying the cable in their upflung arms.

f. = control tower n. at control n. Compounds 6. Also elliptical; transferred, the flight-control staff.

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > air or space travel > regulation and control of flying > [noun] > system using radio or radar > control tower

control tower1909

tower1958

1958 ‘N. Shute’ Rainbow & Rose i. 7 I'll come up to the Tower when we land.

1971 A. Diment Think Inc. xii. 201 Captain Roberts..asked tower, politely, for permission to taxi.

1977 Time 11 Apr. 23/2 The tower ordered KLM to taxi the full length of the runway.

g. elliptical. = tower block n. at Compounds 5.

ΘΚΠ

society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > types of building generally > [noun] > high building > collectively

point block1954

tower block1966

tower1970

1970 Times 6 July 6/5 The towers, cheerless in their four tones of dun-colour.

1975 M. Bradbury Hist. Man i. 11 Higher on the hill grow the new concrete towers.

6. Applied to various things having the form, figure, or appearance of a tower, or likened to one.

†a. Chess. The Castle or Rook. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > board game > chess > [noun] > pieces > rook or castle

rookc1330

judge?1523

tower1562

duke1625

castlea1649

1562 tr. Damiano da Odemira Pleasaunt Playe of Cheasts sig. Av Of the Rooke or Towre. The Towre is named amongest the Spaniards, Portingales, and Italians, Rocho.

a1649 W. Drummond Wks. (1711) 146 For the Towers or Castles named Rooks, these are the walled Towns, which serve for a Refuge for the Conservation of the Kingdom.

b. A very high head-dress worn by women in the reigns of William III and Anne. It was built up in the form of a tower of pasteboard, muslin, lace, and ribbons. Cf. tour n. 4. Historical.

ΘΚΠ

the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > headgear > [noun] > tall

turret1473

high head1580

towerc1612

fontange1685

commodea1687

cop1688

toppingc1690

cock-up1692

c1612 J. Sylvester Lacrymæ Lacrymarum 159 Stript, from Top to Toe, Of giddie Gaudes, Top-gallant Tires and Towers.

1693 J. Dryden tr. Juvenal in J. Dryden et al. tr. Juvenal Satires vi. 114 With Curls, on Curls, they build her Head before; And mount it with a Formidable Tow'r. [Note 125] This dressing up the Head so high, which we call a Tow'r, was an Ancient way amongst the Romans.

1706 T. Hearne Remarks & Coll. 19 Jan. (O.H.S.) I. 165 Cybele..is represented with a Tower'd Head.

1852 W. M. Thackeray Henry Esmond II. xv. 300 My Lady of Chelsea in her highest tour, my Lady Viscountess out of black.]

1894 [implied in: Yellow Bk. I. 66 Women..gave the best hours of the day to the towering of their coiffures. (at towering n. d)].

c. Applied to various technical structures and contrivances, now only descriptively: see quots. and cf. shot-tower n. at shot n.¹ Compounds 2.

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > equipment > other specific types of equipment > [noun] > other tools and equipment

pollhache1324

poleaxe1356

muckrake1366

pestlea1382

botea1450

staff1459

press-board1558

reel1593

water crane1658

lathekin1659

tower1662

dressing hook1683

liner1683

hovel1686

flax-brake1688

nipper1688

horse1728

tap1797

feather-stick1824

bow1839

safety belt1840

economizer1841

throttle damper1849

cleat1854

leg brace1857

bark-peeler1862

pugging screw1862

nail driver1863

spool1864

turntable1865

ovate1872

tension bar1879

icebreaker1881

spreader1881

toucher1881

window pole1888

mushroom head1890

rat1894

slackline1896

auger1897

latch hook1900

thimble1901

horse1904

pipe jack1909

mulcher1910

hand plate1911

splashguard1917

cheese-cutter1927

airbrasive1945

impactor1945

fogger1946

1662 C. Merrett tr. A. Neri Art of Glass 243 The Leer (made by Agricola, the third furnace, to anneal and cool the vessels..) comprehends two parts, the tower and leer.

1662 C. Merrett tr. A. Neri Art of Glass 365 Tower is the Iron on which they rest their Pontee when they scald the Glass.

1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory (1905) iii. xx. 228 The Philosophers Tower..is a kind of Tower furnace... The Maner of the Tower is four square.

1728 E. Chambers Cycl. at Furnace The Tower lyes directly over the Melting Furnace.

1857 W. A. Miller Elements Chem. (1862) III. 649 In many works the process of washing with acid is superseded by..a scrubber, consisting of a tower, the interior of which is filled with small coke resting upon perforated shelves.

1885 Athenæum 21 Feb. 252/1 A concise account of the treatment of iron ores for the blast furnace, a careful examination of the peculiar action of that vast metallurgical tower in all its modified forms.

7. Astrology. = house n.¹ 11, mansion n. 5a.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the universe > celestial sphere > zone of celestial sphere > [noun] > Zodiac > house

towerc1374

housea1393

mansionc1395

anglea1398

harbourc1405

palacec1425

cardinal point1585

synod house1589

dodecatemory1603

the world > the universe > heavenly body > as influence on mankind > [noun] > influence > planet as > situation of > house

towerc1374

housea1393

mansionc1395

palacec1425

c1374 G. Chaucer Compl. Mars 113 Now fleeth Venus in to cilenios toure.

1911 Ramsay in Expositor Mar. 224 The twelve zodiacal stations of the sun were called towers by the Greek astrologers.

II. Senses relating to soaring.

a. Lofty flight; soaring. (Cf. tower v. 3.)

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > birds > flight > [noun] > specific type of

tower1486

high flying1556

whirleryc1560

soaring1575

plane1622

soar1817

song flight1839

overflight1883

pursuit flight1930

pass1987

1486 Bk. St. Albans D iv Ther is an Hoby. And that hauke is for a yong man. And theys be hawkes of the toure: and ben both Ilurid to be calde and reclaymed.

a1529 J. Skelton Magnyfycence (?1530) sig. Ciii^v Torde manit is an hawke of the towre.

1575 G. Turberville Bk. Faulconrie 53 She [sc. the hobby] is of the number of those hawkes that are hye fleeing and towre hawkes.

1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost xi. 185 Nigh in her sight The Bird of Jove, stoopt from his aerie tour, Two Birds of gayest plume before him drove.

b. The vertical ascent of a wounded bird.

ΚΠ

1890 Pall Mall Gaz. 18 Jan. 2/3 A single goose..bravely struggles onwards, and finally, after a perfectly executed ‘tower’, falls dead not far from the boat.

1895 J. G. Millais Breath from Veldt iv. 58 (caption) The outlined figures are intended to represent the tower and drop of a single bird.

Phrases

P1. tower and town (also town and tower): see town n. Phrases 4.

†P2. towers in the air, visionary projects, ‘castles in the air’ (see castle n. 11).

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of imagination > mental image, idea, or fancy > daydream or reverie > [noun]

castle in Spainc1400

reverie1477

brown studyc1555

castle in the skies1576

castle in the air1579

comedown1583

memento1587

towers in the air1599

daydream1651

dream1732

air castle1786

châteaux in air1793

chateau(x) en Espagne1834

cloud-castle1887

pipe dream1890

fantasy1926

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 12983 Al þis werld, bath tur and tun.

c1420 Sir Amadace (Camden) lxxii Thenne was he lord of toure and towne.

1599 Master Broughtons Lett. Answered ii. 9 Your humours building towers in the ayre,..faine a sounding in your eares.

Compounds

General attributive.

C1. Simple attributive ‘of or belonging to a or the tower’.

tower-bell n.

ΚΠ

1592 R. Dallington tr. F. Colonna Hypnerotomachia f. 7^v A sound, as if the tower bell of Saint Iohns Colledge in the famous Vniuersitie of Cambridge had beene rung.

tower-clock n.

ΚΠ

1895 A. J. Evans in Folk-Lore Mar. 44 As soon as the tower-clock strikes twelve.

tower-gate n.

ΚΠ

a1832 W. Scott Eve St. John in Poet. Wks. (1833) IV. 191 He oped the tower-gate And he mounted the narrow stair.

tower-gun n.

ΚΠ

1681 Ballad of Cloak It seiz'd on the Tow'r Guns.

1767 J. Wesley Jrnl. 5 Nov. I was surprised..to hear the Tower-guns so plain at above fifty miles distance.

tower-head n.

ΚΠ

1539 W. Ewre Indentures Castell of Berwyke in Archaeologia (1794) 11 437 Uppon the same towre hed a saker of brasse of Scottyshe makinge.

tower-pier n.

ΚΠ

1880 Archaeologia Cantiana 13 26 Lanfranc's tower-piers, and a few feet of his crypt walls undoubtedly remain.

tower-room n.

ΚΠ

1886 R. Willis & J. W. Clark Archit. Hist. Univ. Cambr. III. 331 The President is to have certain tower-rooms.

tower-stair n.

ΚΠ

1848 W. M. Thackeray Vanity Fair lxii. 557 The Batavier steamboat left the Tower-stairs laden with a goodly company of English fugitives.

tower-top n.

ΚΠ

1841 C. Dickens Old Curiosity Shop ii. lv. 106 One of these..climbed with her to the tower-top.

tower-ward n.

ΚΠ

c1450 Brut 423 The persone of the Toure and this ffrere Randulf fillen in debate and stryffe withynne the Toure ward.

tower-wharf n.

ΚΠ

c1450 Brut 431 Iohn Mortymere, knyght, brake pryson oute of the Toure of London, and was take ayen vpon the Toure-wharf.

b. ‘That is, consists of, has, or contains a tower’.

tower-distillatory n.

ΚΠ

1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory (1905) iii. xx. 229 This is the form of another Tower distillatory, but four square in the foundation with a round tower in the midst.

tower-furnace n.

ΚΠ

1688Tower furnace [see sense 6c].

tower-gateway n.

ΚΠ

1886 R. Willis & J. W. Clark Archit. Hist. Univ. Cambr. III. 285 Wykeham's tower-gateway at New College is in three floors.

tower-house n.

ΘΚΠ

society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > dwelling place or abode > a dwelling > a house > types of house > [noun] > house of specific shape or style

hall-house1467

longhouse1643

bungalow1676

single housea1684

tower-house1687

villa1755

box1773

cottage orné1774

villarette1792

mews1805

cottage1808

terrace house1817

casita1822

villa dwelling1833

villa residence1833

box-house1846

six-roomer1853

terrace1854

tembe1860

moat house1871

parlour house1871

row house1871

salt-box1876

trullo1898

townhouse1900

colonial1903

semi1912

Cape Cod1916

bungaloid1927

semi-detached1928

ranchette1938

solar house1946

rambler1947

rancher1950

ranch1951

tunnel-back1957

sidesplit1958

two-up-and-two-downer1958

two-up two-down1958

semi-det1960

A-frame1963

townhouse1965

tri-level1965

link house1968

split1970

dormer bungalow1977

1687 A. Lovell tr. J. de Thévenot Trav. into Levant i. 100 A litte Tower-house, with two or three Rooms.

1797 J. Sinclair Statist. Acct. Scotl. XIX. 602 Tower houses are met with in a ruinous condition.

1946 E. B. Thompson Amer. Daughter 124 We climbed the little ladder to the railroad tower house.

tower-keep n.

ΚΠ

1897 B. C. A. Windle Life Early Britain ix. 176 The erection of the rectangular tower keep, which the Norman used when he was building on a perfectly new site.

tower mill n.

ΚΠ

1888 Encycl. Brit. XXIV. 599 The post mill was succeeded by the tower, smock, or frock mill.

1933 Times Lit. Suppl. 14 Dec. 891/1 Even in brick or stone tower-mills the sweeps may be caught in the rear..by a suddenly veering storm.

1979 Jrnl. Royal Soc. Arts Dec. 3/1 The viewer is taken inside one of the last remaining working tower mills.

tower-porch n.

