T
Tforto, freq. profixed to verbs; as intabandon, to abandon,tescape, to escape; so in Chaucer,tabyde,tacoye,tamende, &c.
tabid,liable to waste away. Sir T. Browne, Letter to a Friend, § 19;tabidly inclined, id., § 4. L.tabidus, wasting away.
tabine,‘tabby’, a stuff orig. striped, later waved or watered. Middleton, Anything for a Quiet Life, ii. 2. 6. Ital.tabino, ‘tabine’ (Florio). See NED. (s.v. Tabby).
table,the tablet or panel on which a picture is painted; ‘I beheld myself drawn in the flattering table of her eye’, King John, ii. 504; ‘To sit and draw his arched brows . . . in our heart’s table’, All’s Well, i. 1. 106; a picture, ‘The figure of a hangman In a table of the Passion’, Beaumont and Fl., Custom of the Country, iv. 2. 5; Sir T. Elyot, Governour (ed. Croft, ii. 422). L.tabula, a painted tablet or panel of a picture.
table,a writing-tablet.Bible, Hab. ii. 2; Luke i. 63; 2 Cor. iii. 3;tables, a set of tablets, a note-book, Hamlet, i. 5. 107; also,table-book, id., ii. 2. 136; hence,tabled, noted, set down, Cymbeline, i. 4. 6. ME.table: ‘a peyre of tables all of yvory’ (Chaucer, C. T.D.1741). L.tabula, a writing-tablet.
tables,the ordinary name for backgammon, L. L. L. v. 2. 326. See Nares. ME.tables(Chaucer, C. T.F.900), Anglo-F.juer as tables(Ch. Rol. l. 111).
tabourine,a small drum. Tr. and Cr. iv. 5. 275. F.tabourin(Dict. de l’Acad., 1694), see Hatzfeld (s.v. Tambourin).
tabride,a ‘tabard’; a surcoat worn over armour and emblazoned with armorial bearings. Warner, Alb. England, bk. v, ch. 27. See Dict.
tache,a fault or vice. Warner, Alb. England, xiii. 77. 318 (NED.); to find fault with, id., bk. x, ch. 58. ME.tache(tacche), a stain, blemish, fault (P. Plowman, B. ix. 146). Anglo-F.tache, a stain, blemish (Gower, Mirour, 1231).
tack,that which fastens. Phr.to hold tack with, to hold one’s ground with; to be even with; ‘A thousande pounde with Lyberte may holde no tacke’, Skelton, Magnyfycence, 2084; to be a match for, to hold at bay, Drayton, Pol. xi. 48;to hold tack, to hold out, to endure, Butler, Hud. i. 3. 277.
tack,a smack, taste or flavour which lasts, holds out. Drayton, Pol. xix. 130; ‘Le poisson pique, begins to have a tacke or ill taste’, Cotgrave. The same word as above.
tackle,a mistress, a trull (Cant). Shadwell, Squire of Alsatia, iv. 1 (Belfond Senior).
tag,a rabble, mob. Coriolanus, iii. 1. 248;tag-rag people, the mob, Julius C. i. 2. 260; ‘Tagge and ragge, cutte and longe tayle’ (i.e. a mixed mob), Gosson, School of Abuse, p. 45.
taillee,to ‘tally’, to keep account, at the game of basset. Farquhar, Sir H. Wildair, i. 1 (Parly); ‘You used to taillee with success’, id., ii. 2 (Lurewell).
taint,a successful hit. Chapman, tr. of Iliad, iii. 374; vii. 222. ME.taynte, a ‘hit’ in tilting (NED., s.v. Taint, sb. 1). Short forattaint, F. ‘attainte, a reach, hit, home touch’ (Cotgr.), OF.atainte(ateinte), deriv. ofataindre, to attain unto, to touch.
taint,to ‘hit’ in tilting. B. Jonson, Every Man out of Hum. ii. 1 (Carlo); Massinger, Parl. of Love, iv. 3 (near end); Marlowe, 2 Tamburlaine, i. 3; Chapman, tr. of Iliad, viii. 259.
taint,to ‘tent’, to search a wound. Lyly, Euphues, pp. 65, 314.
