Tongue - Tooth

Prev Next
[ Webster]

(b) A projection on the side, as of a board, which fits into a groove.
[ Webster]

(c) A point, or long, narrow strip of land, projecting from the mainland into a sea or a lake.
[ Webster]

(d) The pole of a vehicle; especially, the pole of an ox cart, to the end of which the oxen are yoked.
[ Webster]

(e) The clapper of a bell.
[ Webster]

(f) (Naut.) A short piece of rope spliced into the upper part of standing backstays, etc.; also. the upper main piece of a mast composed of several pieces.
[ Webster]

(g) (Mus.) Same as , n., 5.
[ Webster]

Coloq. To hold the tongue , to be silent. -- Coloq. Tongue bone (Anat.), the hyoid bone. -- Coloq. Tongue grafting . See under .
[ Webster]

Syn. -- Language; speech; expression. See .
[ Webster]

Tongue (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Tongued (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Tonguing.] 1. To speak; to utter. “Such stuff as madmen tongue.” Shak.
[ Webster]

2. To chide; to scold.
[ Webster]

How might she tongue me. Shak.
[ Webster]

3. (Mus.) To modulate or modify with the tongue, as notes, in playing the flute and some other wind instruments.
[ Webster]

4. To join means of a tongue and grove; as, to tongue boards together.
[ Webster]

Tongue, v. i. 1. To talk; to prate. Dryden.
[ Webster]

2. (Mus.) To use the tongue in forming the notes, as in playing the flute and some other wind instruments.
[ Webster]

Tonguebird (?), n. The wryneck.[Prov. Eng.]
[ Webster]

Tongued (?), a. Having a tongue.
[ Webster]

Tongued like the night crow. Donne.
[ Webster]

Tonguefish (?), n. (Zoöl.) A flounder (Symphurus plagiusa) native of the southern coast of the United States.
[ Webster]

Tongueless (?), a. 1. Having no tongue.
[ Webster]

2. Hence, speechless; mute. “What tongueless blocks were they! would they not speak?” Shak.
[ Webster]

3. Unnamed; not spoken of. [Obs.]
[ Webster]

One good deed dying tongueless. Shak.
[ Webster]

Tonguelet (?), n. A little tongue.
[ Webster]

Tongue-pad (?), n. A great talker. [Obs.]
[ Webster]

Tongue-shaped (?), a. Shaped like a tongue; specifically (Bot.), linear or oblong, and fleshy, blunt at the end, and convex beneath; as, a tongue-shaped leaf.
[ Webster]

Tongue-shell (?), n. Any species of Lingula.
[ Webster]

Tonguester (?), n. One who uses his tongue; a talker; a story-teller; a gossip. [Poetic.]
[ Webster]

Step by step we rose to greatness; through the tonguesters we may fall. Tennyson.
[ Webster]

Tongue-tie (?), n. (Med.) Impeded motion of the tongue because of the shortness of the frænum, or of the adhesion of its margins to the gums. Dunglison.
[ Webster]

Tongue-tie, v. t. To deprive of speech or the power of speech, or of distinct articulation.
[ Webster]

Tongue-tied (?), a. 1. Destitute of the power of distinct articulation; having an impediment in the speech, esp. when caused by a short frænum.
[ Webster]

2. Unable to speak freely, from whatever cause.
[ Webster]

Love, therefore, and tongue-tied simplicity. Shak.
[ Webster]

Tongueworm (?), n. (Zoöl.) Any species of Linguatulina.
[ Webster]

Tonguing (?), vb. n. (Music) Modification of tone for a rapid staccato effect by the performer's tongue, in playing a wind instrument, as a flute. In single tonguing only one kind of stroke is used, the tongue articulating a rapid “t;” in double tonguing, two strokes, as for “t” and “k,” are alternated; in triple tonguing, “t, k, t,” etc.
[Webster Suppl.]