ΚΠ

1886 R. Willis & J. W. Clark Archit. Hist. Univ. Cambr. III. 356 Access to the hall is provided through a tower-porch.

tower silo n.

ΚΠ

1939 J. R. McCalmont Silo Types & Constr. 2 Silos may be divided roughly into above-ground—tower or upright—and the below-ground—pit or trench—silo, either of which may be built for temporary or continued use.

1982 Daily Tel. 19 Apr. 9/3 Tower silos, standing as they do up to some 60 feet high and painted in various..colours are not particularly attractive features of our rural areas.

tower-steeple n.

ΚΠ

1610 P. Holland tr. W. Camden Brit. i. 216 A new Church with..an high spire besides the Toure-steeple.

1610 P. Holland tr. W. Camden Brit. i. 468 I saw the towre steeple of a small suppressed, Friery.

C2. Objective.

tower-keeper n.

ΚΠ

1885 H. C. McCook Tenants Old Farm 135 Easy victims to the vigilant tower-keeper.

tower-transporter n.

ΚΠ

1903 Daily Chron. 25 June 4/5 An opportunity of witnessing the coaling of the flagship Majestic by the new Temperley tower transporter.

tower-bearing adj.

ΚΠ

1555 R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde f. 189^v The towrebearynge shoulders of Elephantes.

tower-razing adj.

ΚΠ

1606 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. (new ed.) ii. iv. 12 'Twas the Breach of a Tower-razing Ram.

tower-supporting adj.

ΚΠ

1610 P. Holland tr. W. Camden Brit. i. 290 The tour-supporting bankes, at Windsore.

tower-tearing adj.

ΚΠ

1614 J. Sylvester Bethulia's Rescue iii. 125 Tower-tearing Mars, Bellona thirsting-bloud.

C3. Instrumental, locative.

tower-backed adj.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > group Ruminantia (sheep, goats, cows, etc.) > family Camelidae (camel) > [adjective] > having a hump

tower-backed1608

camelious1902

society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > conveyance carried by person or animal > [adjective] > bearing a howdah or castle

tower-backed1762

howdahed1803

toweredc1820

1608 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. (new ed.) ii. iv. 93 The Towr-backt Camel, that..on his bunch could have transported yerst Neer a whole Houshold.

1762 Judas Macc. iii. 18 The huge Tow'r-back'd Elephants.

tower-capped adj.

ΚΠ

1816 Ld. Byron Siege of Corinth i. 8 Yon tower-capt Acropolis.

tower-crested adj.

ΚΠ

1819 F. D. Hemans Abencerrage iii, in Tales & Scenes in Verse 118 Tower-crested rocks.

tower-crowned adj.

ΚΠ

1771 Gentleman's Mag. Nov. 490/1 At the sight Of distant Bremen's tower-crown'd height.

tower-dwelling adj.

ΚΠ

1896 Spectator 31 Oct. 586/1 There are other tribes of tower-dwelling birds.

tower-encircled adj.

ΚΠ

1744 J. Thomson Autumn in Seasons (new ed.) 137 Nurse of art! the City rear'd..her Tower-encircled Head.

tower-flanked adj.

ΚΠ

1799 H. Gurney Cupid & Psyche viii. 14 A vast and tower-flank'd palace stood.

tower-full adj.

ΚΠ

1605 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. ii. ii. 451 Th' ingenious, Tower-full, and Law-louing Soile.

tower-studded adj.

C4. Similative.

tower-high adj.

tower-like adj.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > vertical extent > [adjective] > great or considerable

higheOE

steepOE

heaven-highOE

highlyOE

brentc1400

hightc1480

hichty1513

procere1542

tall1548

spiringa1552

towereda1552

tower-like1552

upstretched1563

airy1565

excelse1569

haughty1570

topless1589

lofty1590

procerous1599

kiss-sky1603

skyish1604

topful?1611

aspiringc1620

sky-high1622

hiddy1632

tiptoed1632

sublime1635

towering1638

soaring1687

mountain high1693

clamberinga1717

skied1730

towery1731

pyramidic1740

skyey1750

skyward1792

skyscraping1797

exulting1798

high-reaching1827

steepling1892

high-rise1964

hi1972

the world > space > shape > curvature > curved three-dimensional shape or body > cylinder > [adjective] > tower- or turret-shaped

tower-like1552

turret-like1709

turret-shaped1844

turriform1875

tower-shaped1897

1552 R. Huloet Abcedarium Anglico Latinum Towrelyke, turreus.

1625 K. Long tr. J. Barclay Argenis iv. xix. 309 Elephants..brought into the battell, with their Tower-like carriages.

1729 R. Savage Wanderer iv. 119 He sees yon Tow'r-like Ship the Waves divide.

1893 Scribner's Mag. June 718/1 The tower-like building of stone and stucco, octagonal in form, had a forbidding air.

tower-shaped adj.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > shape > curvature > curved three-dimensional shape or body > cylinder > [adjective] > tower- or turret-shaped

tower-like1552

turret-like1709

turret-shaped1844

turriform1875

tower-shaped1897

1897 Jacob Primmer in Rome (1903) 319 In this tower-shaped tomb.

tower-wise adv.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > vertical extent > [adverb] > to a great or considerable height

highOE

heaven-high?1518

loftily1548

tower-wise1581

a-cock-hye1598

tally1611

eminently1620

spirally1806

sky-high1818

toweringly1822

1581 A. Hall tr. Homer 10 Bks. Iliades vii. 127 His huge and waightie targe, Which towerwise so stoode aloft.

a1661 W. Brereton Trav. (1844) 94 A little fort..built tower~wise.

C5. Special combinations. Also tower mustard n., Tower pound n., Tower weight n. at Tower pound n. Derivatives, towerwort (at tower mustard n.).

tower apartment n. an apartment in a tower block, a high-rise flat.

ΘΚΠ

society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > dwelling place or abode > a dwelling > a house > types of house > [noun] > flat or apartment > type of

studio flat1882

studio apartment1884

mansard1886

penthouse1892

single end1897

walk-up1907

railroad flat1908

simplex1912

service flat1913

studio1918

kitchenette1920

duplex1922

garden flat1922

flatlet1925

show flat1929

quadruplex1939

council flat1941

garden apartment1942

walk-back1945

multilevel1959

tower apartment1961

condominium1962

triplex1962

condo1984

1961 L. Mumford City in Hist. Note to plate 51 The London County Council's Roehampton estate, with its mixture of tower apartments and lower houses and maisonettes.

tower-ball n. a game for children.

Categories »

tower bastion n. Fortification a tower built like a bastion and provided with casemates.

tower block n. a tall block of flats, a high-rise building, a skyscraper.

ΘΚΠ

society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > types of building generally > [noun] > high building > collectively

point block1954

tower block1966

tower1970

1966 Atlantic Oct. 127 Tower blocks can be accused of leading to eardrum degeneration, owing to constant use of high-speed elevators.

a1974 R. Crossman Diaries (1975) I. 82 The jack-block building in Coventry, a fifteen- or sixteen-storey tower block built by a new technique of jacking each storey up after it has been erected.

1982 Listener 23 Dec. 58/4 Most American film crews refuse to take rooms higher than the second floor of towerblock hotels since this picture.

tower bolt n. = barrel bolt n. at barrel n. Compounds 2.

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > equipment > building and constructing equipment > fastenings > [noun] > bolt > types of

round bolt1582

ringbolt1599

pikebolt1622

rag bolt1625

set-bolt1627

clinch-bolta1642

eyebolt1649

clinch1659

screw-bolt1690

king bolt1740

wrain-bolt1750

wraining-bolt1769

toggle-bolt1794

strap-bolt1795

wring-bolt1815

through-bolt1821

truss-bolt1825

slip-stopper1831

stud bolt1838

anchor bolt1839

king rod1843

joint bolt1844

spade-bolt1850

shackle-bolt1852

roof bolt1853

set-stud1855

coach bolt1869

truss-rod1873

fox-bolt1874

garnish-bolt1874

fang-bolt1876

stud1878

U bolta1884

rock bolt1887

hook bolt1899

tower bolt1911

explosive bolt1948

1911 Encycl. Brit. XV. 482/2 Among locks and fastenings the ordinary barrel or tower bolt needs no description.

tower crane n. (see quot. 1940).

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > equipment > lifting or hoisting equipment > [noun] > crane > types of

quay crane1821

balance-crane1824

well crane1836

water crane1849

jenny1861

jib-crane1873

stacker1875

Titan1876

transfer-elevatora1884

whip-crane1883

Goliath1888

jigger1891

wharf crane1893

floating crane1903

tower crane1906

hammer-headed crane1908

portal crane1908

hammer-head crane1910

luffing crane1913

cherry-picker1945

stacker crane1959

monotower1963

Transtainer1964

portainer1966

1906 Electr. World 7 Apr. 743 An illustrated description of an electrically-operated rotating tower crane for the Dublin docks.

1940 Chambers's Techn. Dict. 856/1 Tower crane, a rotatable cantilever pivoted to the top of a steelwork tower, either fixed or carried on rails.

1967 Listener 27 July 111/1 A tower crane on our university building site.

Thesaurus »

Categories »

tower-cress n. the cruciferous plant Arabis Turrita; sometimes applied to tower mustard n., Turritis glabra.

† tower-fellow n. Obsolete a fellow prisoner in the Tower.

ΘΚΠ

society > authority > punishment > imprisonment > prisoner > [noun] > fellow-prisoner

fellow prisoner1439

prison fellow1526

tower-fellow1709

1709 J. Strype Ann. Reformation xlv. 457 He and his Tower-fellows, hearing the bill..should pass.

tower-fellowship n. a political division of citizens in the states of ancient Greece.

ΘΚΠ

society > authority > rule or government > a or the state > [noun] > part of > part of in ancient Greece or Rome

tribe1533

tower-fellowship1847

1847 G. Grote Hist. Greece III. ii. xiii. 247 The symmories or tower-fellowships of Teôs seem to be analogous to the phratries of ancient Athens.

tower hill n. a hill near or on which a tower is built; spec. (with capital initials) the rising ground by the Tower of London.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the earth > land > landscape > high land > hill > [noun] > specific

tower hillc1480

Capitoline1549

Quirinal1569

palatine1656

Euganean1882

mogote1928

the world > the earth > named regions of earth > named cities or towns > [noun] > in Britain > London > parts of

vintrya1456

steelyard1474

tower hillc1480

city1556

Bow-bell1600

row1607

gate1723

east end1742

Mayfair1754

garden1763

warren1769

west?1789

the Borough1797

west end1807

Holy Land1821

Belgravia1848

Tyburnia1848

Mesopotamia1850

South Kensington1862

Dockland1904

South Ken1933

Fitzrovia1958

square mile1966

c1480 J. Warkworth Chron. (Camden) 5 To the Towre Hylle.

1485 Rolls of Parl. VI. 372/2 The Gardyns upon the Towre hill.

1843 Penny Cycl. XXV. 98/1 The chief place of execution was outside the walls [of the Tower of London] on the neighbouring Tower Hill.

tower karst n. [translating German turmkarst (H. von Wissmann 1954, in Erdkunde VIII. 122/1)] Geomorphology a type of karst characterized by isolated steep-sided hills.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the earth > land > landscape > [noun] > types of terrain

patchwork1865

Mound Region1873

boulder-flat1884

karrenfeld1885

boulder-belt1894

karst land1894

karst1902

felsenmeer1905

stone-field1906

staircasing1911

fundament1928

strewn field1937

thermokarst1943

patterned ground1950

pseudokarst1954

tower karst1954

tektite field1960

stone pavement1969

1954 Erdkunde 8 122/1 Of the various formations of kegelkarst, two widely differ in appearance from one another... 2. A river plain, dotted with groups or swarms of limestone towers or castles... This is the tower karst.

1977 A. Hallam Planet Earth 83/2 Hills with slopes of 70° and more occur, the relief being called tower karst.

tower-light n. a window or hole in a tower.

