Tulip - Tune

Prev Next
[ Webster]

Tulip (tūlĭp), n. [F. tulipe, OF. also tulipan, It. tulipano, tulipa, from Turk. tulbend, dulbend, literally, a turban, Per. dulband; -- so called from the resemblance of the form of this flower to a turban. See .] (Bot.) Any plant of the liliaceous genus Tulipa. Many varieties are cultivated for their beautiful, often variegated flowers.
[ Webster]

Coloq. Tulip tree . (a) A large American tree bearing tuliplike flowers. See . (b) A West Indian malvaceous tree (Paritium tiliaceum syn. Hibiscus tiliaceum).
[ Webster]

Tulip-eared (?), a. (Zoöl.) Having erect, pointed ears; prick-eared; -- said of certain dogs.
[ Webster]

Tulipist, n. A person who is especially devoted to the cultivation of tulips. Sir T. Browne.
[ Webster]

Tulipomania (?), n. [Tulip + mania.] A violent passion for the acquisition or cultivation of tulips; -- a word said by Beckman to have been coined by Menage.
[ Webster]

☞ In Holland, in the first half of the 17th century, the cultivation of tulips became a mania. It began about the year 1634, and, like a violent epidemic, seized upon all classes of the community, leading to disasters and misery such as the records of commerce or of bankruptcies can scarcely parallel. In 1636, tulip marts had been established in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Haarlem, Leyden, and various other towns, where tulip bulbs were sold and resold in the same manner as stocks are on the Stock Exchange of London. Baird.
[ Webster]

Tulipomaniac (?), n. One who is affected with tulipomania.
[ Webster]

Tulip-shell (?), n. (Zoöl.) A large, handsomely colored, marine univalve shell (Fasciolaria tulipa) native of the Southern United States. The name is sometimes applied also to other species of Fasciolaria.
[ Webster]

Tulipwood (?), n. The beautiful rose-colored striped wood of a Brazilian tree (Physocalymna floribunda), much used by cabinetmakers for inlaying.
[ Webster]

Coloq. Queensland tulipwood , the variegated wood of an Australian sapindaceous tree (Harpullia pendula). J. Smith (Dict. Econ. Plants).
[ Webster]

Tull (?), v. t. [OE. tullen. See .] To allure; to tole. [Obs.]
[ Webster]

With empty hands men may no hawkes tull. Chaucer.
[ Webster]

Tulle (?), n. [F.; -- so called from the town of Tulle, in France.] A kind of silk lace or light netting, used for veils, etc.
[ Webster]

Tullian (?), a. [L. Tullianus, from Tullius, the name of a Roman gens.] Belonging to, or in the style of, Tully (Marcus Tullius Cicero).
[ Webster]

Tullibee (?), n. (Zoöl.) A whitefish (Coregonus tullibee) found in the Great Lakes of North America; -- called also mongrel whitefish.
[ Webster]

Tumble (tŭmb'l), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Tumbled (tŭmb'ld); p. pr. & vb. n. Tumbling (tŭmblĭng).] [OE. tumblen, AS. tumbian to turn heels over head, to dance violently; akin to D. tuimelen to fall, Sw. tumla, Dan. tumle, Icel. tumba; and cf. G. taumeln to reel, to stagger.] 1. To roll over, or to and fro; to throw one's self about; as, a person in pain tumbles and tosses.
[ Webster]

2. To roll down; to fall suddenly and violently; to be precipitated; as, to tumble from a scaffold.
[ Webster]

He who tumbles from a tower surely has a greater blow than he who slides from a molehill. South.
[ Webster]

3. To play tricks by various movements and contortions of the body; to perform the feats of an acrobat. Rowe.
[ Webster]

Coloq. To tumble home (Naut.), to incline inward, as the sides of a vessel, above the bends or extreme breadth; -- used esp. in the phrase tumbling home. Cf. .
[ Webster]