tainture,an imputation of dishonour. Fletcher, Thierry, i. 1. 1; Sandys, tr. of Ovid’s Metam. i. 20. See NED. (s.v. Attainture).
take me with you,let me understand you clearly, i.e. do not go faster than I can follow you; be explicit; 1 Hen. IV, ii. 4. 506.Take us with you, understand us clearly, A Cure for a Cuckold (near the end).
take order,to take measures, to make arrangements. North, tr. of Plutarch, Julius Caes., § 9 (in Shak. Plut., p. 52); Octavius, § 8 (p. 246); Bacon, Essay 36;Bible, 2 Macc. iv. 27.
take up,to check oneself, stop short. Pepys, Diary, Nov. 13, 1661; Massinger, Picture, v. 3 (Mathias); to settle, arrange amicably a quarrel, As You Like It, v. 4. 104; to take up one’s quarters, B. Jonson, Staple of News, iv. 2; Pepys, Diary, Oct. 14, 1662.
taken with the maner;seemaner.
taking,a disturbed state of mind, state of agitation. Merry Wives, iii. 3. 191; also, malignant influence, King Lear, iii. 4. 61. Very common in prov. use in the sense of a state of agitation. See EDD. (s.v. Taking, 2).
taking,infectious. King Lear, ii. 4. 166; Fletcher, The False One, iv. 3 (Septimius). Still in use in Cumberland in this sense, ‘It’s a varra takkan disease’, see EDD. (s.v. Taking, 1 (2)).
tale,a specified number, that which is counted.Bible, Exod. v. 8. 18; 1 Sam. xviii. 27; 1 Chron. ix. 28; ‘Every shepherd tells his tale’ (i.e. counts his sheep), Milton, L’Allegro, 67 (but meaning in this passage disputed).
talent,the talon of a bird of prey. Fortalon. L. L. L. iv. 2. 65; Two Noble Kinsmen, i. 1. 44; ‘Talant of an hauk’, Levins, Manip. Hencetalenter, a bird of prey with talons, as a hawk, Middleton and Rowley, World Tost at Tennis (Denmark House).
tall,valiant, brave. Ant. and Cl. ii. 6. 7; often used ironically, as in Merry Wives, ii. 2. 11; &c.
tallage,a tax, impost, levy, rate, toll; ‘Tallages and taxations’, North, tr. of Plutarch, M. Antonius, § 12 (in Shak. Plut., p. 171). Anglo-F.tallage, ‘taille, taxe’ (Moisy). See Dict. (s.v. Tally).
†tallow-catch,1 Hen. IV, ii. 4. 256 (so Quartos and Folios). The form and meaning doubtful. Supposed by some to =tallow-ketch, i.e. a tub filled with tallow; by others =tallow keech, a round lump of fat. Seekeech.
talwood,wood cut into billets for burning; firewood. Skelton, Why Come ye nat to Courte, 79; Tasser, Husbandry, § 53. 12. A Sussex word (EDD.). A rendering of OF.bois de tail, ‘bois en coupe’ (Godefroy).
tamin,a kind of thin woollen stuff; ‘In an old tamin gown’, Massinger, New Way to Pay, iii. 2 (Overreach). F.étamine, stamin; ‘estamine, the stuff Tamine’ (Cotgr.).
tancrete,transcribed, copied. Skelton, Why Come ye nat to Courte, 417. OF.tanscrit, fortranscrit, transcribed (Godefroy, s.v.transcrit), L.transcriptum.
tanling,one that is tanned by the heat of the sun. Cymbeline, iv. 4. 29.
tannikin, tannakin, tanakin,a dimin. pet-form of the name Anna, used especially for a German or Dutch girl. Marston, Dutch Courtezan, i. 1 (Freevil); Dekker, Shoemakers’ Holiday, iii. 1 (Eyre).
tanti,so much for (you); an exclamation of depreciation and contempt. Marlowe, Edw. II, i. 1. 22; Fuimus Troes, iii. 7 (Eulinus). L.tanti, of so much value.
