tuskn.1
/tʌsk/, U.S. /təsk/ 1.
a. A long pointed tooth; esp. a tooth specially developed so as to project beyond the mouth, as in the elephant, wild boar, and various other animals.A tusk is most frequently a development of a canine tooth, as in the boar and walrus; but it may be an incisor, as in the elephant and narwhal.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > animal body > general parts > head and neck > [noun] > mouth > tooth or tusk
tuska900
tusclec1000
broach1607
crotchet1678
fang1700
ivory1894
the world > life > the body > digestive or excretive organs > digestive organs > mouth > types or spec. teeth > [noun] > projecting
tushc725
tuska900
tusclec1000
butter tootha1566
gag-tooth1585
gang-tooth1603
gubber-tush1621
gobber tooth1628
buck-tooth1753
tombstone1809
rabbit tooth1863
a900 Laws Ælfred c. 49 Monnes tux bið xv. scill. weorð.
?a950 Prose Life Guthlac (1848) v Heora teð wæron horses tuxum [v.r. twuxan] gelice.
c1000 Sax. Leechd. I. 370 Hundes tux gebærned & smale gegniden.
a1225 Juliana 68 As an burst bar þat grunde his tuskes.
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 206 Þe wilde bar..is carles of his tuskes.
a1300 E.E. Psalter lvii. 6 [lviii. 6] Toskes of liouns lauerd breke sal ma.
a1340 R. Rolle Psalter lvii. 6 Tuskis of lyons breke sall lord.
a1400 Sir Beues (A.) 742 A wilde bor..Wiþ his toskes he al to-schok.
a1400–50 Alexander 4114 Þai..Tuke out þe tuskis & þe tethe [of elephants].
?a1500 R. Henryson tr. Æsop Fables: Sheep & Dog l. 1192 in Poems (1981) 49 Ȝe, Schir Volff,..with ȝour tuskis rauenous Hes slane full mony kinnismen off myne.
1555 R. Eden Two Viages into Guinea in tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde f. 354 These great teeth or tuskes [of the elephant] growe in the vpper iaw downewarde.
1601 R. Johnson tr. G. Botero Trauellers Breuiat 142 To their tusks were fastened long and broad swords, to cut in sunder whatsoeuer stood in their way.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 107 Boars whet their Tusks . View more context for this quotation
1841 T. R. Jones Gen. Outl. Animal Kingdom xxx. 666 In the male Narwal..from the intermaxillary bone of the left side of the face there projects a single tusk of great strength, which sometimes attains the length of eight or ten feet.
1851 D. Wilson Archæol. & Prehistoric Ann. Scotl. i. vi. 143 A large accumulation of ashes, bones of domestic animals, the tusks of a very large wild boar.
1868 R. Owen On Anat. Vertebr. III. xxix. 369 Teeth..of uninterrupted growth, are called ‘tusks’; such..are the incisors of the elephant, narwhal, dinotherium, and dugong, the canines of the boar, walrus, and hippopotamus.
1907 J. H. Patterson Man-eaters of Tsavo ii. 23 The unfortunate jemadar's head had been left intact, save for the holes made by the lion's tusks on seizing him.
b. Applied spec. to the permanent canine teeth of a horse. More commonly called tush.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > family Equidae (general equines) > body or parts of horse > [noun] > mouth or type of > teeth > canine(s)
stallion teeth1607
tush1607
tusk1808
1808 T. H. Horne Compl. Grazier (ed. 3) Introd. 19 Twenty-four grinders,..four tushes or tusks, and twelve foreteeth.
1854 R. Owen Struct. Skeleton & Teeth in Orr's Circle Sci.: Org. Nature I. 285 The permanent canine, or ‘tusk’, next follows; its appearance indicates the age of four years.
c. Used in contempt for human teeth.[Cf. quot. 1631 at tusk v.1 2a.]