Tumble, v. t. 1. To turn over; to turn or throw about, as for examination or search; to roll or move in a rough, coarse, or unceremonious manner; to throw down or headlong; to precipitate; -- sometimes with over, about, etc.; as, to tumble books or papers.
[ Webster]

2. To disturb; to rumple; as, to tumble a bed.
[ Webster]

Tumble, n. Act of tumbling, or rolling over; a fall.
[ Webster]

Tumblebug (?), n. See .
[ Webster]

Tumble-down (?), a. Ready to fall; dilapidated; ruinous; as, a tumble-down house. [Colloq.]
[ Webster]

Tumbledung (?), n. (Zoöl.) Any one of numerous species of scaraboid beetles belonging to Scarabæus, Copris, Phanæus, and allied genera. The female lays her eggs in a globular mass of dung which she rolls by means of her hind legs to a burrow excavated in the earth in which she buries it.
[ Webster]

Tumbler (?), n. 1. One who tumbles; one who plays tricks by various motions of the body; an acrobat.
[ Webster]

2. A movable obstruction in a lock, consisting of a lever, latch, wheel, slide, or the like, which must be adjusted to a particular position by a key or other means before the bolt can be thrown in locking or unlocking.
[ Webster]

3. (Firearms) A piece attached to, or forming part of, the hammer of a gunlock, upon which the mainspring acts and in which are the notches for the sear point to enter.
[ Webster]

4. A drinking glass, without a foot or stem; -- so called because originally it had a pointed or convex base, and could not be set down with any liquor in it, thus compelling the drinker to finish his measure.
[ Webster]

5. (Zoöl.) A variety of the domestic pigeon remarkable for its habit of tumbling, or turning somersaults, during its flight.
[ Webster]

6. (Zoöl.) A breed of dogs that tumble when pursuing game. They were formerly used in hunting rabbits.
[ Webster]

7. A kind of cart; a tumbrel. [Prov. Eng. & Scot.]
[ Webster]

Tumblerful (?), n.; pl. Tumblerfuls (�). As much as a tumbler will hold; enough to fill a tumbler.
[ Webster]

Tumbleweed (?), n. (Bot.) Any plant which habitually breaks away from its roots in the autumn, and is driven by the wind, as a light, rolling mass, over the fields and prairies; such as witch grass, wild indigo, Amarantus albus, etc.
[ Webster]

Tumbling (?), a. & vb. n. from , v.
[ Webster]

Coloq. Tumbling barrel . Same as , n., 4. -- Coloq. Tumbling bay , an overfall, or weir, in a canal.
[ Webster]

{ Tumbrel (?), Tumbril (?), } n. [OF. tomberel, F. tombereau, fr. tomber to fall, to tumble; of Teutonic origin. Cf. .] 1. A cucking stool for the punishment of scolds.
[ Webster]

2. A rough cart. Tusser. Tatler.
[ Webster]

3. (Mil.) A cart or carriage with two wheels, which accompanies troops or artillery, to convey the tools of pioneers, cartridges, and the like.
[ Webster]

4. A kind of basket or cage of osiers, willows, or the like, to hold hay and other food for sheep. [Eng.]
[ Webster]

Tumefacient (?), a. [L. tumefaciens, -entis, p. pr. of tumefacere to tumefy; tumere to swell + facere to make.] Producing swelling; tumefying.
[Webster Suppl.]

Tumefaction (?), n. [Cf. F. tuméfaction.] The act or process of tumefying, swelling, or rising into a tumor; a tumor; a swelling. Arbuthnot.
[ Webster]

Tumefy (tūm�fī), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Tumefied (tūm�fīd); p. pr. & vb. n. Tumefying.] [F. tuméfier, fr. L. tumere to swell + -ficare (in comp.) to make; cf. L. tumefacere to tumefy. See , and .] To swell; to cause to swell, or puff up.
[ Webster]

To swell, tumefy, stiffen, not the diction only, but the tenor of the thought. De Quincey.
[ Webster]

Tumefy, v. i. To rise in a tumor; to swell.
[ Webster]

Tumescence (?), n. [L. tumescens, -entis, p.pr. of tumescere to swell up, v. incho. fr. tumere to swell.] The act of becoming tumid; the state of being swollen; intumescence; -- applied especially to the state of swelling of the vascular tissue in the male and female sex organs when they have been stimulated to readiness for sexual intercourse.
[Webster Suppl. +PJC]

Tumescent (?), a. Slightly tumid; swollen, as certain moss capsules.
[Webster Suppl.]