ΘΚΠ

society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > window or door > types of window > [noun] > other types of window

loop1393

shot-windowc1405

gable window1428

batement light1445

church window1458

shot1513

casement1538

dream-hole1559

luket1564

draw window1567

loop-window1574

loophole1591

tower-windowc1593

thorough lights1600

squinch1602

turret window1603

slit1607

close-shuts1615

gutter window1620

street lighta1625

balcony-window1635

clere-story window1679

slip1730

air-loop1758

Venetian1766

Venetian window1775

sidelight1779

lancet window1781

French casement1804

double window1819

couplet1844

spire-light1846

lancet1848

tower-light1848

triplet1849

bar-window1857

pair-light1868

nook window1878

coupled windows1881

three-light1908–9

north-light1919

storm window1933

borrowed light1934

Thermopane1941

storms1952

1848 J. H. Parker Rickman's Styles Archit. Eng. (ed. 5) 220 ‘Sound-holes’..seems not so appropriate as air-holes or tower-lights.

towerman n. one who works in a tower; spec. (U.S.) (a) a railway signalman; (b) a look-out for forest fires.

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > rail travel > railway worker > [noun] > signalman

signalman1836

target mana1884

towerman1895

the world > action or operation > safety > protection or defence > watching or keeping guard > [noun] > one who watches or keeps guard > watcher against fire

fire-spy1676

fire warden1724

fire-watcher1830

towerman1895

fire ranger1897

society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > manual or industrial worker > worker in specific place > [noun] > in other specific places

trainman1838

street man1851

towerman1895

tunnel-worker1903

1895 Rep. Chicago Strike 1894 (U.S. Strike Comm.) 214 A number of switch tenders, yard clerks, flagmen, tower men, and roundhouse men left their work.

1908 Atlantic Monthly Nov. (advt.) A practical railroad man, a tower man of long experience.

1947 Sun (Baltimore) 18 Oct. 7/1 Towermen..serve as the eyes of the fire fighters.

1951 Sat. Evening Post 22 Dec. 44/4 The towermen in their elevated air~conditioned goldfish bowls.

Tower musket n. Historical a tower-proof musket.

ΘΚΠ

society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > device for discharging missiles > firearm > small-arm > [noun] > musket

musket1574

snaphancec1575

muscado1592

firelock1625

matchlock1638

fusee1661

squirt-fire1678

fusil1680

jingal1761

Brown Bess1785

tophaike1813

Tower musket1832

jezail1838

trumpet-pipe1844

bundook1886

needle-musket1898

1832 A. Earle Narr. Resid. N.Z. 225 He had with him a beautiful double-barrelled gun, and a very good Tower musket.

1947 J. Stevenson-Hamilton Wild Life S. Afr. xv. 103 The native with his Dane gun, or Tower musket.

tower-proof adj. proved or tested in the arsenal at the Tower of London; also allusively.

ΘΚΠ

society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > device for discharging missiles > firearm > [adjective] > others

stocked1497

breeched1575

chambered1611

tower-proof1673

triggerless18..

hair-triggered1806

vizyless1828

high-velocity1854

sighted1859

calibred1887

recoilless1888

sham-damn1895

silenced1909

silencered1935

multicalibre1983

society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > missile > ammunition for firearms > [adjective] > types of ammunition

tower-proof1673

ready-use1846

shelled1900

the world > action or operation > prosperity > success > mastery or superiority > [adjective] > not overcome or overwhelmed > that cannot be

insuperablec1340

unvanquishablea1382

unexpugnable1382

invincible1482

unsuperable1526

inexpugnablea1535

unvincible1554

impugnable1570

conquerless1595

invictivea1607

inaccessible?1611

unsubduable1611

insuppressivea1616

inexsuperable1623

undefeatablea1640

unconquerable1642

irreducible1858

tower-proof1858

insubduable1866

uncrushable1873

unwinnable1972

1673 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 8 6072 Powder proved Tower-proof is a fifth part stronger than any Dutch powder.

1805 T. Lindley Narr. Voy. to Brasil 252 Brasil being supplied by the mother country with British tower-proof musquets.

1858 T. J. Hogg Life Shelley II. 365 Blessed amongst women,..a tower-proof, fire-proof, bomb-proof blue.

tower-ring n. a finger-ring bearing an image of a tower.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > types of ornamentation > jewellery > ring > [noun] > other types of ring

kine-ringc1225

pontificala1500

hoop-ring1545

death's head1577

ring of remembrance1659

serjeant's ring1690

garter-ring1709

bath-ring1771

solitaire1832

regard ring1853

key ring1856

bodylet1870

portrait ring1877

tower-ring1877

whistle-ring1877

marquise1885

princess-ring1886

dinner ring1890

cluster ring1897

eternity ring1939

1877 W. Jones Finger-ring Lore 298 In the same collection is a Jewish ‘tower’ betrothal ring.

1877 W. Jones Finger-ring Lore 298 Another betrothal ring..called ‘temple’ or ‘tower’ from the figure of the sacred temple placed on the summit.

tower-shell n. = turret-shell n. at turret n. Compounds 2.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > invertebrates > subkingdom Metazoa > grade Triploblastica or Coelomata > class Gastropoda > [noun] > superorder Branchifera > order Prosobranchiata > section Holostomata > member of genus Turritellidae

turret-shell1859

tower-shell1888

1888 Cassell's Encycl. Dict. VII. Tower-shell.

1927 J. B. S. Haldane & J. S. Huxley Animal Biol. xii. 300 One fossil tower-shell stands nearly five feet high.

1959 A. C. Hardy Open Sea II. v. 118 The tall slender Turritella, or tower-shell, is another common gastropod burrowing just below the surface.

tower shilling n.

ΘΚΠ

society > trade and finance > money > medium of exchange or currency > coins collective > English coins > [noun] > shilling

s.1387

solidus?a1475

shilling1533

teston1543

twelvepence1563

bord1567

twelvepenny piece1594

sh.1607

hog1673

twelver1699

she-lion1744

grunter1785

twalpenny worth1786

bob1789

pega1790

tower shilling1800

little shilling1826

deaner1839

rogue and villain1857

stag1857

hole1934

1800 Hull Advertiser 17 May 3/3 A pamphlet, just published, price a good Tower Shilling.

tower skull n. = oxycephaly n.

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > the body > structural parts > bone or bones > skull > skull measurement > [noun] > types of skull > condition of having

long-headedness1818

microcephalia1849

microcephaly1863

leptocephaly1864

platycephaly1864

dolichocephalism1865

mesaticephalism1865

brachistocephaly1866

dolichocephaly1866

mecistocephaly1866

acrocephaly1870

brachycephaly1871

megalocephaly1878

pyrgocephaly1878

stenocephaly1878

brachycephalism1880

platyrrhiny1880

hypsistenocephaly1881

mesocephaly1883

short-headedness1883

orthocephaly1884

oxycephaly1885

mesocephalism1888

macrocephalia1889

macrocephaly1889

broad-headedness1890

mesaticephaly1891

chamaeconchy1902

chamaeprosopy1902

hypsiconchy1902

mesorrhiny1902

mesoconchy1904

tower skull1905

1905 Trans. Ophthalm. Soc. 25 364 (heading) Oxycephaly or ‘tower skull’.

1918 J. H. Parsons Dis. Eye (ed. 3) xxxiii. 620 Bilateral proptosis occurs in exophthalmic goître..as a result of diminished orbital volume in oxycephaly or ‘tower-skull’ and leontiasis ossea.

1969 G. M. Edington & H. M. Gilles Pathol. in Tropics x. 379 Patients with sickle-cell anaemia tend to have a certain type of habitus, with tower-skull, parietal bossing, and long slender, limbs.

tower-stamp n. the official stamp or mark on gold and silver articles; hallmark.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > speech > agreement > promise > [noun] > pledge or assurance

wordOE

costOE

earnest1221

fayc1300

certainty1303

wager1306

plighta1325

pledge1371

assurancec1386

undertaking?a1400

faithc1405

surementc1410

to make affiancec1425

earnest pennya1438

warrant1460

trow1515

fidelity1531

stipulation1552

warranty1555

pawn1573

arrha1574

avouchment1574

assumption1590

word of honour1598

avouch1603

assecurance1616

preassurance1635

tower-stamp1642

parole of honour1648

spondence1657

honour1659

1642 T. Fuller Holy State ii. xix. 120 He knows if he sets his mark (the Tower-stamp of his credit) on any bad wares, he sets a deeper brand on his own conscience.

1849 A. H. Clough Poems & Prose Remains (1869) II. 23 That wariest glance would here Faith, Hope and Love, the true Tower-stamp discern.

† towers treacle n. Obsolete = tower mustard n.

ΘΚΠ

the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > Cruciferae (crucifers) > [noun] > tower-mustard

towers treacle1597

tower mustard1731

1597 J. Gerard Herball ii. 213 Towers Treacle groweth in the West part of Englande vpon dunghils and such like places.

tower-wagon n. a wagon with a structure which can be raised and lowered to serve as a platform for repairing overhead wires, etc.

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > powered vehicle > [noun] > motor vehicle > with extendable platform

tower-wagon1911

1911 Daily News 20 Apr. 1 A collapsible structure similar to a tower wagon, was blown over by the wind.

† tower-window n. Obsolete each of the turreted lights at the head of a late Gothic or Perpendicular window.

ΘΚΠ

society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > window or door > types of window > [noun] > other types of window

loop1393

shot-windowc1405

gable window1428

batement light1445

church window1458

shot1513

casement1538

dream-hole1559

luket1564

draw window1567

loop-window1574

loophole1591

tower-windowc1593

thorough lights1600

squinch1602

turret window1603

slit1607

close-shuts1615

gutter window1620

street lighta1625

balcony-window1635

clere-story window1679

slip1730

air-loop1758

Venetian1766

Venetian window1775

sidelight1779

lancet window1781

French casement1804

double window1819

couplet1844

spire-light1846

lancet1848

tower-light1848

triplet1849

bar-window1857

pair-light1868

nook window1878

coupled windows1881

three-light1908–9

north-light1919

storm window1933

borrowed light1934

Thermopane1941

storms1952

c1593 in J. Raine Descr. Anc. Monuments Church of Durham (1842) 43 In this wyndowe, above all, are six little glasened towre wyndowes.

tower-work n. masonry built in the form of towers.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > architecture > architectural ornament > [noun] > turrets or pinnacles

pinnaclec1330

garret1340

filiolec1400

pricket1534

tower-work1653

pinnet1805

pinnaclet1905

1653 H. Cogan tr. F. M. Pinto Voy. & Adventures (1663) xxv. 93 The top of the Platform was bordered with the same stone, cut into great Tower-work.

Draft additions 1993

An arrangement of scaffolding erected in a vertical column; a unit of scaffolding in this shape.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > relative position > support > [noun] > that which supports > supporting framework

cradle1379

cratch1382

frame1388

brandreth1483

scaffold?1523

crate1526

bone1542

framework1578

anatomy1591

scaffoldage1609

brake1623

truss1654

skeletona1658

carcass1663

box frame1693

crib1693

scaffolding1789

staddlea1800

gantry1810

cradling1823

potence1832

ossaturea1878

tower1970

1970 New Yorker 1 Aug. 23/1 He tried several times to get people to climb down from the stage and from the light towers... ‘Please get off the towers.’ No one got off the towers.