Tonguy (?), a. Ready or voluble in speaking; as, a tonguy speaker. [Written also tonguey.] [Colloq.]
[ Webster]

Tonic (?), a. [Cf. F. tonigue, Gr. �. See .] 1. Of or relating to tones or sounds; specifically (Phon.), applied to, or distingshing, a speech sound made with tone unmixed and undimmed by obstruction, such sounds, namely, the vowels and diphthongs, being so called by Dr. James Rush (1833) “ from their forming the purest and most plastic material of intonation.”
[ Webster]

2. Of or pertaining to tension; increasing tension; hence, increasing strength; as, tonic power.
[ Webster]

3. (Med.) Increasing strength, or the tone of the animal system; obviating the effects of debility, and restoring healthy functions.
[ Webster]

4. (Med.) Characterized by continuous muscular contraction; as, tonic convulsions.
[Webster Suppl.]

Coloq. Tonic spasm . (Med.) See the Note under .
[ Webster]

Tonic, n. [Cf. F. tonique, NL. tonicum.] 1. (Phon.) A tonic element or letter; a vowel or a diphthong.
[ Webster]

2. (Mus.) The key tone, or first tone of any scale.
[ Webster]

3. (Med.) A medicine that increases the strength, and gives vigor of action to the system.
[ Webster]

Coloq. Tonic sol-fa (Mus.), the name of the most popular among letter systems of notation (at least in England), based on key relationship, and hence called “tonic.” Instead of the five lines, clefs, signature, etc., of the usual notation, it employs letters and the syllables do, re, mi, etc., variously modified, with other simple signs of duration, of upper or lower octave, etc. See .
[ Webster]

Tonical (?), a. Tonic. [R.] Sir T. Browne.
[ Webster]

Tonicity (?), n. (Physiol.) The state of healthy tension or partial contraction of muscle fibers while at rest; tone; tonus.
[ Webster]

Tonight (?), adv. [Prep. to + night] 1. On this present or coming night.
[ Webster]

2. On the last night past. [Obs.] Shak.
[ Webster]

Tonight, n. The present or the coming night; the night after the present day.
[ Webster]

Tonite (?), n. [Cf.L. tonare to thunder.] An explosive compound; a preparation of gun cotton.
[ Webster]

Tonka bean (?). [Cf. F. onca, tonka.] (Bot.) The seed of a leguminous tree (Dipteryx odorata), native of Guiana. It has a peculiarly agreeable smell, and is employed in the scenting of snuff. Called also tonquin bean. [Written also tonca bean, tonga bean.]
[ Webster]

Ton mile. (Railroads) A unit of measurement of the freight transportation performed by a railroad during a given period, usually a year, the total of which consists of the sum of the products obtained by multiplying the aggregate weight of each shipment in tons during the given period by the number of miles for which it is carried.
[Webster Suppl.]

Ton mileage. (Railroads) Ton miles collectively; esp., the total ton miles performed by a railroad in a given period.
[Webster Suppl.]

Tonnage (?; 48), n. [From a measure.]
[ Webster]

1. The weight of goods carried in a boat or a ship.
[ Webster]

2. The cubical content or burden of a vessel, or vessels, in tons; or, the amount of weight which one or several vessels may carry. See , n. (b).
[ Webster]

A fleet . . . with an aggregate tonnage of 60,000 seemed sufficient to conquer the world. Motley.
[ Webster]

3. A duty or impost on vessels, estimated per ton, or, a duty, toll, or rate payable on goods per ton transported on canals.
[ Webster]

4. The whole amount of shipping estimated by tons; as, the tonnage of the United States. See .
[ Webster]

☞ There are in common use the following terms relating to tonnage: (a) Displacement. (b) Register tonnage, gross and net. (c) Freight tonnage. (d) Builders' measurement. (e) Yacht measurement. The first is mainly used for war vessels, where the total weight is likely to be nearly constant. The second is the most important, being that used for commercial purposes. The third and fourth are different rules for ascertaining the actual burden-carrying power of a vessel, and the fifth is for the proper classification of pleasure craft. Gross tonnage expresses the total cubical interior of a vessel; net tonnage, the cubical space actually available for freight-carrying purposes. Rules for ascertaining these measurements are established by law.
[ Webster]

Tonne (?), n. A tun. [Obs.] Chaucer.
[ Webster]

Tonne (?), n. [F.] A metric ton.
[Webster Suppl.]

Tonneau (?), n.; pl. Tonneaux (#). [F.] 1. In France, a light-wheeled vehicle with square or rounded body and rear entrance.
[Webster Suppl.]

2. (Automobiles) Orig., the after part of the body with entrance at the rear (as in vehicle in def. 1); now, one with sides closing in the seat or seats and entered by a door usually at the side, also, the entire body of an automobile having such an after part.
[Webster Suppl.]