Tumid (?), a. [L. tumidus, fr. tumere to swell; cf. Skr. tumra strong, fat. Cf. .] 1. Swelled, enlarged, or distended; as, a tumid leg; tumid flesh.
[ Webster]

2. Rising above the level; protuberant.
[ Webster]

So high as heaved the tumid hills. Milton.
[ Webster]

3. Swelling in sound or sense; pompous; puffy; inflated; bombastic; falsely sublime; turgid; as, a tumid expression; a tumid style.
[ Webster]

-- Tumidly, adv. -- Tumidness, n.
[ Webster]

Tumidity (?), n. The quality or state of being tumid.
[ Webster]

Tummals (?), n. (Mining) A great quantity or heap. Weale.
[ Webster]

Tumor (tūmẽr), n. [L., fr. tumere to swell: cf. F. tumeúr. See .] 1. (Med.) A morbid swelling, prominence, or growth, on any part of the body; especially, a growth produced by deposition of new tissue; a neoplasm.
[ Webster]

2. Affected pomp; bombast; swelling words or expressions; false magnificence or sublimity. [R.]
[ Webster]

Better, however, to be a flippant, than, by a revolting form of tumor and perplexity, to lead men into habits of intellect such as result from the modern vice of English style. De Quincey.
[ Webster]

Coloq. Encysted tumor , a tumor which is inclosed in a membrane called a cyst, connected with the surrounding parts by the neighboring cellular substance. -- Coloq. Fatty tumor . See under . -- Coloq. Innocent tumor , or Coloq. Benign tumor , one which does not of itself threaten life, and does not usually tend to recur after extirpation; a tumor which has not metastesized. -- Coloq. Malignant tumor , a tumor which tends continually to spread, to become generalized in different parts of the body, and to recur after extirpation, and which, if left to itself, causes death.
[ Webster]

Tumored (tūmẽrd), a. Distended; swelled. [R.] “His tumored breast.” R. Junius.
[ Webster]

Tumorous (?), a. [L. tumorosus inflated.] 1. Swelling; protuberant. [R.] Sir H. Wotton.
[ Webster]

2. Inflated; bombastic. [R.] B. Jonson.
[ Webster]

Tump (tŭmp), n. [W. twmp, twm, a round mass or heap, a hillock.] A little hillock; a knoll. Ainsworth.
[ Webster]

Tump, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Tumped (tŭmt; 215); p. pr. & vb. n. Tumping.] 1. To form a mass of earth or a hillock about; as, to tump teasel.
[ Webster]

2. To draw or drag, as a deer or other animal after it has been killed. [Local, U. S.] Bartlett.
[ Webster]

Tumpline (?), n. A strap placed across a man's forehead to assist him in carrying a pack on his back. [Local, U. S.] Bartlett.
[ Webster]

Tum-tum (?), n. A dish made in the West Indies by beating boiled plantain quite soft in a wooden mortar.
[ Webster]

Tumular (?), a. [L. tumulus a mound: cf. F. tumulaire. See .] Consisting in a heap; formed or being in a heap or hillock. Pinkerton.
[ Webster]

Tumulate (?), v. t. [L. tumulatus, p. p. of tumulare to tumulate. See .] To cover, as a corpse, with a mound or tomb; to bury. [Obs.]
[ Webster]

Tumulate, v. i. To swell. [Obs.] Wilkins.
[ Webster]

Tumulose (?), a. Tumulous. [R.] Bailey.
[ Webster]

Tumulosity (?), n. The quality or state of being tumulous; hilliness. [R.] Bailey.
[ Webster]