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > digestive or excretive organs > digestive organs > mouth > tooth or teeth > [noun]
teetha900
munpinsc1475
gams1508
peg1598
tusk1632
masticator1681
headrail1767
ivory1783
tombstone1809
dominos1828
dental1837
toothy-peg1840
fang1841
cruncher1859
chomper1884
teg1886
Hampstead Heath1887
pearly1914
gnasher1919
tat1919
pearly whites1935
chopper1937
1632 W. Lithgow Totall Disc. Trav. x. 446 He hath the longest Tuskes that euer stroke at Table.
2. A projecting part or object resembling the tusk of an animal.
a. Carpentry. A bevel or sloping shoulder on a tenon, for additional strength.
ΚΠ
1679 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises I. viii. 140 They cut a Tusk on the upper side of the Tennant, and let that Tusk into the upper side of the Girders.
1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory iii. 110/2 Tusk, is a Bevel shoulder made to strengthen the Tennant of a Joyst.
1825 ‘J. Nicholson’ Operative Mechanic 566 In introducing binding joists,..it is necessary, in order to make the tenons sufficiently strong, to have a shorter bearing tenon attached to the principal tenon, with a sloping shoulder above, called a tusk.
b. In miscellaneous uses.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > unevenness > projection or prominence > sharp unevenness > [noun] > a sharp prominence
bill1382
pointa1387
tatter1402
beakc1440
spike1488
neb1578
prong1591
prow1601
taggera1687
tang1688
jog1715
nib1788
tusk1823
spur1872
1823 Ld. Byron Don Juan: Canto VII lxiii. 96 I have vowed..that shortly plough or harrow Shall pass o'er what was Ismail, and its tusk Be unimpeded by the proudest Mosque.
1871 G. MacDonald Winter Days in Songs of Days & Nights iv. ii Down tusks of ice one drop will go.
1908 19th Cent. Jan. 128 From the base of this tusk of land the grand river front of new Khartoum stretches.
Thesaurus »
Categories »
c. In a lock, ‘A sharp projecting point or claw which forms a means of engagement or attachment’ (E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. 1875).
Thesaurus »
Categories »
d. Short for tusk-shell n. at Compounds 2 (In recent dictionaries.)
Compounds
C1. General attributive.
a.
tusk hunter n.
ΚΠ
1902 Q. Rev. Oct. 418 The tusk-hunter will not be able to shoot his two elephants in..Kassola.
tusk-mark n.
ΚΠ
1909 Stacpoole Pools of Silence xvii Above the tusk marks..could be seen the rubbing mark where great shoulders had scratched themselves.
b.
tusk-carrying adj.
ΚΠ
1898 Daily News 28 Apr. 6/1 Mr. Neumann brought many a procession of tusk-carrying Zanzibaris to Mombasa... Carriers of the heaviest tusks are given the post of honour—the van.
tusk-like adj.
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the world > animals > animal body > general parts > head and neck > [adjective] > having teeth > resembling a tusk
tuskish1653
tusk-like1876
1876 Huxley in Nature 11 May 33/2 The male horse has a tusk-like tooth, or canine.
C2.
tusk-shell n. = tooth-shell n.
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the world > animals > invertebrates > subkingdom Metazoa > grade Triploblastica or Coelomata > class Scaphopoda > [noun] > member of genus Dentalium
hake's tooth1584
antal1657
dental1678
tooth-shell?1711
tusk-shell1825
dentalium1864
tusk1916
1825Tusk tenon [see sense 2a].
1861 P. P. Carpenter in Rep. Smithsonian Inst. 1860 222 Family Dentaliadæ. (Tusk-Shells.)
tusk-spread n. the distance from tusk to tusk.
ΚΠ
1911 Chambers's Jrnl. 224/2 [A boar] with a tusk-spread of seventeen inches.
tusk tenon n. a tenon made with a tusk (see 2a).
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > constructing or working with wood > [noun] > wooden structures or wooden parts of > means of fitting together > types of joint > projecting part of joint
tenon14..
tenora1485
rabbet1678
dovetail1691
relish1703
teaze-tenon1703
coak1794
table1794
tusk tenon1825
tonguing1841
tongue1842
pin1847
cog1858
stub-tenon1875
cross-tongue1876
1825 ‘J. Nicholson’ Operative Mechanic 566 In introducing binding joists,..it is necessary, in order to make the tenons sufficiently strong, to have a shorter bearing tenon attached to the principal tenon, with a sloping shoulder above, called a tusk, which term is likewise applied to this tenon, called the tusk tenon.
tusk vase n. a vase made of an elephant's tusk, or in imitation of one so made.