Tantony,forSt. Anthony; often with reference to the attributes with which the saint was accompanied; as a crutch, a pouch, or a pig; ‘His tantonie pouch’, Lyly, Mother Bombie, ii. 1 (Riscio); ‘Like a tantony pig’, Bickerstaff, Love in a Village, i. 5. 3. See EDD. (s.v. Saint Anthony).
tapet,a cloth on which tapestry is worked. Spenser, Muiopotmos, 276;tapets, pl. tapestries; met. foliage of trees, Mirror for Mag., Induction, st. 1. OE.tæppet, Late L.tapetum.
tappish,to lurk, lie, hid. Chapman, tr. of Iliad, xxii. 158;tappis, Lady Alimony, ii. 6 (Tillyvally);tappes’d, hidden, Shadwell, Squire of Alsatia, v. 1 (Cheatly). F.tapir, to hide;se tapir, to crouch, lie close, lurk (Cotgr.); pres. part,tapissant. Seeuntappice.
taratantara,the blast of a trumpet; ‘Christ . . . in the clowdes of heaven with his Taratantara sounding’, Stubbes, Anat. of Abuses (ed. Furnivall, 24); ‘The noise of tarantara’s clang’, Grimald, Death of Zoroas, 2. Onomatopoetic, cp. L.taratantara(Ennius).
targe,shield. Mirror for Mag., Induction, st. 57; Milton, P. L. ix. 1111. Anglo-F.targe, a buckler (Ch. Rol. 3569).
target,a light round buckler. Hall, Chron. Henry VIII, 2; North, tr. of Plutarch, Julius Caesar, § 11 (in Shak. Plut., 54). See Dict.
tarmagon,a termagant, a virago, vixen. Lady Alimony, i. 4. 1. See Dict. (s.v. Termagant).
tarpawlin,a sailor, jack-tar. Otway, Cheats of Scapin, ii. 1 (Scapin). The same astarpaulin, a tarred canvas covering. See Trench, Select Glossary.
tarras, tarrass,a terrace. Bacon, Essay 45, § 5; Chapman, May-day, Act v (Lodovico). Hence,tarrest, terraced, provided with terraces; Heywood, London’s Jus Honorarium; Works, iv. 276.
tarre on,to set on a dog, to incite him to bite, King John, iv. 1. 117; Hamlet, ii. 2. 370; ‘To tarr on’, meaning to excite to anger, is in common use in Cheshire (EDD.). ME.terre, to provoke: ‘Nyle ye terre youre sones to wraththe’ (Wyclif, Eph. vi. 4). OE.tergan, to vex, see B. T. (s.v. Tirgan).
tarsell,a tercel, male hawk. Skelton, Philip Sparowe, 558. Seetassel.
Tartarian,a Tartar; a cant word for a thief. Merry Devil, i. 1. 13; Beaumont and Fl., Knt. of the B. Pestle, ii. 5 (end).
task,to tax. 1 Hen. IV, iv. 3. 92. Norm. F.tasque, taxe, règlement imposé par l’autorité pour le prix de certaines marchandises (Moisy), Med. L.tasca(Ducange), L.taxare, to rate, estimate the value of a thing.
†tassaker,a cup or goblet; ‘This Dutch tassaker’, Heywood, Rape of Lucrece, iii. 3 (Valerius). Not found elsewhere.
tassel,the male of any kind of hawk; ‘Tiercelet, the Tassel, so termed because he is commonly a third part less than the female’, Cotgrave;tassel-gentle, the male of the falcon, Romeo, ii. 2. 160;tassel gent, Spenser, F. Q. iii. 4. 49;tiercel gentle, Massinger, Guardian, i. 1 (Durazzo). Seetercel.
taste,to put to the proof, try, prove to be, Twelfth Nt. iii. 4. 267; to try the use of, to use (in affected speech), Twelfth Nt. iii. 1. 87; to experience, to feel, Tempest, v. 1. 123.
tat, tatt,a false die;tatts, pl. false dice (Cant). Shadwell, Squire of Alsatia, i. 1 (Hackum).Tatmonger, a sharper who uses false dice (in the same scene).
tatler,fortattler, a slang term for a repeater, or a striking watch; because ittattlesor utters sounds. Shadwell, Squire of Alsatia, ii. 1 (Belfond Senior).
tatterdemallion, tatterdimallian,a man in tattered clothing; a ragged fellow. Middleton, Mayor of Queenborough, v. 1 (Simon); Howell, Foreign Travell, sect. vi, p. 37. See NED.
taumpin,a ‘tampion’, a plug. Skelton, Garl. of Laurell, 642; ‘Tampyon for a gon,tampon’, Palsgrave. See Dict. (s.v. Tampion).
taunt pour taunte,tit for tat. Udall, tr. of Apoph., Diogenes, § 68. F.tant pour tant, one for another (Cotgr.). See Dict. (s.v. Taunt).