1978 Telephone Directory: Yellow Pages: Preston Area 303 (advt.) Mobile alloy towers (scaffolding).

1983 J. Gardner Elephants in Attic xii. 112 A scene-painter's tower, the floor of which is raised or lowered to the painter's need.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1913; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

单词	tower
释义	towern.¹ Brit. /ˈtaʊə/, U.S. /ˈtaʊər/ Forms: α. Old English–1500s torr, Middle English tor; β. Middle English tur, ture, (1500s Scottish tuire); γ. Middle English–1700s tour, Middle English–1600s toure, 1800s Scottish toor /tur/; δ. Middle English towr, Middle English–1600s towre, (Middle English towyr, 1500s touuer), 1500s– tower, (1700s–1800s tow'r). Etymology: In Old English torr (masculine), < Latin turris; in late Old English and early Middle English tūr, a1300 written tour, < Old French tor, tur (11th cent.), French tour (12th cent.) = Provençal tor, Spanish torre, Portuguese torre, Italian torre < Latin turr-em (-im), accusative of turris feminine ‘tower’. It is doubtful whether the Middle English tor(r was a survival of the Old English form, since Old French had also tor. (But the Scots examples in sense 1 α may perhaps belong to tore n.¹, and quot. c1400² in sense 4 to tor n. 2). I. A tall structure, and related uses. 1. A building lofty in proportion to the size of its base, either isolated, or forming part of a castle, church, or other edifice, or of the walls of a town.Often with prefixed word expressing its nature or use, as bell-, church, gong-, Martello, round, sea-, watch-, water-tower: see the first element.Tower of Silence: see silence n. and int. Phrases 9.In the Border counties of England and Scotland, ‘tower’ is often the name of a solitary high fenced house, a tower-house or ‘peel-house’ (see peel n.² 4), too small to be called a ‘castle’, e.g. Gilnockie, Goldilands, Smailholm Tower. ΘΚΠ society > faith > artefacts > division of building (general) > tower or steeple > [noun] towerc897 steeple1154 campanile1640 society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > types of building generally > [noun] > high building towerc897 steeplec1000 Babel1554 pile1573 Babel tower1588 castle1642 minar1665 skyscraper1883 scraper1928 prang1929 slab1952 high-rise1962 multi-storey1969 society > armed hostility > defence > defensive work(s) > castle or fortified building > [noun] > tower or watch-tower towerc897 bastillec1400 bastillion1525 cavalier1562 commander1572 torrion1572 mount1590 sentinel1600 sentry1611 cat1628 torne1637 rondel1686 rounder1774 Martello tower1803 α. c897 K. Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care xi. 64 Ðin nosu is swelc swelce se torr on Libano ðæm munte. c950 Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. xxi. 33 Faeder hiorodes seðe..dalf in ðær wintrog & getimberde torr [Ags. Gosp. stypel]. 1508 Golagros & Gawane (Chepman & Myllar) sig. aii^v Ane ciete thai se With torris and turatis teirfull to tell. ?1553 (c1501) G. Douglas Palice of Honour (London) iii. l. 1433 in Shorter Poems (1967) 92 Gylt byrnyst torris, quhilk lyk til phebus schone.] β. c1100Tur [see sense 2a]. c1122Tur [see sense 2a]. 1154Tur [see sense 2a]. c1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 143 On ure ledene tur, quod interpretatur turris.a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 661 To maken a tur wel heg & strong.γ. c1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 13/406 A suyþe heiȝ tour of gold and seluer.1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (Rolls) 8303 He ȝeld him vp..Þre toures of þe cite, þat in is warde were.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 2230 I rede we bigin a laboure And do we wel and make a toure.c1400 Mandeville's Trav. (1905) vi. 21 Þe toure of Babilon.c1400 Mandeville's Trav. (1905) ix. 35 A faire kirke with many kirnelles and toures.1559 D. Lindsay Test. Papyngo l. 633 in Wks. (1931) I Adew, fair Snawdoun, with thy touris hie.1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene iii. ix. sig. Ll6 Which they far off beheld from Troian toures.δ. 1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) Gen. xi. 4 Comeþ, and make we to vs a citee and a towr, whose heiȝt fulli ateyne vnto heuene.c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 498/2 Towre, turris.1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) ix. 451 And syne þe towris euerilkane And vallis gert he tummyll doune.1526 Bible (Tyndale) Matt. xxi. f. xxx Bilt a tower, and lett it out to husbandmen.1625 F. Bacon Ess. (new ed.) 262 Those Towers, are not to be of the Height of the Front.1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost xii. 44 They cast to build A Citie & Towre, whose top may reach to Heav'n. View more context for this quotation1747 T. Gray Ode Eton Coll. 3 Ye distant Spires, ye antique Towers.1751 T. Gray Elegy iii. 5 From yonder ivy-mantled tow'r The mopeing owl does to the moon complain.1815 T. Rickman in J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art I. 131 If it be square-topt, it is called a tower.1849 J. H. Parker Introd. Study Gothic Archit. ii. 42 Early in the twelfth century occurred the fall of the tower of Winchester cathedral.1853 M. Arnold Scholar Gipsy in Poems (new ed.) 202 And the eye travels down to Oxford's towers.1910 E. Younghusband Glimpses E. Afr. & Zanzibar xxii. 262 Vultures, within one hour of a body being placed in the tower of silence, tear off all flesh from the bones, then the hot tropical sun soon dries and bleaches the bones. 2. a. Such a structure used as a stronghold, fortress, or prison, or built primarily for purposes of defence. (In this sense the name is sometimes extended to include the whole fortress or stronghold of which a ‘tower’ in sense 1 was the original nucleus.)Thus the Tower of London, in official designation His Majesty's Tower, and in English History or contextually often simply The Tower, is the entire fortress surrounding the original White Tower of William Rufus. ΚΠ c1100 Anglo-Saxon Chron. ann. 1097 Þurh þone weall þe hi worhton on butan þone tur [on Lundenne]. c1122 Anglo-Saxon Chron. ann. 1101 Se b[iscop] Rannulf..ut of þam ture on Lunden nihtes oðbærst. 1154 Anglo-Saxon Chron. ann. 1140 Me læt hire dun on niht of þe tur [at Oxford] mid rapes. ?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 168 Þe tur nis naut asaillet ne castel. c1330 R. Mannyng Chron. (1810) 50 Edrik was hanged on þe toure, for his trispas. 1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Rolls) VII. 449 Men myȝte wade bytwene Temsebrugge and þe toure of Londoun. a1400–50 Alexander 1296 With trawynns and trebgetes þe towre to assaylle. c1600 Diurnal of Remarkable Occurrents (1833) 84 Thay war commandit to remayne in waird within the auld tuire quhairin my lord of Murray lugeit. c1600 Wriothesley's Chron. Eng. (1875) I. 5 In Februarie, died Queene Elizabeth at the Towre of London. 1623 W. Shakespeare & J. Fletcher Henry VIII v. iii. 123 That forthwith, You be conuaid to th' Tower a Prisoner. View more context for this quotation 1625 J. Chamberlain Let. 25 June in R. F. Williams Birch's Court & Times Charles I (1848) (modernized text) I. 36 A lioness hath whelped in the Tower. 1768 L. Sterne Sentimental Journey II. 22 The Bastile is but another word for a tower. 1813 W. Scott Bridal of Triermain ii. xvii. 80 She has fair Strath-Clyde, and Reged wide, And Carlisle tower and town! 1813 W. Scott Bridal of Triermain ii. xvi. 78 Carlisle town and tower. 1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. viii. 357 A warrant..directing the Lieutenant of the Tower to keep them [seven Bishops] in safe custody. b. In early religious use, often applied to heaven. ΘΚΠ the world > the supernatural > deity > heaven > [noun] bliss971 heavenOE paradiseOE towera1240 seatc1275 heavenwarda1300 Abraham's bosomc1300 tabernaclea1340 wonea1350 sanctuary1382 pasturec1384 firmament1388 sky?1518 Canaan1548 welkin1559 happy land1562 sphere?1592 heavenwards1614 afterworld1615 patria1707 god-home1848 overworld1858 the invisible1868 a1240 Lofsong in Cott. Hom. 207 In syon þe heie tur of heouene. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 418 He fordestend tuin creature to serue him in þat hali ture. c1400 (?c1380) Pearl l. 965 Þou may not enter with-inne hys tor. 3. figurative. (Cf. ‘stronghold’, etc.) Frequently in tower of strength. See also ivory tower n. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > safety > [noun] > safety or security > that which gives security anchoreOE tower13.. strengthc1425 rock1526 anchorage1596 assurer1607 anchor line1614 aventinea1625 anchorage ground1758 anchorman1895 the world > action or operation > easiness > aid, help, or assistance > support > [noun] > that which or one who supports > one who uptakera1340 holder-upc1374 upbearer1387 bearera1398 undernimmera1400 weighera1400 upholderc1403 ally1406 allya1431 godfather?1541 propper1549 tower of strength1549 backer1583 moyener?1591 backfriend1599 stayer1611 suppositor1629 susceptor1652 standby1712 bottle holder1788 understander1875 buddy1893 anchorman1895 backer-up1921 13.. St. Ambrosius 793 in Horstm. Altengl. Leg. (1878) 20/2 Ambrose..him self was wal and tour, To kepe holi~chirches honour. c1374 G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Cambr.) iv. met. iii. 96 For with inne is Ihydd the strengthe and vigor of men in the secre toure of hir hertes. 1483 W. Caxton tr. J. de Voragine Golden Legende 407/1 Thenne she began strongely to assayle the toure of hys conscience. 1549 Bk. Common Prayer (STC 16267) Matrimonie f. xv^v O lorde..Bee vnto them a tower of strength. 1560 Bible (Geneva)* Psalms cxliv. 2 He is my goodnes and my fortres, my tower and my deliuerer. 1597 W. Shakespeare Richard III v. iii. 12 Besides, the Kings name is a tower of strength . View more context for this quotation 1605 F. Bacon Of Aduancem. Learning i. sig. G3^v As if there were sought in knowledge..a Tower of State for a proude minde to raise it selfe vpon. View more context for this quotation 1852 Ld. Tennyson Ode Wellington 7 O fall'n at length that tower of strength. a1865 E. C. Gaskell Wives & Daughters (1866) II. xxii. 224 But, my dear Cynthia,—how soon Roger will be back,—a tower of strength. 1909 G. K. Chesterton Orthodoxy iii. 55 The whole modern world is at war with reason, and the tower already reels. 1956 A. Wilson Anglo-Saxon Attitudes ii. iii. 394 She's been such a tower of strength all this time. 1970 Bible (New Eng.) Prov. xviii. 10 The name of the Lord is a tower of strength, where the righteous may run for refuge. 1981 P. H. Johnson Bonfire ii. i. 84 He put his arms round Agnes... She thought of him as a ‘tower of strength’. 4. transferred. A lofty pile or material mass. ΘΚΠ the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > vertical extent > [noun] > above a certain level > great or considerable > something having towera1340 a1340 R. Rolle Psalter cl. 4 Orgyns þat is made as a toure of sere whistils. c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 1983 A tempest hom toke on þe torres hegh [of waves].] 1604 E. Grimeston tr. J. de Acosta Nat. & Morall Hist. Indies iii. xxvii. 