Tumulous (?), a. [L. tumulosus, fr. tumulus a mound.] Full of small hills or mounds; hilly; tumulose. [R.] Bailey.
[ Webster]

Tumult (?), n. [L. tumultus; probably akin to Skr. tumula noise, noisy, and perhaps to L. tumere to swell, E. tumid: cf. F. tumulte.] 1. The commotion or agitation of a multitude, usually accompanied with great noise, uproar, and confusion of voices; hurly-burly; noisy confusion.
[ Webster]

What meaneth the noise of this tumult ? 1 Sam. iv. 14.
[ Webster]

Till in loud tumult all the Greeks arose. Pope.
[ Webster]

2. Violent commotion or agitation, with confusion of sounds; as, the tumult of the elements. Addison.
[ Webster]

3. Irregular or confused motion; agitation; high excitement; as, the tumult of the spirits or passions.
[ Webster]

Syn. -- Uproar; ferment; disturbance; turbulence; disorder; confusion; noise; bluster; hubbub; bustle; stir; brawl; riot.
[ Webster]

Tumult (?), v. i. To make a tumult; to be in great commotion. [Obs.]
[ Webster]

Importuning and tumulting even to the fear of a revolt. Milton.
[ Webster]

Tumulter (?), n. A maker of tumults. [Obs.]
[ Webster]

He severely punished the tumulters. Milton.
[ Webster]

Tumultuarily (t�mŭlt��rĭl�), adv. In a tumultuary manner.
[ Webster]

Tumultuariness, n. The quality or state of being tumultuary.
[ Webster]

Tumultuary (t�mŭlt��r�; 135), a. [L. tumultuarius: cf. F. tumultuaire.] 1. Attended by, or producing, a tumult; disorderly; promiscuous; confused; tumultuous. “A tumultuary conflict.” Eikon Basilike.
[ Webster]

A tumultuary attack of the Celtic peasantry. Macaulay.
[ Webster]

Sudden flight or tumultuary skirmish. De Quincey.
[ Webster]

2. Restless; agitated; unquiet.
[ Webster]

Men who live without religion live always in a tumultuary and restless state. Atterbury.
[ Webster]

Tumultuate (t�mŭlt�āt), v. i. [L. tumultuatus, p. p. of tumultuari to make a tumult.] To make a tumult. [Obs.] “He will murmur and tumultuate.” South.
[ Webster]

Tumultuation (t�mŭlt�āshŭn), n. [L. tumultuatio.] Irregular or disorderly movement; commotion; as, the tumultuation of the parts of a fluid. [Obs.] Boyle.
[ Webster]

Tumultuous (t�mŭlt�ŭs), a. [L. tumultuosus: cf. F. tumultueux.] 1. Full of tumult; characterized by tumult; disorderly; turbulent.
[ Webster]

The flight became wild and tumultuous. Macaulay.
[ Webster]

2. Conducted with disorder; noisy; confused; boisterous; disorderly; as, a tumultuous assembly or meeting.
[ Webster]

3. Agitated, as with conflicting passions; disturbed.
[ Webster]

His dire attempt, which, nigh the birth
Now rolling, boils in his tumultuous breast. Milton.
[ Webster]

4. Turbulent; violent; as, a tumultuous speech.
[ Webster]

Syn. -- Disorderly; irregular; noisy; confused; turbulent; violent; agitated; disturbed; boisterous; lawless; riotous; seditious.
[ Webster]

-- Tumultuously, adv. -- Tumultuousness, n.
[ Webster]

Tumulus (?), n.; pl. Tumuli (#). [L., a mound, a sepulchral mound, probably from tumere to swell. Cf. .] An artificial hillock, especially one raised over a grave, particularly over the graves of persons buried in ancient times; a barrow.
[ Webster]

Tun (tŭn), n. [AS. tunne. See a weight.] 1. A large cask; an oblong vessel bulging in the middle, like a pipe or puncheon, and girt with hoops; a wine cask.
[ Webster]