Derivatives
ˈtuskish adj. resembling a tusk.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > animal body > general parts > head and neck > [adjective] > having teeth > resembling a tusk
tuskish1653
tusk-like1876
1653 R. Saunders Physiognomie ii. 253 The teeth tuskish-like long.
ˈtuskwise adv. in the manner of a tusk.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > unevenness > projection or prominence > sharp unevenness > [adverb] > like a tusk or spike
tuskwise1844
spikily1893
1844 E. B. Barrett Drama of Exile in Poems I. 93 Ye would perish,—beast by beast Devouring; tree by tree, with strangling roots And trunks set tuskwise.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1916; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
tuskn.2
Obsolete exc. dialect.
A tuft (of hair); also, of rushes, grass, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > plants collectively > [noun] > tuft, clump, or cluster of plants
hassockc1450
tuft?1523
tusk1530
tush1570
hill1572
dollop1573
clumpa1586
rush1593
trail1597
tussock1607
wreath1610
stool1712
tump1802
sheaf1845
massif1888
the world > life > the body > hair > [noun] > tuft or ridge of
nosegayc1500
tusk1530
feathera1533
tussock1550
tush1570
flacket1589
tuz1693
coxcomb1843
comb1869
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 284/1 Tuske of heer, monceau de cheueulx.
1565–73 T. Cooper Thesaurus at Cirrus Cirratus, that hath his heare..growing in tuskes and lockes.
1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry ii. f. 66v With a yellowe heary tuske in the middest.
1598 W. Phillip tr. J. H. van Linschoten Disc. Voy. E. & W. Indies i. xxxix. 74/1 They weare onley a tuske of haire on the toppes of their heads.
1611 G. Markham Countrey Contentm. (1668) i. iv. 26 Grounds that are all tusks of rushes, short ling, bramble bushes, or such like.
1611 T. Coryate Crudities sig. T5 They wore double maskes vpon their faces,..with twiskes of downy or woolly stuffe couering their noses.
1851 T. Sternberg Dial. & Folk-lore Northants. Tusk, a tuft of grass or weeds.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1916; most recently modified version published online December 2020).
tuskn.3
/tʌsk/, U.S. /təsk/ A gadoid fish, Brosmius brosme, abundant in the northern seas, especially about the Shetland Islands, and much used for food in the dried form of stockfish. Also attributive.
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the world > food and drink > food > animals for food > seafood > [noun] > fish > other edible fish
dogdrave1227
lamprey1297
lingc1300
loach1357
tench1390
carpc1440
rougetc1485
anchovy1582
pompano1598
tai1620
alewife1633
tug-whitingc1650
weakfish1686
ten-pounder1699
fire-flaira1705
tusk1707
porgy1725
katsuo1727
rockfish1731
tautog1750
sea bass1765
Albany beef1779
sable1810
Murray cod1843
paradise fish1858
spot1864
strawberry bass1867
nannygai1871
maomao1873
spotfish1875
strawberry perch1877
milkfish1880
tarwhine1880
tile-fish1881
latchett1882
tile1893
anago1895
flake1906
branzino1915
rascasse1921
lampuki1925
red fish1951
the world > animals > fish > class Osteichthyes or Teleostomi > superorder Paracanthopterygii > order Gadiformes (cod) > [noun] > family Gadidae > brosmius brosme (tusk)
tusk1707
1707 G. Miège Present State Great Brit. ii. ii. 14 They have abundance of Fish on that Coast call'd Tusk, as big as Ling.
1776 T. Pennant Brit. Zool. (ed. 4, octavo) III. iv. 204 The Torsk, or as it is called in the Shetlands, Tusk and Brismak is a northern fish; and as yet undiscovered lower than about the Orknies.
1821 W. Scott Pirate II. ix. 200 There is torsk for the gentle, and skate for the carle, And there's wealth for bold Magnus, the son of the earl.
1830 M. Donovan Domest. Econ. II. iii. 179 The Torsk is not so slender as the ling, and is altogether a smaller fish. As food it is considered more delicate than ling.