Taurus:‘Taurus? that’s sides and heart. No, sir, it is legs and thighs’, Twelfth Nt. i. 3. 147. In astrology, the signs of the zodiac were severally supposed to govern various parts of the body; and Taurus governed the neck and throat; hence, Sir Andrew and Sir Toby were both wrong (intentionally so); see Middleton, No Wit like a Woman’s, ii. 1.
tavell,the bobbin on which silk is wound for use in the shuttle. Skelton, Garland of Laurell, 791; Against Comely Coystrowne, 34. Cp. mod. F.tavelle, the bobbin on which the silk is wound off the cocoons; see NED.
taw,to beat, thrash, B. Jonson, Barth. Fair, iv. 3 (Ursula);tawed, treated like hides in making them into leather, ‘Greedy care . . . With tawed handes, and hard ytanned skyn’, Sackville, Mirror for Mag., Induction, st. 39. See Nares and Dict.
taw,to draw along. Drayton, Muses’ Elysium, Nymphal ii, l. 14 from end. See Nares (s.v. Tawe).
tawdry,pl.tawdries, defined as ‘a kind of necklace worn by country wenches’; Drayton, Pol. ii. 46; iv. 50.Tawdry-lace, St. Awdry’s lace, i.e. lace bought at St. Awdry’s fair at Ely, Fletcher, Faith. Shepherdess, iv. 1 (Amarillis). See Dict.
tax,to take to task, criticize, censure, reprove. Rowley, All’s Lost, v. 5. 74; Hamlet, i. 4. 18; also, to task, Much Ado, ii. 3. 46. Seetask.
teade,a torch. Spenser, F. Q. i. 12. 37; id., Muiopotmos, 293; Heywood, Iron Age, Part II (Orestes); vol. iii, p. 424. L.taeda, a torch.
teemed,arranged in a ‘team’; said of horses. Spenser, Virgil’s Gnat, 314.
teen,harm, injury, hurt, Spenser, F. Q. i. 12. 18; vexation, annoyance, id., ii. 1. 15; grief, id., ii. 1. 21; ii. 1. 58. In prov. use in the north country in the sense of anger, vexation, in Scotland also in the sense of sorrow, grief. ME.tene, vexation, grief (Chaucer). See Dict. M. and S. OE.tēona, damage, harm, insult, calumny.
†teen,keen; ‘The teenest Rasor’, Lyly, Euphues, pp. 34, 249. Not found elsewhere.
teend,to kindle a fire. Herrick, Hesp., Candlemas Day, id., Ceremonies for Christmas, st. 2. A Lancashire pronunciation, see EDD. (s.v. Tend, vb.2). ME.teend(Wyclif, Isaiah l. 11); OE.tendan, in compounds, asontendan(Exod. xxii. 6). Seetind.
tegge,a female deer in the second year; ‘Tegge, or pricket,saillant’, Palsgrave; Jacob and Esau, in Hazlitt’s Dodsley, i. 193. Skelton hastegges, women (used in contempt), Elynour Rummyng, l. 131. ‘Teg’ is in gen. prov. use in the midland and southern counties in the sense of a yearling sheep before it is shorn (EDD.).
teil-tree,a lime-tree or linden.Bible, Isaiah vi. 13;teyle, Golding, Metam. viii. 620; fol. 102, back (1603). OF.teil; L.tilia.
teint,tint, colour. Dryden, To Sir G. Kneller, 178. F.teint, colour, complexion.
teld,pt. t., told. Spenser, F. Q. vi. 1. 44. In common use in Yorkshire, see EDD. (s.v. Tell, 2). ME.telde, told; ‘And thei . . . telden alle these thingis’ (Wyclif, Luke xxiv. 9). OE.tealde, alsotelede(Leechdoms); see B. T. (s.v. Tellan).