2. (Brewing) A fermenting vat.
[ Webster]

3. A certain measure for liquids, as for wine, equal to two pipes, four hogsheads, or 252 gallons. In different countries, the tun differs in quantity.
[ Webster]

4. (Com.) A weight of 2,240 pounds. See . [R.]
[ Webster]

5. An indefinite large quantity. Shak.
[ Webster]

A tun of man in thy large bulk is writ. Dryden.
[ Webster]

6. A drunkard; -- so called humorously, or in contempt. Dryden.
[ Webster]

7. (Zoöl.) Any shell belonging to Dolium and allied genera; -- called also tun-shell.
[ Webster]

Tun, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Tunned (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Tunning.] To put into tuns, or casks. Boyle.
[ Webster]

Tuna (?), n. (Bot.) The Opuntia Tuna. See Prickly pear, under .
[ Webster]

Tuna, n. [Cf. .] 1. (Zoöl.) Any one of several species of large oceanic fishes belonging to the mackerel family Scombridae, especially the bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus, formerly Orcynus thynnus or Albacora thynnus), called also the common tunny or great tunny, a native of the Mediterranean Sea and of temperate parts of the Atlantic Ocean. It sometimes weighs a thousand pounds or more, and is caught commercially in large quantity for use as food; -- also called, especially in Britain, tunny. It is also one of the favorite fishes used by the Japanese in preparing sushi. On the American coast, especially in New England, it is sometimes called the horse mackerel. Another well-known species is the yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) of warm seas. the See Illust. of Horse mackerel, under . The little tunny (Gymnosarda alletterata) of the Mediterranean and North Atlantic, and the long-finned tunny, or albacore (Thunnus alalunga) (see ), are related species of smaller size.
[ Webster +PJC]

2. The bonito, 2.
[ Webster]

3. the meat of the tuna, used as food; -- also called tuna fish.
[PJC]

Tunable (?), a. Capable of being tuned, or made harmonious; hence, harmonious; musical; tuneful. -- Tunableness, n. -- Tunably, adv.
[ Webster]

And tunable as sylvan pipe or song. Milton.
[ Webster]

Tun-bellied (?), a. Having a large, protuberant belly, or one shaped like a tun; pot-bellied.
[ Webster]

Tun-dish (?), n. A tunnel. [Obs.] Shak.
[ Webster]

Tundra (t�ndrȧ), n. [Russ.] One of the level or undulating treeless plains characteristic of northern arctic regions in both hemispheres; the term is most commony associated with the arctic plains of Siberia. The tundras mark the limit of arborescent vegetation; they consist of black mucky soil with a permanently frozen subsoil, but support a dense growth of mosses and lichens, and dwarf herbs and shrubs, often showy-flowered.
[Webster Suppl.]

Tune (tūn), n. [A variant of tone.] 1. A sound; a note; a tone. “The tune of your voices.” Shak.
[ Webster]

2. (Mus.) (a) A rhythmical, melodious, symmetrical series of tones for one voice or instrument, or for any number of voices or instruments in unison, or two or more such series forming parts in harmony; a melody; an air; as, a merry tune; a mournful tune; a slow tune; a psalm tune. See . (b) The state of giving the proper sound or sounds; just intonation; harmonious accordance; pitch of the voice or an instrument; adjustment of the parts of an instrument so as to harmonize with itself or with others; as, the piano, or the organ, is not in tune.
[ Webster]

Like sweet bells jangled, out of tune and harsh. Shak.
[ Webster]

3. Order; harmony; concord; fit disposition, temper, or humor; right mood.
[ Webster]

A child will learn three times as much when he is in tune, as when he . . . is dragged unwillingly to [his task]. Locke.
[ Webster]

Tune, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Tuned (tūnd); p. pr. & vb. n. Tuning.] 1. To put into a state adapted to produce the proper sounds; to harmonize, to cause to be in tune; to correct the tone of; as, to tune a piano or a violin. “ Tune your harps.” Dryden.
[ 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