3. same as .
[Webster Suppl.]

Tonnihood (?), n. (Zoöl.) The female of the bullfinch; -- called also tonyhoop. [Prov. Eng.]
[ Webster]

Tonnish (tŏnnĭsh), a. In the ton; fashionable; modish. -- Tonnishness, n.
[ Webster]

Tonometer (?), n. [Gr. � a stretching, a tone + -meter.] 1. (Physics.) An instrument for determining the rate of vibrations in tones.
[ Webster]

2. (Physiol.) (a) An apparatus for studying and registering the action of various fluids and drugs on the excised heart of lower animals. (b) An instrument for measuring tension, esp. that of the eyeball.
[ Webster]

Tonometry (?), n. The act of measuring with a tonometer; specifically (Med.), measurement of tension, esp. the tension of the eyeball.
[ Webster]

Tonophant (tōn�f�nt), n. [Gr. tonos a tone + fainein to show.] (Physics.) A modification of the kaleidophon, for showing composition of acoustic vibrations. It consists of two thin slips of steel welded together, their length being adjustable by a screw socket.
[ Webster]

Tonous (?), a. Abounding in tone or sound.
[ Webster]

Tonquin bean (tŏṉkĭn bēn). See .
[ Webster]

Tonsil (?), n. [L. tonsill�, pl.: cf. F. tonsille. ] (Anat.) One of the two glandular organs situated in the throat at the sides of the fauces. The tonsils are sometimes called the almonds, from their shape.
[ Webster]

Tonsilar (?), a. (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the tonsils; tonsilitic. [Written also tonsillar.]
[ Webster]

Tonsile (?), a. [L. tonsilis, fr. tondere, tonsum, to shear, clip. See . ] Capable of being clipped.
[ Webster]

Tonsilitic (?), a. (Anat.) Tonsilar. [Written also tonsillitic.]
[ Webster]

Tonsilitis (?), n. [NL. See , and .] (Med.) Inflammation of the tonsils; quinsy. [Written also, and more usually, tonsillitis.]
[ Webster]

Tonsillectomy (?), n. (Surg.) The operation of removing the tonsils; -- formerly also called tonsilotomy.
[ Webster]

Tonsillitis (?), n. (Med.) Inflammation of the tonsils; --- same as .
[PJC]

Tonsilotome (?), n. [Tonsil + Gr. temnein to cut.] (Surg.) An instrument for removing the tonsils.
[ Webster]

Tonsilotomy (?), n. (Surg.) The operation of removing the tonsils, or a portion thereof; -- called more commonly tonsillectomy.
[ Webster]

Tonsor (?), n. [L.] A barber. Sir W. Scott.
[ Webster]

Tonsorial (?), a. [L. tonsorius, fr. tonsor a shearer, barber, fr. tondere, tonsum, to shear. See .] Of or pertaining to a barber, or shaving.
[ Webster]

Tonsure (?), n. [F., fr. L. tonsura a shearing, clipping, from tondere, tonsum, to shear, shave; cf. Gr. � to gnaw; perhaps akin to Gr. � to cut, and E. tome.] 1. The act of clipping the hair, or of shaving the crown of the head; also, the state of being shorn.
[ Webster]

2. (R. C. Ch.) (a) The first ceremony used for devoting a person to the service of God and the church; the first degree of the clericate, given by a bishop, abbot, or cardinal priest, consisting in cutting off the hair from a circular space at the back of the head, with prayers and benedictions; hence, entrance or admission into minor orders. (b) The shaven corona, or crown, which priests wear as a mark of their order and of their rank.
[ Webster]

Tonsured (?), a. Having the tonsure; shaven; shorn; clipped; hence, bald.
[ Webster]

A tonsured head in middle age forlorn. Tennyson.
[ Webster]

Tontine (?), n. [F., from It. tontina; -- so called from its inventor, Tonti, an Italian, of the 17th century.] An annuity, with the benefit of survivorship, or a loan raised on life annuities with the benefit of survivorship. Thus, an annuity is shared among a number, on the principle that the share of each, at his death, is enjoyed by the survivors, until at last the whole goes to the last survivor, or to the last two or three, according to the terms on which the money is advanced. Used also adjectively; as, tontine insurance.
[ Webster]