temper,to govern, rule, control. Spenser, Mother Hubberd, 1294. L.temperare, to regulate, control. In prov. use in Scotland (EDD.).
tempt,to try, essay. Peele, Sir Clyomon, ed. Dyce, p. 496; Milton, P. L. ii. 404. In prov. use (EDD.). L.temptare(gen. writtententare), to attempt, essay.
ten bones,the ten fingers. 2 Hen. VI, i. 3. 193; Fletcher, Woman’s Prize, i. 3 (Petruchio); ‘I swear by these ten’ (i.e. ten bones), B. Jonson, Masque of M. Gipsies (3 Gipsy).
tender,to treat with kindness, to take care of. Two Gent. iv. 4. 145; Taming Shrew, Induction, i. 16; Hamlet, i. 3. 107; regard, care, King Lear, i. 4. 230. See Schmidt.
tenent,a tenet, an opinion; ‘There are other assertions and common Tenents drawn from Scripture’, Sir T. Browne, Rel. Med. i. 22; Earle, Microcosm., § 11 (ed. Arber, 34). See NED.
teniente,a lieutenant. Middleton, Span. Gipsy, ii. 1 (Alvarez). Span.teniente de una compañia, lieutenant of a company (Neuman);lugarteniente, lieutenant (Stevens).
tent,to apply a ‘tent’, or plug of linen, to a wound. Webster, White Devil (Flamineo); Randolph, Muses’ Looking-glass, iv. 3 (Colax). ME.tentof a wound (Prompt. EETS. 476). F.tente(Cotgr.). See Dict. (s.v. Tent, 2).
tercel,the male of any kind of hawk. Bk. St. Albans (NED.);tiercel, Phillips, Dict., 1706. ME.tercel(Chaucer, Parl. Foules, 405 (v.rr.tersel,tarsell);tarcel, ‘tardarius’ (Voc. 615. 24). OF.tercel(Godefroy), O. Prov.tersol(Levy), Span.terzuelo, Ital.terzuolo, Med. L.tertiolus(Ducange), F.tiercelet(dimin.), ‘a tassel’ (Cotgr.). Seetassel.
terlerie-whiskie,a twirling about; a phrase of little meaning, in the refrain of a song. Beaumont and Fl., Knt. of the B. Pestle, v. iii (Merrythought). See NED. (s.v. Terlerie).
termer(applied to both sexes), one who resorts to London in term-time only, for the sake of gain or for intrigue; a frequenter of the law-courts. Middleton, Roaring Girl (Preface); id., The Witch, i. 1 (Gasparo); Beaumont and Fl., Wit at several Weapons, i. 1 (Oldcraft).
termless,unlimited, infinite, Spenser, Hymn of Heavenly Love, 75; incapable of being expressed by terms, inexpressible, indescribable, Lover’s Complaint, 94.
terre,to throw upon the ground; ‘He terr’d his glove’, Warner, Alb. England, bk. iii, ch. 16, st. 44. A nonce-word.
†terrial.‘The terrials of her legs were stained with blood’ (said of a hawk), Heywood, A Woman killed, i. 3 (Sir Francis). Perhaps an error forterret, one of the two rings by which the leash is attached to the jesses of a hawk (NED.).
tertia,a regiment of infantry. B. Jonson, New Inn, iii. 1. 6; Dryden, Conq. of Granada, II. i. 1 (K. Ferdinand). Span.tercio, a regiment, a third part (Stevens).
testate,a witness. Heywood, Witches of Lancs., v (Generous); vol. iv, p. 251; Iron Age, Part II (Orestes); vol. iii, p. 422.
testy,witness; ‘Gives testies of their Maisters amorous hart’, Faire Em, ii. 1. 100. Cp. L.teste, the word which began the last clause of a writ, and signifying ‘witness’; being the abl. of L.testis, a witness. See NED. (s.v. Teste, sb.22 c).
tetchy, teachy,quick to take offence, short-tempered, testy. Speltteachy, Earle, Microcosm., § 34 (ed. Arber, 56);teachie, Romeo, i. 3. 32 (1592). See NED.