202 There is a place..where are seene as it were two towers or pikes of a very high elevated rocke, rising out of the middest of the sea. 1841 C. Dickens Barnaby Rudge iv. 257 Sundry towers of buttered Yorkshire cake. 1843 F. Marryat Narr. Trav. M. Violet III. x. 204 The Grand Tower, one of the wonders of the Mississippi. It is a stupendous pile of rocks, of a conical form. 1852 W. M. Thackeray Henry Esmond I. iii. 69 She had a tower of lace on her head, under which was a bush of black curls. (Cf. 6 b.) 5. In other transferred uses: a. In ancient and medieval warfare, a tall movable structure, used in storming a fortified place. Cf. summercastle n. ΘΚΠ society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > engine of war > [noun] > siege-tower belfryc1300 mate-griffonc1330 summercastle1382 bastillec1400 towerc1440 summertowera1450 bestial1488 bastide1523 turret1565 timber-tower1614 helepole1770 cat-castle1861 c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 498/2 Towre, made oonly of tymbyr, fala. 1483 Cath. Angl. 391/1 A Towre of a tree, fala. 1552 R. Huloet Abcedarium Anglico Latinum Towre made of tymbre, fala. 1665 T. Manley tr. H. Grotius De Rebus Belgicis 287 The Besiegers erected a great Tower of Wood, after the manner of Antiquity. †b. The ‘castle’ borne on the back of an elephant. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > conveyance carried by person or animal > [noun] > litter > on elephant castlec1380 tower1553 ambari1672 howdah1775 1553 R. Eden tr. S. Münster Treat. Newe India sig. Bvij^v Vpon the pack-saddels, they haue on euery side a litle house or towre. [margin] The Elephantes towre. 1701 W. Wotton Hist. Rome ii. 489 They had 700 Elephants, all loaden with Towers. 1762 [see tower-backed adj. at Compounds 3]. c1820 [implied in: S. Rogers Alps in Italy 24 The towered elephant Upheld his trunk. (at towered adj. 1)]. c. The gun-turret on an ironclad. ΘΚΠ society > armed hostility > hostilities at sea > naval weapons and equipment > [noun] > ship's guns collectively > gun-turret citadel1860 cupola1862 turret1862 tower1889 1889 J. J. Welch Text Bk. Naval Archit. xiv. 143 The plan of placing the guns in revolving towers or turrets. d. A railway signal-box. U.S. ΘΚΠ society > travel > rail travel > railway system or organization > [noun] > types of signal system > signal-box signal box1822 signal cabin1861 switch-tower1897 tower1900 1900 Everybody's Mag. II. 442/2 The tower from which the traffic entering and leaving the Grand Central Station in New York city is directed, is located just outside the station itself. 1910 H. A. Franck Vagabond Journey 328 A man in the neighbouring tower opened the block, and the diminutive freight screamed by us. 1946 [see tower-house n. at Compounds 1b]. e. = pylon n. 5. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > electrical power, electricity > distribution system > [noun] > pylon pylon1923 tower1930 1930 Engineering 9 May 603/2 There are four standard types of tower for the single-circuit lines. 1946 D. C. Peattie Road of Naturalist (U.K. ed.) iv. 42 The car lamps picked up out of vacancy the marching towers of the power lines. 1963 A. Lubbock Austral. Roundabout 72 The electric pylons, or towers, as they are called here, stalk up and down great rides cut through the trees, carrying the cable in their upflung arms. f. = control tower n. at control n. Compounds 6. Also elliptical; transferred, the flight-control staff. ΘΚΠ society > travel > air or space travel > regulation and control of flying > [noun] > system using radio or radar > control tower control tower1909 tower1958 1958 ‘N. Shute’ Rainbow & Rose i. 7 I'll come up to the Tower when we land. 1971 A. Diment Think Inc. xii. 201 Captain Roberts..asked tower, politely, for permission to taxi. 1977 Time 11 Apr. 23/2 The tower ordered KLM to taxi the full length of the runway. g. elliptical. = tower block n. at Compounds 5. ΘΚΠ society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > types of building generally > [noun] > high building > collectively point block1954 tower block1966 tower1970 1970 Times 6 July 6/5 The towers, cheerless in their four tones of dun-colour. 1975 M. Bradbury Hist. Man i. 11 Higher on the hill grow the new concrete towers. 6. Applied to various things having the form, figure, or appearance of a tower, or likened to one. †a. Chess. The Castle or Rook. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > board game > chess > [noun] > pieces > rook or castle rookc1330 judge?1523 tower1562 duke1625 castlea1649 1562 tr. Damiano da Odemira Pleasaunt Playe of Cheasts sig. Av Of the Rooke or Towre. The Towre is named amongest the Spaniards, Portingales, and Italians, Rocho. a1649 W. Drummond Wks. (1711) 146 For the Towers or Castles named Rooks, these are the walled Towns, which serve for a Refuge for the Conservation of the Kingdom. b. A very high head-dress worn by women in the reigns of William III and Anne. It was built up in the form of a tower of pasteboard, muslin, lace, and ribbons. Cf. tour n. 4. Historical. ΘΚΠ the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > headgear > [noun] > tall turret1473 high head1580 towerc1612 fontange1685 commodea1687 cop1688 toppingc1690 cock-up1692 c1612 J. Sylvester Lacrymæ Lacrymarum 159 Stript, from Top to Toe, Of giddie Gaudes, Top-gallant Tires and Towers. 1693 J. Dryden tr. Juvenal in J. Dryden et al. tr. Juvenal Satires vi. 114 With Curls, on Curls, they build her Head before; And mount it with a Formidable Tow'r. [Note 125] This dressing up the Head so high, which we call a Tow'r, was an Ancient way amongst the Romans. 1706 T. Hearne Remarks & Coll. 19 Jan. (O.H.S.) I. 165 Cybele..is represented with a Tower'd Head. 1852 W. M. Thackeray Henry Esmond II. xv. 300 My Lady of Chelsea in her highest tour, my Lady Viscountess out of black.] 1894 [implied in: Yellow Bk. I. 66 Women..gave the best hours of the day to the towering of their coiffures. (at towering n. d)]. c. Applied to various technical structures and contrivances, now only descriptively: see quots. and cf. shot-tower n. at shot n.¹ Compounds 2. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > equipment > other specific types of equipment > [noun] > other tools and equipment pollhache1324 poleaxe1356 muckrake1366 pestlea1382 botea1450 staff1459 press-board1558 reel1593 water crane1658 lathekin1659 tower1662 dressing hook1683 liner1683 hovel1686 flax-brake1688 nipper1688 horse1728 tap1797 feather-stick1824 bow1839 safety belt1840 economizer1841 throttle damper1849 cleat1854 leg brace1857 bark-peeler1862 pugging screw1862 nail driver1863 spool1864 turntable1865 ovate1872 tension bar1879 icebreaker1881 spreader1881 toucher1881 window pole1888 mushroom head1890 rat1894 slackline1896 auger1897 latch hook1900 thimble1901 horse1904 pipe jack1909 mulcher1910 hand plate1911 splashguard1917 cheese-cutter1927 airbrasive1945 impactor1945 fogger1946 1662 C. Merrett tr. A. Neri Art of Glass 243 The Leer (made by Agricola, the third furnace, to anneal and cool the vessels..) comprehends two parts, the tower and leer. 1662 C. Merrett tr. A. Neri Art of Glass 365 Tower is the Iron on which they rest their Pontee when they scald the Glass. 1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory (1905) iii. xx. 228 The Philosophers Tower..is a kind of Tower furnace... The Maner of the Tower is four square. 1728 E. Chambers Cycl. at Furnace The Tower lyes directly over the Melting Furnace. 1857 W. A. Miller Elements Chem. (1862) III. 649 In many works the process of washing with acid is superseded by..a scrubber, consisting of a tower, the interior of which is filled with small coke resting upon perforated shelves. 1885 Athenæum 21 Feb. 252/1 A concise account of the treatment of iron ores for the blast furnace, a careful examination of the peculiar action of that vast metallurgical tower in all its modified forms. 7. Astrology. = house n.¹ 11, mansion n. 5a. ΘΚΠ the world > the universe > celestial sphere > zone of celestial sphere > [noun] > Zodiac > house towerc1374 housea1393 mansionc1395 anglea1398 harbourc1405 palacec1425 cardinal point1585 synod house1589 dodecatemory1603 the world > the universe > heavenly body > as influence on mankind > [noun] > influence > planet as > situation of > house towerc1374 housea1393 mansionc1395 palacec1425 c1374 G. Chaucer Compl. Mars 113 Now fleeth Venus in to cilenios toure. 1911 Ramsay in Expositor Mar. 224 The twelve zodiacal stations of the sun were called towers by the Greek astrologers. II. Senses relating to soaring. 8. a. Lofty flight; soaring. (Cf. tower v. 3.) ΘΚΠ the world > animals > birds > flight > [noun] > specific type of tower1486 high flying1556 whirleryc1560 soaring1575 plane1622 soar1817 song flight1839 overflight1883 pursuit flight1930 pass1987 1486 Bk. St. Albans D iv Ther is an Hoby. And that hauke is for a yong man. And theys be hawkes of the toure: and ben both Ilurid to be calde and reclaymed. a1529 J. Skelton Magnyfycence (?1530) sig. Ciii^v Torde manit is an hawke of the towre. 1575 G. Turberville Bk. Faulconrie 53 She [sc. the hobby] is of the number of those hawkes that are hye fleeing and towre hawkes. 1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost xi. 185 Nigh in her sight The Bird of Jove, stoopt from his aerie tour, Two Birds of gayest plume before him drove. View more context for this quotation b. The vertical ascent of a wounded bird. ΚΠ 1890 Pall Mall Gaz. 18 Jan. 2/3 A single goose..bravely struggles onwards, and finally, after a perfectly executed ‘tower’, falls dead not far from the boat. 1895 J. G. Millais Breath from Veldt iv. 58 (caption) The outlined figures are intended to represent the tower and drop of a single bird. Phrases P1. tower and town (also town and tower): see town n. Phrases 4. †P2. towers in the air, visionary projects, ‘castles in the air’ (see castle n. 11). ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of imagination > mental image, idea, or fancy > daydream or reverie > [noun] castle in Spainc1400 reverie1477 brown studyc1555 castle in the skies1576 castle in the air1579 comedown1583 memento1587 towers in the air1599 daydream1651 dream1732 air castle1786 châteaux in air1793 chateau(x) en Espagne1834 cloud-castle1887 pipe dream1890 fantasy1926 a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 12983 Al þis werld, bath tur and tun. c1420 Sir Amadace (Camden) lxxii Thenne was he lord of toure and towne. 1599 Master Broughtons Lett. Answered ii. 9 Your humours building towers in the ayre,..faine a sounding in your eares. Compounds General attributive. C1. Simple attributive ‘of or belonging to a or the tower’. a. tower-bell n. ΚΠ 1592 R. Dallington tr. F. Colonna Hypnerotomachia f. 7^v A sound, as if the tower bell of Saint Iohns Colledge in the famous Vniuersitie of Cambridge had beene rung. tower-clock n. ΚΠ 1895 A. J. Evans in Folk-Lore Mar. 44 As soon as the tower-clock strikes twelve. tower-gate n. ΚΠ a1832 W. Scott Eve St. John in Poet. Wks. (1833) IV. 191 He oped the tower-gate And he mounted the narrow stair. tower-gun n. ΚΠ 1681 Ballad of Cloak It seiz'd on the Tow'r Guns. 1767 J. Wesley Jrnl. 5 Nov. I was surprised..to hear the Tower-guns so plain at above fifty miles distance. tower-head n. ΚΠ 1539 W. Ewre Indentures Castell of Berwyke in Archaeologia (1794) 11 437 Uppon the same towre hed a saker of brasse of Scottyshe makinge. tower-pier n. ΚΠ 1880 Archaeologia Cantiana 13 26 Lanfranc's tower-piers, and a few feet of his crypt walls undoubtedly remain. tower-room n. ΚΠ 1886 R. Willis & J. W. Clark Archit. Hist. Univ. Cambr. III. 331 The President is to have certain tower-rooms. tower-stair n. ΚΠ 1848 W. M. Thackeray Vanity Fair lxii. 557 The Batavier steamboat left the Tower-stairs laden with a goodly company of English fugitives. tower-top n. ΚΠ 1841 C. Dickens Old Curiosity Shop ii. lv. 106 One of these..climbed with her to the tower-top. tower-ward n. ΚΠ c1450 Brut 423 The persone of the Toure and this ffrere Randulf fillen in debate and stryffe withynne the Toure ward. tower-wharf n. ΚΠ c1450 Brut 431 Iohn Mortymere, knyght, brake pryson oute of the Toure of London, and was take ayen vpon the Toure-wharf. b. ‘That is, consists of, has, or contains a tower’. tower-distillatory n. ΚΠ 1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory (1905) iii. xx. 229 This is the form of another Tower distillatory, but four square in the foundation with a round tower in the midst. tower-furnace n. ΚΠ 1688Tower furnace [see sense 6c]. tower-gateway n. ΚΠ 1886 R. Willis & J. W. Clark Archit. Hist. Univ. Cambr. III. 285 Wykeham's tower-gateway at New College is in three floors. tower-house n. ΘΚΠ society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > dwelling place or abode > a dwelling > a house > types of house > [noun] > house of specific shape or style hall-house1467 longhouse1643 bungalow1676 single housea1684 tower-house1687 villa1755 box1773 cottage orné1774 villarette1792 mews1805 cottage1808 terrace house1817 casita1822 villa dwelling1833 villa residence1833 box-house1846 six-roomer1853 terrace1854 tembe1860 moat house1871 parlour house1871 row house1871 salt-box1876 trullo1898 townhouse1900 colonial1903 semi1912 Cape Cod1916 bungaloid1927 semi-detached1928 ranchette1938 solar house1946 rambler1947 rancher1950 ranch1951 tunnel-back1957 sidesplit1958 two-up-and-two-downer1958 two-up two-down1958 semi-det1960 A-frame1963 townhouse1965 tri-level1965 link house1968 split1970 dormer bungalow1977 1687 A. Lovell tr. J. de Thévenot Trav. into Levant i. 100 A litte Tower-house, with two or three Rooms. 