1864 J. Couch Hist. Fishes Brit. Islands III. 96.
1875 W. A. Smith Lewsiana 237 The tursk or tosk..is perhaps the finest of the Gadidæ when fresh.
1883 Great Internat. Fisheries Exhib. Catal. 72 Dried Salted Tusk~fish,..mostly consumed in Scotch Markets.
1925 J. T. Jenkins Fishes Brit. Isles 164 The Torsk or tusk..is moderately elongate and covered with very small scales.
1926 Glasgow Herald 19 Oct. 3 The inhabitants fit out boats for the..tusk fishing.
1935 Fisheries Notice (Min. Agric. & Fisheries) xxiii. 6 Suggested Trade Name. Tusk.
1977 Grimsby Evening Tel. 26 May 18/5 Principal sorts were..monk 28, tusk 20.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1986; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
tuskv.1
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > preparation for table or cooking > preparation of seafood > prepare seafood [verb (transitive)] > cut up or carve > barbel
tusk1486
1486 Bk. St. Albans F vij b A Barbill tuskyd.
1508 Bk. Keruynge (de Worde) sig. Av Tuske that berbell.
1787 T. Best Conc. Treat. Angling (ed. 2) 169 Tusk a barbel, cut him up.
1853 Fraser's Mag. 48 694 The reader will remember when he puts the slice into a fish, that he gobbets trout, truncheons eel, fins chub, tusks barbel (etc.).]
2. intransitive.† a. ? To show the teeth. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > anger > manifestation of anger > show anger [verb (intransitive)] > look angry > draw back lips in anger
grinOE
to grin the teethc1430
girnc1440
tusk1616
1616 B. Jonson Epigrammes cvii, in Wks. I. 803 Nay, now you puffe, tuske, and draw vp your chin, Twirle the poore chaine you run a feasting in.
1631 B. Jonson Bartholmew Fayre ii. iii. 21 in Wks. II Vapours? Neuer tuske, nor twirle your dibble... You shall not fright me with your Lyon-chap, Sir, nor your tuskes.
b. To use, or thrust with, the tusks; of a horse, to pull roughly with the teeth at.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > family Equidae (general equines) > habits and actions of horse > [verb (transitive)] > pull roughly with teeth
tusk1825
the world > animals > animal body > general parts > head and neck > [verb (intransitive)] > use or thrust with the tusks
tusk1893
1825 J. Jamieson Etymol. Dict. Sc. Lang. Suppl. To Tusk at, to pluck or pull roughly; as when a horse tears hay from a stack.
1893 R. Kipling Many Inventions 204 They were rooting and tusking among the young Sal.
3. transitive. To root or dig up, or to tear off with the tusks; to wound with the tusk.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > by habits or actions > habits and actions > [verb (transitive)] > grub or root about in the earth > with the tusks
tusk1629
the world > health and disease > ill health > injury > injure [verb (transitive)] > wound > wound with natural weapon
strike1538
engore1590
horn1599
spur1631
mouth1693
tusk1818
fin1889
1629 T. Dekker Londons Tempe 89 I could (to swell my trayne) Becon the Rhine. (But the wilde Boare has tusked vp his vine.)
1818 J. Keats Endymion ii. 75 My poor mistress went..mad, When the boar tusk'd him.
1909 Stacpoole Pools of Silence xvii A tree..showed half its bark ripped off, tusked off by some old bull elephant.
1909 Stacpoole Pools of Silence xix The screams of men trodden under foot or tusked to pieces.
4. To furnish with tusks; to project from or adorn like tusks.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > unevenness > projection or prominence > sharp unevenness > project sharply from [verb (transitive)]
tusk1896
1896 R. Kipling Seven Seas 28 We've ratched beyond the Crossets That tusk the Southern Pole.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1916; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
† tuskv.2
Obsolete. rare.
transitive. ? To beat the bushes in (a wood) in order to rouse the game.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > hunt [verb (transitive)] > beat
beata1400
to put upa1475
tuft1590
tusk1592
fowl1611
flaxa1848
brush1876
1592 J. Lyly Gallathea ii. i. sig. C2 You were best..make them tuske these Woodes, whilst wee stande with our bowes.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1916; most recently modified version published online June 2021).
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