Too many of the financiers by professions are apt to see nothing in revenue but banks, and circulations, and annuities on lives, and tontines, and perpetual rents, and all the small wares of the shop. Burke.
[ Webster]

Tontine insurance. (Life Insurance) Insurance in which the benefits of the insurance are distributed upon the tontine principle. Under the old, or Coloq. full tontine , plan, all benefits were forfeited on lapsed policies, on the policies of those who died within the tontine period only the face of the policy was paid without any share of the surplus, and the survivor at the end of the tontine period received the entire surplus. This plan of tontine insurance has been replaced in the United States by the Coloq. semitontine plan, in which the surplus is divided among the holders of policies in force at the termination of the tontine period, but the reverse for the paid-up value is paid on lapsed policies, and on the policies of those that have died the face is paid. Other modified forms are called free tontine, deferred dividend, etc., according to the nature of the tontine arrangement.
[Webster Suppl.]

Tonus (?), n. [L. a sound, tone. See .] (Physiol.) Tonicity, or tone; as, muscular tonus.
[ Webster]

Tony (?), n.; pl. Tonies (#). [Abbrev. from Anthony.] A simpleton. L'Estrange.
[ Webster]

A pattern and companion fit
For all the keeping tonies of the pit. Dryden.
[ Webster]

Too (?), adv. [The same word as to, prep. See .]
[ Webster]

1. Over; more than enough; -- noting excess; as, a thing is too long, too short, or too wide; too high; too many; too much.
[ Webster]

His will, too strong to bend, too proud to learn. Cowley.
[ Webster]

2. Likewise; also; in addition.
[ Webster]

An honest courtier, yet a patriot too. Pope.
[ Webster]

Let those eyes that view
The daring crime, behold the vengeance too. Pope.
[ Webster]

Coloq. Too too , a duplication used to signify great excess.
[ Webster]

O that this too too solid flesh would melt. Shak.
[ Webster]

Such is not Charles his too too active age. Dryden.
[ Webster]

Syn. -- Also; likewise. See .
[ Webster]

Took (t�k), imp. of .
[ Webster]

Tool (t�l), n. [OE. tol,tool. AS. tōl; akin to Icel. tōl, Goth. taijan to do, to make, taui deed, work, and perhaps to E. taw to dress leather. √64.] 1. An instrument such as a hammer, saw, plane, file, and the like, used in the manual arts, to facilitate mechanical operations; any instrument used by a craftsman or laborer at his work; an implement; as, the tools of a joiner, smith, shoe-maker, etc.; also, a cutter, chisel, or other part of an instrument or machine that dresses work.
[ Webster]

2. A machine for cutting or shaping materials; -- also called machine tool.
[ Webster]

3. Hence, any instrument of use or service.
[ Webster]

That angry fool . . .
Whipping her horse, did with his smarting tool
Oft whip her dainty self. Spenser.
[ Webster]

4. A weapon. [Obs.]
[ Webster]

Him that is aghast of every tool. Chaucer.
[ Webster]

5. A person used as an instrument by another person; -- a word of reproach; as, men of intrigue have their tools, by whose agency they accomplish their purposes.
[ Webster]

I was not made for a minion or a tool. Burks.
[ Webster]

Tool (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. tooled (?); p. pr. & vb. n. tooling.] 1. To shape, form, or finish with a tool. “Elaborately tooled.” Ld. Lytton.
[ Webster]

2. To drive, as a coach. [Slang, Eng.]
[ Webster]

Tool (t�l), v. i. [Cf. , v. t., 2.] To travel in a vehicle; to ride or drive. [Colloq.]

Boys on their bicycles tooling along the well-kept roads. Illust. American.
[Webster Suppl.]

Tooling, n. Work performed with a tool.
[ Webster]

The fine tooling and delicate tracery of the cabinet artist is lost upon a building of colossal proportions. De Quincey.
[ Webster]

{ Tool-post (?), Tool-stock (?), } n. (Mach.) The part of a tool-rest in which a cutting tool is clamped.
[ Webster]

Tool-rest (?), n. (Mach.) the part that supports a tool-post or a tool.
[ Webster]

Toolshed. a small closed structure in which tools are stored, often found in the back yard of a residence.
[{JC]

Tool steel. Hard steel, usually crucible steel, capable of being tempered so as to be suitable for tools.
[Webster Suppl.]