1797 J. Sinclair Statist. Acct. Scotl. XIX. 602 Tower houses are met with in a ruinous condition. 1946 E. B. Thompson Amer. Daughter 124 We climbed the little ladder to the railroad tower house. tower-keep n. ΚΠ 1897 B. C. A. Windle Life Early Britain ix. 176 The erection of the rectangular tower keep, which the Norman used when he was building on a perfectly new site. tower mill n. ΚΠ 1888 Encycl. Brit. XXIV. 599 The post mill was succeeded by the tower, smock, or frock mill. 1933 Times Lit. Suppl. 14 Dec. 891/1 Even in brick or stone tower-mills the sweeps may be caught in the rear..by a suddenly veering storm. 1979 Jrnl. Royal Soc. Arts Dec. 3/1 The viewer is taken inside one of the last remaining working tower mills. tower-porch n. ΚΠ 1886 R. Willis & J. W. Clark Archit. Hist. Univ. Cambr. III. 356 Access to the hall is provided through a tower-porch. tower silo n. ΚΠ 1939 J. R. McCalmont Silo Types & Constr. 2 Silos may be divided roughly into above-ground—tower or upright—and the below-ground—pit or trench—silo, either of which may be built for temporary or continued use. 1982 Daily Tel. 19 Apr. 9/3 Tower silos, standing as they do up to some 60 feet high and painted in various..colours are not particularly attractive features of our rural areas. tower-steeple n. ΚΠ 1610 P. Holland tr. W. Camden Brit. i. 216 A new Church with..an high spire besides the Toure-steeple. 1610 P. Holland tr. W. Camden Brit. i. 468 I saw the towre steeple of a small suppressed, Friery. C2. Objective. a. tower-keeper n. ΚΠ 1885 H. C. McCook Tenants Old Farm 135 Easy victims to the vigilant tower-keeper. tower-transporter n. ΚΠ 1903 Daily Chron. 25 June 4/5 An opportunity of witnessing the coaling of the flagship Majestic by the new Temperley tower transporter. b. tower-bearing adj. ΚΠ 1555 R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde f. 189^v The towrebearynge shoulders of Elephantes. tower-razing adj. ΚΠ 1606 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. (new ed.) ii. iv. 12 'Twas the Breach of a Tower-razing Ram. tower-supporting adj. ΚΠ 1610 P. Holland tr. W. Camden Brit. i. 290 The tour-supporting bankes, at Windsore. tower-tearing adj. ΚΠ 1614 J. Sylvester Bethulia's Rescue iii. 125 Tower-tearing Mars, Bellona thirsting-bloud. C3. Instrumental, locative. tower-backed adj. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > group Ruminantia (sheep, goats, cows, etc.) > family Camelidae (camel) > [adjective] > having a hump tower-backed1608 camelious1902 society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > conveyance carried by person or animal > [adjective] > bearing a howdah or castle tower-backed1762 howdahed1803 toweredc1820 1608 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. (new ed.) ii. iv. 93 The Towr-backt Camel, that..on his bunch could have transported yerst Neer a whole Houshold. 1762 Judas Macc. iii. 18 The huge Tow'r-back'd Elephants. tower-capped adj. ΚΠ 1816 Ld. Byron Siege of Corinth i. 8 Yon tower-capt Acropolis. tower-crested adj. ΚΠ 1819 F. D. Hemans Abencerrage iii, in Tales & Scenes in Verse 118 Tower-crested rocks. tower-crowned adj. ΚΠ 1771 Gentleman's Mag. Nov. 490/1 At the sight Of distant Bremen's tower-crown'd height. tower-dwelling adj. ΚΠ 1896 Spectator 31 Oct. 586/1 There are other tribes of tower-dwelling birds. tower-encircled adj. ΚΠ 1744 J. Thomson Autumn in Seasons (new ed.) 137 Nurse of art! the City rear'd..her Tower-encircled Head. tower-flanked adj. ΚΠ 1799 H. Gurney Cupid & Psyche viii. 14 A vast and tower-flank'd palace stood. tower-full adj. ΚΠ 1605 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. ii. ii. 451 Th' ingenious, Tower-full, and Law-louing Soile. tower-studded adj. C4. Similative. a. tower-high adj. tower-like adj. ΘΚΠ the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > vertical extent > [adjective] > great or considerable higheOE steepOE heaven-highOE highlyOE brentc1400 hightc1480 hichty1513 procere1542 tall1548 spiringa1552 towereda1552 tower-like1552 upstretched1563 airy1565 excelse1569 haughty1570 topless1589 lofty1590 procerous1599 kiss-sky1603 skyish1604 topful?1611 aspiringc1620 sky-high1622 hiddy1632 tiptoed1632 sublime1635 towering1638 soaring1687 mountain high1693 clamberinga1717 skied1730 towery1731 pyramidic1740 skyey1750 skyward1792 skyscraping1797 exulting1798 high-reaching1827 steepling1892 high-rise1964 hi1972 the world > space > shape > curvature > curved three-dimensional shape or body > cylinder > [adjective] > tower- or turret-shaped tower-like1552 turret-like1709 turret-shaped1844 turriform1875 tower-shaped1897 1552 R. Huloet Abcedarium Anglico Latinum Towrelyke, turreus. 1625 K. Long tr. J. Barclay Argenis iv. xix. 309 Elephants..brought into the battell, with their Tower-like carriages. 1729 R. Savage Wanderer iv. 119 He sees yon Tow'r-like Ship the Waves divide. 1893 Scribner's Mag. June 718/1 The tower-like building of stone and stucco, octagonal in form, had a forbidding air. tower-shaped adj. ΘΚΠ the world > space > shape > curvature > curved three-dimensional shape or body > cylinder > [adjective] > tower- or turret-shaped tower-like1552 turret-like1709 turret-shaped1844 turriform1875 tower-shaped1897 1897 Jacob Primmer in Rome (1903) 319 In this tower-shaped tomb. b. tower-wise adv. ΘΚΠ the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > vertical extent > [adverb] > to a great or considerable height highOE heaven-high?1518 loftily1548 tower-wise1581 a-cock-hye1598 tally1611 eminently1620 spirally1806 sky-high1818 toweringly1822 1581 A. Hall tr. Homer 10 Bks. Iliades vii. 127 His huge and waightie targe, Which towerwise so stoode aloft. a1661 W. Brereton Trav. (1844) 94 A little fort..built tower~wise. C5. Special combinations. Also tower mustard n., Tower pound n., Tower weight n. at Tower pound n. Derivatives, towerwort (at tower mustard n.). tower apartment n. an apartment in a tower block, a high-rise flat. ΘΚΠ society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > dwelling place or abode > a dwelling > a house > types of house > [noun] > flat or apartment > type of studio flat1882 studio apartment1884 mansard1886 penthouse1892 single end1897 walk-up1907 railroad flat1908 simplex1912 service flat1913 studio1918 kitchenette1920 duplex1922 garden flat1922 flatlet1925 show flat1929 quadruplex1939 council flat1941 garden apartment1942 walk-back1945 multilevel1959 tower apartment1961 condominium1962 triplex1962 condo1984 1961 L. Mumford City in Hist. Note to plate 51 The London County Council's Roehampton estate, with its mixture of tower apartments and lower houses and maisonettes. tower-ball n. a game for children. Categories » tower bastion n. Fortification a tower built like a bastion and provided with casemates. tower block n. a tall block of flats, a high-rise building, a skyscraper. ΘΚΠ society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > types of building generally > [noun] > high building > collectively point block1954 tower block1966 tower1970 1966 Atlantic Oct. 127 Tower blocks can be accused of leading to eardrum degeneration, owing to constant use of high-speed elevators. a1974 R. Crossman Diaries (1975) I. 82 The jack-block building in Coventry, a fifteen- or sixteen-storey tower block built by a new technique of jacking each storey up after it has been erected. 1982 Listener 23 Dec. 58/4 Most American film crews refuse to take rooms higher than the second floor of towerblock hotels since this picture. tower bolt n. = barrel bolt n. at barrel n. Compounds 2. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > equipment > building and constructing equipment > fastenings > [noun] > bolt > types of round bolt1582 ringbolt1599 pikebolt1622 rag bolt1625 set-bolt1627 clinch-bolta1642 eyebolt1649 clinch1659 screw-bolt1690 king bolt1740 wrain-bolt1750 wraining-bolt1769 toggle-bolt1794 strap-bolt1795 wring-bolt1815 through-bolt1821 truss-bolt1825 slip-stopper1831 stud bolt1838 anchor bolt1839 king rod1843 joint bolt1844 spade-bolt1850 shackle-bolt1852 roof bolt1853 set-stud1855 coach bolt1869 truss-rod1873 fox-bolt1874 garnish-bolt1874 fang-bolt1876 stud1878 U bolta1884 rock bolt1887 hook bolt1899 tower bolt1911 explosive bolt1948 1911 Encycl. Brit. XV. 482/2 Among locks and fastenings the ordinary barrel or tower bolt needs no description. tower crane n. (see quot. 1940). ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > equipment > lifting or hoisting equipment > [noun] > crane > types of quay crane1821 balance-crane1824 well crane1836 water crane1849 jenny1861 jib-crane1873 stacker1875 Titan1876 transfer-elevatora1884 whip-crane1883 Goliath1888 jigger1891 wharf crane1893 floating crane1903 tower crane1906 hammer-headed crane1908 portal crane1908 hammer-head crane1910 luffing crane1913 cherry-picker1945 stacker crane1959 monotower1963 Transtainer1964 portainer1966 1906 Electr. World 7 Apr. 743 An illustrated description of an electrically-operated rotating tower crane for the Dublin docks. 1940 Chambers's Techn. Dict. 856/1 Tower crane, a rotatable cantilever pivoted to the top of a steelwork tower, either fixed or carried on rails. 1967 Listener 27 July 111/1 A tower crane on our university building site. Thesaurus » Categories » tower-cress n. the cruciferous plant Arabis Turrita; sometimes applied to tower mustard n., Turritis glabra. † tower-fellow n. Obsolete a fellow prisoner in the Tower. ΘΚΠ society > authority > punishment > imprisonment > prisoner > [noun] > fellow-prisoner fellow prisoner1439 prison fellow1526 tower-fellow1709 1709 J. Strype Ann. Reformation xlv. 457 He and his Tower-fellows, hearing the bill..should pass. tower-fellowship n. a political division of citizens in the states of ancient Greece. ΘΚΠ society > authority > rule or government > a or the state > [noun] > part of > part of in ancient Greece or Rome tribe1533 tower-fellowship1847 1847 G. Grote Hist. Greece III. ii. xiii. 247 The symmories or tower-fellowships of Teôs seem to be analogous to the phratries of ancient Athens. tower hill n. a hill near or on which a tower is built; spec. (with capital initials) the rising ground by the Tower of London. ΘΚΠ the world > the earth > land > landscape > high land > hill > [noun] > specific tower hillc1480 Capitoline1549 Quirinal1569 palatine1656 Euganean1882 mogote1928 the world > the earth > named regions of earth > named cities or towns > [noun] > in Britain > London > parts of vintrya1456 steelyard1474 tower hillc1480 city1556 Bow-bell1600 row1607 gate1723 east end1742 Mayfair1754 garden1763 warren1769 west?1789 the Borough1797 west end1807 Holy Land1821 Belgravia1848 Tyburnia1848 Mesopotamia1850 South Kensington1862 Dockland1904 South Ken1933 Fitzrovia1958 square mile1966 c1480 J. Warkworth Chron. (Camden) 5 To the Towre Hylle. 