tetragrammaton,the Greek name of the Hebrew ‘four-lettered’ word, writtenYHWH, vocalizedYaHWeHby modern scholars; in theBiblewrittenJehovah(Exod. vi. 3), but gen. rendered by ‘theLord’; ‘Our English tongue as well as the Hebrew hath a Tetragrammaton, whereby God may be named; to wit, Good’, Wither, Lord’s Prayer, 17 (NED.); Greene, Friar Bacon, iv. 3. Gk. τετραγράμματον (Philo, 2. 152).
tettish, teatish,peevish, fretful. Beaumont and Fl., Wit without Money, v. 2 (Valentine); Woman’s Prize, v. 1 (Bianca).
tew,a set of fishing-nets, nets. Warner, Alb. England, bk. vi, ch. 29, st. 27; spelttewgh, Fletcher, Mons. Thomas, i. 3 (NED.). ME.tewe, fishing tackle (Prompt. EETS. 477), OE. (ge)tǣwe,getāwe, tackle, equipment.
tew,to convert hide into leather; ‘I tewe leather,je souple’, Palsgrave; to prepare for some purpose, ‘The toiling fisher here is tewing of his net’, Drayton, Pol. xxv. 139; to beat, thrash, Fletcher, Beggar’s Bush, iii. 2 (Clause);to tew hemp, Ray’s Country Words,A.D.1691. In prov. use for dressing leather and beating hemp, see EDD. (s.v. Tew, vb.11 and 2). ME.tewyn lethyr, ‘frunio, corrodio’ (Prompt.).
tewly,scarlet. Skelton, Garl. of Laurell, 798. Silk of this colour is often referred to by earlier writers, as in Richard Coer de Lion, 67, 1516, Syr Gawayne, Beves of Hamtoun (Halliwell, s.v. Tuly);tuly, colowre, ‘puniceus’ (Prompt. EETS. 494). OF.tieulé, of the colour of a tile, i.e. red (Godefroy), deriv. oftieule(F.tuile), a tile, L.tegula.
teyle;seeteil-tree.
teyned.‘In shape of teyned gold’, Golding, Metam. v. 11. ME.teyne, a slender rod of metal (Chaucer, C. T.G.1225, 1229, 1240). Icel.teinn, rod,gull-teinn, a rod of gold.
than,then. Spenser, F. Q. v. 11. 38 (Common).
tharborough,a form ofthirdborough,q.v. L. L. L. i. 1. 185.
thatch’d head,a term of abuse for an Irishman; one with thick matted hair. Beaumont and Fl., Coxcomb, ii. 3 (Maria).
thee,to thrive, prosper. Tusser, Husbandry, § 10. 8; Spenser, F. Q. ii. 1. 33; ii. 11. 17. ME.thee(Chaucer), OE.þēon. See Dict. M. and S. (s.v. Theen).
thembatel,forthe embatel, the battlement; ‘Griped for hold thembatel of the wall’, Surrey, tr. of Aeneid, ii. 581. Not found elsewhere.
therm, tharm,an intestine. Ascham, Toxophilus (ed. Arber, 100). Still in use in the north country, see EDD. (s.v. Tharm). OE. (Anglian)þarm, a bowel.
thewes,good qualities or habits. Spenser, F. Q. i. 9. 3; i. 10. 4; ii. 1. 33; ii. 10. 59; Heywood, Britain’s Troy, i. 61 (Nares). Hencethewed, having qualities of a certain kind, F. Q. ii. 6. 26. OE.þēaw, usage, custom, habit.
thewes,the bodily powers of a man, in Shaks. the bodily proportions as indicating physical strength, 2 Hen. IV, iii. 2. 276; Jul. Caes. i. 3. 81; Hamlet, i. 3. 12.
thick,a thicket. Spenser, F. Q. ii. 1. 39; ii. 3. 21; Shep. Kal., March, 73; Fletcher, Faithful Shepherdess, v. 5 (Cloe; near the end). In Suffolk groves and woods with close underwood are called ‘thicks’, see EDD. (s.v. Thick, 14).