Toom (?), a. [OE. tom, fr. Icel. tōmr; akin to Dan. & Sw. tom, As. tōme, adv. Cf. to pour.] Empty. [Obs. or Prov. Eng. & Scot.] Wyclif.
[ Webster]

Toom, v. t. To empty. [Obs. or Prov.Eng. & Scot.]
[ Webster]

Toon (?), obs. pl. of . Chaucer.
[ Webster]

Toon (?), n. [Hind. tun, tūn, Skr. tunna.] (Bot.) The reddish brown wood of an East Indian tree (Cedrela Toona) closely resembling the Spanish cedar; also. the tree itself.
[ Webster]

Toonwood (?), n. (Bot.) Same as .
[ Webster]

Toot (?), v. i. [OE. toten, AS. totian to project; hence, to peep out.] [Written also tout.] 1. To stand out, or be prominent. [Obs.] Howell.
[ Webster]

2. To peep; to look narrowly. [Obs.] Latimer.
[ Webster]

For birds in bushes tooting. Spenser.
[ Webster]

Toot, v. t. To see; to spy. [Obs.] P. Plowman.
[ Webster]

Toot, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Tooted (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Tooting.] [Cf. D. toeten to blow a horn, G. tuten, Sw. tuta, Dan. tude; probably of imitative origin.] To blow or sound a horn; to make similar noise by contact of the tongue with the root of the upper teeth at the beginning and end of the sound; also, to give forth such a sound, as a horn when blown. “A tooting horn.” Howell.
[ Webster]

Tooting horns and rattling teams of mail coaches. Thackeray.
[ Webster]

Toot, v. t. To cause to sound, as a horn, the note being modified at the beginning and end as if by pronouncing the letter t; to blow; to sound.
[ Webster]

Tooter (?), n. One who toots; one who plays upon a pipe or horn. B. Jonson.
[ Webster]

Tooth (t�th), n.; pl. Teeth (tēth). [OE. toth,tooth, AS. tōð; akin to OFries. tōth, OS. & D. tand, OHG. zang, zan, G. zahn, Icel. tönn, Sw. & Dan. tand, Goth. tumpus, Lith. dantis, W. dant, L. dens, dentis, Gr. 'odoys, 'odontos, Skr. danta; probably originally the p. pr. of the verb to eat. √239. Cf. , , the tooth of a wheel, , , , of a fork, . ] 1. (Anat.) One of the hard, bony appendages which are borne on the jaws, or on other bones in the walls of the mouth or pharynx of most vertebrates, and which usually aid in the prehension and mastication of food.
[ Webster]

☞ The hard parts of teeth are principally made up of dentine, or ivory, and a very hard substance called enamel. These are variously combined in different animals. Each tooth consist of three parts, a crown, or body, projecting above the gum, one or more fangs imbedded in the jaw, and the neck, or intermediate part. In some animals one or more of the teeth are modified into tusks which project from the mouth, as in both sexes of the elephant and of the walrus, and in the male narwhal.
In adult man there are thirty-two teeth, composed largely of dentine, but the crowns are covered with enamel, and the fangs with a layer of bone called cementum. Of the eight teeth on each half of each jaw, the two in front are incisors, then come one canine, cuspid, or dog tooth, two bicuspids, or false molars, and three molars, or grinding teeth. The milk, or temporary, teeth are only twenty in number, there being two incisors, one canine, and two molars on each half of each jaw. The last molars, or wisdom teeth, usually appear long after the others, and occasionally do not appear above the jaw at all.
[ Webster]

How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is
To have a thankless child! Shak.
[ Webster]

2. Fig.: Taste; palate.
[ Webster]

These are not dishes for thy dainty tooth. Dryden.
[ Webster]

3. Any projection corresponding to the tooth of an animal, in shape, position, or office; as, the teeth, or cogs, of a cogwheel; a tooth, prong, or tine, of a fork; a tooth, or the teeth, of a rake, a saw, a file, a card.
[ Webster]

4. (a) A projecting member resembling a tenon, but fitting into a mortise that is only sunk, not pierced through. (b) One of several steps, or offsets, in a tusk. See .
[ Webster]

Prev Next

Concept Explore Home

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z