1485 Rolls of Parl. VI. 372/2 The Gardyns upon the Towre hill. 1843 Penny Cycl. XXV. 98/1 The chief place of execution was outside the walls [of the Tower of London] on the neighbouring Tower Hill. tower karst n. [translating German turmkarst (H. von Wissmann 1954, in Erdkunde VIII. 122/1)] Geomorphology a type of karst characterized by isolated steep-sided hills. ΘΚΠ the world > the earth > land > landscape > [noun] > types of terrain patchwork1865 Mound Region1873 boulder-flat1884 karrenfeld1885 boulder-belt1894 karst land1894 karst1902 felsenmeer1905 stone-field1906 staircasing1911 fundament1928 strewn field1937 thermokarst1943 patterned ground1950 pseudokarst1954 tower karst1954 tektite field1960 stone pavement1969 1954 Erdkunde 8 122/1 Of the various formations of kegelkarst, two widely differ in appearance from one another... 2. A river plain, dotted with groups or swarms of limestone towers or castles... This is the tower karst. 1977 A. Hallam Planet Earth 83/2 Hills with slopes of 70° and more occur, the relief being called tower karst. tower-light n. a window or hole in a tower. ΘΚΠ society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > window or door > types of window > [noun] > other types of window loop1393 shot-windowc1405 gable window1428 batement light1445 church window1458 shot1513 casement1538 dream-hole1559 luket1564 draw window1567 loop-window1574 loophole1591 tower-windowc1593 thorough lights1600 squinch1602 turret window1603 slit1607 close-shuts1615 gutter window1620 street lighta1625 balcony-window1635 clere-story window1679 slip1730 air-loop1758 Venetian1766 Venetian window1775 sidelight1779 lancet window1781 French casement1804 double window1819 couplet1844 spire-light1846 lancet1848 tower-light1848 triplet1849 bar-window1857 pair-light1868 nook window1878 coupled windows1881 three-light1908–9 north-light1919 storm window1933 borrowed light1934 Thermopane1941 storms1952 1848 J. H. Parker Rickman's Styles Archit. Eng. (ed. 5) 220 ‘Sound-holes’..seems not so appropriate as air-holes or tower-lights. towerman n. one who works in a tower; spec. (U.S.) (a) a railway signalman; (b) a look-out for forest fires. ΘΚΠ society > travel > rail travel > railway worker > [noun] > signalman signalman1836 target mana1884 towerman1895 the world > action or operation > safety > protection or defence > watching or keeping guard > [noun] > one who watches or keeps guard > watcher against fire fire-spy1676 fire warden1724 fire-watcher1830 towerman1895 fire ranger1897 society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > manual or industrial worker > worker in specific place > [noun] > in other specific places trainman1838 street man1851 towerman1895 tunnel-worker1903 1895 Rep. Chicago Strike 1894 (U.S. Strike Comm.) 214 A number of switch tenders, yard clerks, flagmen, tower men, and roundhouse men left their work. 1908 Atlantic Monthly Nov. (advt.) A practical railroad man, a tower man of long experience. 1947 Sun (Baltimore) 18 Oct. 7/1 Towermen..serve as the eyes of the fire fighters. 1951 Sat. Evening Post 22 Dec. 44/4 The towermen in their elevated air~conditioned goldfish bowls. Tower musket n. Historical a tower-proof musket. ΘΚΠ society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > device for discharging missiles > firearm > small-arm > [noun] > musket musket1574 snaphancec1575 muscado1592 firelock1625 matchlock1638 fusee1661 squirt-fire1678 fusil1680 jingal1761 Brown Bess1785 tophaike1813 Tower musket1832 jezail1838 trumpet-pipe1844 bundook1886 needle-musket1898 1832 A. Earle Narr. Resid. N.Z. 225 He had with him a beautiful double-barrelled gun, and a very good Tower musket. 1947 J. Stevenson-Hamilton Wild Life S. Afr. xv. 103 The native with his Dane gun, or Tower musket. tower-proof adj. proved or tested in the arsenal at the Tower of London; also allusively. ΘΚΠ society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > device for discharging missiles > firearm > [adjective] > others stocked1497 breeched1575 chambered1611 tower-proof1673 triggerless18.. hair-triggered1806 vizyless1828 high-velocity1854 sighted1859 calibred1887 recoilless1888 sham-damn1895 silenced1909 silencered1935 multicalibre1983 society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > missile > ammunition for firearms > [adjective] > types of ammunition tower-proof1673 ready-use1846 shelled1900 the world > action or operation > prosperity > success > mastery or superiority > [adjective] > not overcome or overwhelmed > that cannot be insuperablec1340 unvanquishablea1382 unexpugnable1382 invincible1482 unsuperable1526 inexpugnablea1535 unvincible1554 impugnable1570 conquerless1595 invictivea1607 inaccessible?1611 unsubduable1611 insuppressivea1616 inexsuperable1623 undefeatablea1640 unconquerable1642 irreducible1858 tower-proof1858 insubduable1866 uncrushable1873 unwinnable1972 1673 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 8 6072 Powder proved Tower-proof is a fifth part stronger than any Dutch powder. 1805 T. Lindley Narr. Voy. to Brasil 252 Brasil being supplied by the mother country with British tower-proof musquets. 1858 T. J. Hogg Life Shelley II. 365 Blessed amongst women,..a tower-proof, fire-proof, bomb-proof blue. tower-ring n. a finger-ring bearing an image of a tower. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > types of ornamentation > jewellery > ring > [noun] > other types of ring kine-ringc1225 pontificala1500 hoop-ring1545 death's head1577 ring of remembrance1659 serjeant's ring1690 garter-ring1709 bath-ring1771 solitaire1832 regard ring1853 key ring1856 bodylet1870 portrait ring1877 tower-ring1877 whistle-ring1877 marquise1885 princess-ring1886 dinner ring1890 cluster ring1897 eternity ring1939 1877 W. Jones Finger-ring Lore 298 In the same collection is a Jewish ‘tower’ betrothal ring. 1877 W. Jones Finger-ring Lore 298 Another betrothal ring..called ‘temple’ or ‘tower’ from the figure of the sacred temple placed on the summit. tower-shell n. = turret-shell n. at turret n. Compounds 2. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > invertebrates > subkingdom Metazoa > grade Triploblastica or Coelomata > class Gastropoda > [noun] > superorder Branchifera > order Prosobranchiata > section Holostomata > member of genus Turritellidae turret-shell1859 tower-shell1888 1888 Cassell's Encycl. Dict. VII. Tower-shell. 1927 J. B. S. Haldane & J. S. Huxley Animal Biol. xii. 300 One fossil tower-shell stands nearly five feet high. 1959 A. C. Hardy Open Sea II. v. 118 The tall slender Turritella, or tower-shell, is another common gastropod burrowing just below the surface. tower shilling n. ΘΚΠ society > trade and finance > money > medium of exchange or currency > coins collective > English coins > [noun] > shilling s.1387 solidus?a1475 shilling1533 teston1543 twelvepence1563 bord1567 twelvepenny piece1594 sh.1607 hog1673 twelver1699 she-lion1744 grunter1785 twalpenny worth1786 bob1789 pega1790 tower shilling1800 little shilling1826 deaner1839 rogue and villain1857 stag1857 hole1934 1800 Hull Advertiser 17 May 3/3 A pamphlet, just published, price a good Tower Shilling. tower skull n. = oxycephaly n. ΘΚΠ the world > life > the body > structural parts > bone or bones > skull > skull measurement > [noun] > types of skull > condition of having long-headedness1818 microcephalia1849 microcephaly1863 leptocephaly1864 platycephaly1864 dolichocephalism1865 mesaticephalism1865 brachistocephaly1866 dolichocephaly1866 mecistocephaly1866 acrocephaly1870 brachycephaly1871 megalocephaly1878 pyrgocephaly1878 stenocephaly1878 brachycephalism1880 platyrrhiny1880 hypsistenocephaly1881 mesocephaly1883 short-headedness1883 orthocephaly1884 oxycephaly1885 mesocephalism1888 macrocephalia1889 macrocephaly1889 broad-headedness1890 mesaticephaly1891 chamaeconchy1902 chamaeprosopy1902 hypsiconchy1902 mesorrhiny1902 mesoconchy1904 tower skull1905 1905 Trans. Ophthalm. Soc. 25 364 (heading) Oxycephaly or ‘tower skull’. 1918 J. H. Parsons Dis. Eye (ed. 3) xxxiii. 620 Bilateral proptosis occurs in exophthalmic goître..as a result of diminished orbital volume in oxycephaly or ‘tower-skull’ and leontiasis ossea. 1969 G. M. Edington & H. M. Gilles Pathol. in Tropics x. 379 Patients with sickle-cell anaemia tend to have a certain type of habitus, with tower-skull, parietal bossing, and long slender, limbs. tower-stamp n. the official stamp or mark on gold and silver articles; hallmark. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > speech > agreement > promise > [noun] > pledge or assurance wordOE costOE earnest1221 fayc1300 certainty1303 wager1306 plighta1325 pledge1371 assurancec1386 undertaking?a1400 faithc1405 surementc1410 to make affiancec1425 earnest pennya1438 warrant1460 trow1515 fidelity1531 stipulation1552 warranty1555 pawn1573 arrha1574 avouchment1574 assumption1590 word of honour1598 avouch1603 assecurance1616 preassurance1635 tower-stamp1642 parole of honour1648 spondence1657 honour1659 1642 T. Fuller Holy State ii. xix. 120 He knows if he sets his mark (the Tower-stamp of his credit) on any bad wares, he sets a deeper brand on his own conscience. 1849 A. H. Clough Poems & Prose Remains (1869) II. 23 That wariest glance would here Faith, Hope and Love, the true Tower-stamp discern. † towers treacle n. Obsolete = tower mustard n. ΘΚΠ the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > Cruciferae (crucifers) > [noun] > tower-mustard towers treacle1597 tower mustard1731 1597 J. Gerard Herball ii. 213 Towers Treacle groweth in the West part of Englande vpon dunghils and such like places. tower-wagon n. a wagon with a structure which can be raised and lowered to serve as a platform for repairing overhead wires, etc. ΘΚΠ society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > powered vehicle > [noun] > motor vehicle > with extendable platform tower-wagon1911 1911 Daily News 20 Apr. 1 A collapsible structure similar to a tower wagon, was blown over by the wind. † tower-window n. Obsolete each of the turreted lights at the head of a late Gothic or Perpendicular window. ΘΚΠ society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > window or door > types of window > [noun] > other types of window loop1393 shot-windowc1405 gable window1428 batement light1445 church window1458 shot1513 casement1538 dream-hole1559 luket1564 draw window1567 loop-window1574 loophole1591 tower-windowc1593 thorough lights1600 squinch1602 turret window1603 slit1607 close-shuts1615 gutter window1620 street lighta1625 balcony-window1635 clere-story window1679 slip1730 air-loop1758 Venetian1766 Venetian window1775 sidelight1779 lancet window1781 French casement1804 double window1819 couplet1844 spire-light1846 lancet1848 tower-light1848 triplet1849 bar-window1857 pair-light1868 nook window1878 coupled windows1881 three-light1908–9 north-light1919 storm window1933 borrowed light1934 Thermopane1941 storms1952 c1593 in J. Raine Descr. Anc. Monuments Church of Durham (1842) 43 In this wyndowe, above all, are six little glasened towre wyndowes. tower-work n. masonry built in the form of towers. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > architecture > architectural ornament > [noun] > turrets or pinnacles pinnaclec1330 garret1340 filiolec1400 pricket1534 tower-work1653 pinnet1805 pinnaclet1905 1653 H. Cogan tr. F. M. Pinto Voy. & Adventures (1663) xxv. 93 The top of the Platform was bordered with the same stone, cut into great Tower-work. Draft additions 1993 An arrangement of scaffolding erected in a vertical column; a unit of scaffolding in this shape. ΘΚΠ the world > space > relative position > support > [noun] > that which supports > supporting framework cradle1379 cratch1382 frame1388 brandreth1483 scaffold?1523 crate1526 bone1542 framework1578 anatomy1591 scaffoldage1609 brake1623 truss1654 skeletona1658 carcass1663 box frame1693 crib1693 scaffolding1789 staddlea1800 gantry1810 cradling1823 potence1832 ossaturea1878 tower1970 1970 New Yorker 1 Aug. 23/1 He tried several times to get people to climb down from the stage and from the light towers... ‘Please get off the towers.’ No one got off the towers. 1978 Telephone Directory: Yellow Pages: Preston Area 303 (advt.) Mobile alloy towers (scaffolding). 1983 J. Gardner Elephants in Attic xii. 112 A scene-painter's tower, the floor of which is raised or lowered to the painter's need. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1913; most recently modified version published online March 2022). towern.² /ˈtəʊə/ Forms: Also Middle English Scottish towar. Etymology: < tow v.¹ + -er suffix¹. One who tows or draws with a rope; esp. one who tows a boat on a river or canal. In quots. 1494¹, 1494² the sense is uncertain; cf. quot. 1494 at tow v.¹ 1a, which refers to the same transaction. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > impelling or driving > pushing and pulling > [noun] > pulling > pulling by a line or rope > one who tower1611 towster1885 1494 in T. Dickson Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1877) I. 248 For the drawyne of viij treis fra the Sallache to the bote, and to a towar to gid thame,..vs. iiij d. 1494 in T. Dickson Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1877) I. 248 Item, gyffyne tyll a towar, for to helpe to bryng doune the cariour fra Lochlomond,..ij s.] 1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Tireur, a drawer..tugger, tower. 1795 A. Anderson Narr. Brit. Embassy China vi. 80 These pieces of wood..rest upon their breasts, and by leaning against them the towers increase the power of their exertions. 1883 M. H. Hayes Ind. Racing Remin. 231 The broken ground over which these native towers have to travel. 1887 J. Ashby-Sterry Lazy Minstrel (1892) 155 My tow-ers are young and my tow-ers are fair: The one is Eleven, the other Nineteen, The merriest maidens that ever were seen. 1889 J. K. Jerome Three Men in Boat ix A couple of towers walking briskly along. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1913; most recently modified version published online December 2020). towern.³ Etymology: < tow n.² + -er suffix¹.Previous versions of the OED give the stress as: ˈtower. Scottish. A rope-maker, a roper. ΚΠ 15.. Aberdeen Regr. (MS.) XXVIII. (Jam.) Towar. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1913; most recently modified version published online June 2019). towern.⁴ Etymology: < tow v.⁴ + -er suffix¹.Previous versions of the OED give the stress as: ˈtower. Pottery Manufacturing A person who smooths the surface of earthenware or china when in the dry clay state before firing, by rubbing it with tow, sand-paper, or flannel. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > manual or industrial worker > producer > potter > [noun] > involved in specific process glazer1839 slapper1860 mould-runner1863 lathe-treader1865 jollier?1881 tower1894 ground-layer1898 placer1898 lead-glazier1899 glazier1900 thimble-picker1901 jiggerer1921 1894 Labour Commission Gloss. Towers,..pottery workers, who, when plates that are still unfired are dried till nearly all the moisture is out of them, pass over the surface while they..are rotating on a wheel a piece of ‘tow’, or sandpaper, to make them smooth. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1913; most recently modified version published online June 2019). towerv. Brit. /ˈtaʊə/, U.S. /ˈtaʊər/ Forms: see the noun. Etymology: < tower n.¹ I. To rise like a tower, and related uses. 1. a. intransitive. To rise or extend to a great height like a tower; to rise aloft, stand high.In quot. c1400 the sense of torret is very uncertain. ΘΚΠ the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > vertical extent > become high(er) [verb (intransitive)] > extend to a great or considerable height mount1573 tower1582 aspire1591 spire1687 soar1812 uptower1848 steeple1892 the world > space > relative position > high position > be in high position [verb (intransitive)] > be above > dominate master1601 domineer1694 predominate1814 tower1863 c1400 Destr. Troy 1637 Toures full tore torret aboue, Þat were of heght so hoge, as I here fynde.] 1582 R. Stanyhurst tr. Virgil First Foure Bookes Æneis i. 13 O wights most blessed, whose wals be thus happelye touring. 1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene ii. xii. sig. Aa2^v On th'other side an high rocke toured still. 1610 P. Holland tr. W. Camden Brit. i. 581 Dudley Castle towereth up upon an hill. 1690 C. Ness Compl. Hist. & Myst. Old & New Test. I. 268 Like pillars of smoke towering upward. 1715 A. Pope tr. Homer Iliad I. ii. 565 The King of Kings, majestically tall, Tow'rs o'er his Armies, and outshines them all. 1834 M. Somerville On Connexion Physical Sci. (1849) xxvii. 300 Magnificent trees tower to the height of 150 or 200 feet above the banana, the bamboo. 1863 ‘G. Eliot’ Romola I. vi. 112 Over every fastness..there towers some huge Frankish fortress. 1885 R. Bridges Eros & Psyche i. xxiv. 10 She saw a wondrous light In shifting colour to the zenith tower. b. figurative. Usually const. above. ΘΚΠ the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > quality of being better or superior > [verb (transitive)] > vastly overpeer1565 scorn1764 tower1791 1791 J. Boswell Life Johnson anno 1776 II. 63 Does not Gray's poetry, Sir, tower above the common mark? 1820 W. Hazlitt Lect. Dramatic Lit. 12 He [Shakespeare] towered above his fellows. 1822 W. Hazlitt Table-talk (1869) 2nd Ser. iii. 66 Her voice towered above the whole confused noise of the orchestra. 1869 A. Trollope He knew he was Right I. xxviii. 217 When she first read the letter..she towered in her passion. 2. transitive. To raise or uplift to a height; to exalt. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > upward movement > raising > make to go up or cause to rise [verb (transitive)] > raise heave971 hevenOE onheaveOE rearOE highOE arearc1175 to set above (also aloft, high, on high)c1275 upbraidc1275 to set upc1290 lifta1300 upheavea1300 upraisea1300 upreara1300 enhancec1300 araise1303 hance1303 uplifta1340 lift1362 raisec1384 upbear1390 uphancec1390 advancea1393 haut?a1400 to put upa1400 verec1400 hainc1440 inhigh1483 elevate1497 uphigh1513 alifta1522 height1530 heighten1530 exalt1535 extol1549 sublevate1559 rouse?1567 attol1578 elate1578 vaunce1582 dight1590 higher1592 tower1596 to fetch up1612 relevate1620 screwa1625 transcend1635 stilt1649 allevate1696 stiltify1860 1596 W. Warner Albions Eng. (rev. ed.) xii. lxxi. 297 English Poets Many: Of which are some..that towre their Wits too hie. 1645 S. Rutherford Tryal & Trivmph of Faith (1845) 299 The Soul is lifted up and towered like a high building. 1821 J. Clare Village Minstrel I. 75 Where hills tower'd high their crowns. 1849 W. S. Mayo Kaloolah (1851) vi. 26 Gigantic trees, which towered their lofty heads to the clouds. 3. intransitive. a. Hawking. To mount up, as a hawk, so as to be able to swoop down on the quarry: cf. tower n.¹ 8. Also figurative. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > birds > flight > [verb (intransitive)] > in specific way planec1450 flag1590 tower1594 ring1859 coast1904 helicopter1926 1594 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 2 ii. i. 10 My Lord Protectors Hawke done towre so well. a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) ii. iv. 12 A Faulcon towring in her pride of place. View more context for this quotation 1616 B. Jonson Epigrammes lxxxv, in Wks. I. 792 Shee doth instruct men by her gallant flight, That they to knowledge so should toure vpright, And neuer stoupe, but to strike ignorance. 1878 M. A. Brown tr. J. L. Runeberg Nadeschda 27 Loose thy hawk and let it tower. b. To soar aloft, as a bird. ΚΠ 1647 N. Bacon Hist. Disc. Govt. 123 The Eagle had cast its feathers and could towre no more. 1699 H. Blount in S. Garth Dispensary (ed. 2) sig. A8 So the young Eagle that his Force would try, Faces the Sun, and tow'rs it to the Skie. 1728 A. Ramsay Lure 93 See, see! he like a lavrock tours. 1819 W. Cobbett Year's Resid. U.S.A. ii. xii. 262 The Pheasant does not tower, but darts through the trees. 1885 R. Bridges Eros & Psyche vii. xvi. 85 He flashed his pens, and sweeping widely round Towered to air. c. To rise vertically, as a bird when wounded. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > birds > flight > [verb (intransitive)] > become airborne risea1398 tower1799 to burst on the wing1809 to take off1973 1799 S. T. Coleridge Notebks. (1957) I. 564 Partridges towering after being shot is a certain Proof that they are mortaly [sic] wounded. 1812 P. Hawker Diary (1893) I. 39 With the exception of one which towered, all my birds fell dead to the gun. 1887 Coues in Science X. 322 The convulsive muscular action which..results in the well-known ‘towering’ of hard-hit birds. †4. figurative. To rise on high, to soar. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > upward movement > rise or go up [verb (intransitive)] styc825 astyc950 ariseOE upstyOE to step upOE upcomec1000 to come upOE to go upOE upwendc1200 runge?c1225 amountc1275 upgoa1325 heavec1325 uparise1340 ascend1382 higha1393 lifta1400 risea1400 skilla1400 uprisea1400 raisec1400 rearc1400 surmount1430 to get upc1450 transcenda1513 springa1525 upmounta1560 assurge?1567 hove1590 surgea1591 tower1618 hoist1647 upheave1649 to draw up1672 spire1680 insurrect1694 soar1697 upsoar1726 uprear1828 higher1889 1618 T. D. Canaans Calamitie sig. A4^v Their mounting minds that towred past their strength. 1641 J. Jackson True Evangelical Temper ii. 113 S. John..towred aloft into the highest mysteries of Divinity. 1643 Sir T. Browne Religio Medici (authorized ed.) ii. §8 I have seen a Grammarian towr and plume himself over a single line in Horace. View more context for this quotation 1749 S. Johnson Vanity Human Wishes 11 Still to new Heights his restless Wishes tow'r. †5. transitive. To soar aloft in or into; to rise to. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > progressive motion > moving with current of air or water > motion in the air > move through the air [verb (transitive)] > soar in or into mounta1594 tower1604 soar1667 1604 M. Drayton Owle sig. B3^v By night I tower the heauen deuoy'd of feare. a1649 W. Drummond Wks. (1711) 29/1 He towers those Golden Bounds He did to Sun bequeath. 1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost vii. 441 Yet oft they quit The Dank, and rising on stiff Pennons, towre The mid Aereal Skie. View more context for this quotation †II. To provide with a tower. 6. transitive. To furnish with a tower or towers. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > building or providing with specific parts > build or provide with specific parts [verb (transitive)] > provide with towers towerc1440 c1440 [implied in: Promptorium Parvulorum 498/2 Towrynge, turrificacio. (at towering n. d)]. 1450 in J. D. Marwick Charters Edinb. (1871) 71 To..wall, toure, turate, and uther wais to strengthen oure foresaid Burgh. 1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VIII f. lix This Gardeyn was towred at euery corner. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1913; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < n.¹c897n.²1611n.³15..n.⁴1894v.c1440
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towern.1

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Draft additions 1993

towern.2

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towern.4

towerv.

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towern.⁴