thiller,the shaft-horse in a team. Tusser, Husbandry, § 17. 4. In gen. prov. use in the Midlands and south of England, see EDD. Deriv. of ME.thylleof a cart, ‘temo’ (Prompt.).
thill-horse,the shaft-horse; ‘The Thill-horse in Charles’s Wain’, Derham (NED.). In common use in various parts of England, see EDD. (s.v. Thill, sb.12 4). Seefill.
thirdborough,the petty constable of a township or manor. L. L. L. i. 1. 185; cp. Taming Shrew, Induct, i. 12; B. Jonson, Tale of a Tub, i. 1 (Hugh). Probably a corruption of an earlierfrithborh; OE.friðborh, peace-surety, frankpledge. See NED.
thirdendale:phr.thirdendale gallant, the third part of a gallant, Dekker, If this be not a good Play (Scumbroath); Works, iii. 329. Seehalfendeale.
this,thus. Skelton, Death of Edw. IV, 38; Philip Sparowe, 366; and often.
tho,then. Spenser, F. Q. i. 1. 18; ii. 8. 47. ME.tho, then (Chaucer). see M. and S.; OE.þā.
thole,the dome of a temple, within which votive offerings were suspended; ‘Let Altars smoake and Tholes expect our spoiles’, Fisher, True Trojans, iii. 2 (Nennius). Gk. θόλος, a round building with a cupola; at Athens, the Rotunda in which the Prytanes, the committee of 50, dined at the public cost.
thorow-lights,lights or windows on both sides of a room. Bacon, Essay 45, § 3. Fromthorow= through.
thrall,v., to enthral, enslave. Spenser, F. Q. v. 5. 29; vi. 11. 44.
threap,to rebuke; to maintain obstinately. Greene, James IV, Induction (Bohan);threpped, pp., Stanyhurst, tr. of Aeneid, iv. 354. In gen. prov. use in both senses in Scotland, Ireland, and in England, north country and Midlands. See EDD. (s.v. Threap, 5); ME.threpe, to assert to be (Chaucer). OE.þrēapian, to rebuke, argue.
threave,a large number, a multitude, a swarm of insects; ‘Threaves of busy flies’, Chapman, tr. of Iliad, ii. 401 (in later ed. ‘swarms of flies’); a bundle or handful tied up like a small sheaf, Chapman, Gent. Usher, ii. 1 (Bassiolo). The word is used in many parts of Scotland and England in the sense of a considerable number or quantity, see EDD. (s.v. Thrave, sb. 3). Icel.þrefi, a number of sheaves.
three-farthings.King John, i. 143. Alluding to the very thin three-farthing (silver) pieces of Qu. Elizabeth, which bore her profile, with a rose at the back of her head.
three-pile,three-piled velvet. The richest kind of velvet was calledthree-pileorthree-piled velvet, presumably because it had a triple (or a very close) pile or nap; Wint. Tale, iv. 3. 14.Three-piled piece, referring to velvet, i. 2. 33. Metaphorically,three-piled= exaggerated, L. L. L. v. 2. 407; cp. C. Tourneur, Revenger’s Tragedy, i. 1. Fromthreeandpile(4).
threne,a lament. Phoenix and Turtle, 49. Hence,threning(speltthrenning); ‘What needs these threnning words and wasted wind?’, Sir T. Wyatt, To his Love (Wks., ed. Bell, 198). Gk. θρῆνος, a funeral lament.
thrill,to pierce. Spenser, F. Q. iii. 2. 32. Hence,thrillant, piercing. Spenser, F. Q. ii. 4. 46. ME.thirte, to pierce (Chaucer, C. T.A.2709). OE.þyrlian. Seethrull.
thrill,to hurl a weapon. Webster, Appius, iv. 2 (Virginius); Heywood, Iron Age, Part I, 1632, sig. F (Dyce); Quarles, Sion’s Elegies, ii. 4.
thring,to press forward. Mirror for Mag., Caracalla, st. 1. Still in use in the north country (EDD.). ME.thringe, to press, to force one’s way (Chaucer). OE.þringan, to press.
thrist,thirst. Spenser, F. Q. ii. 6. 17.Thristy, thirsty, id., i. 5. 15. In prov. use in the north country, also in Heref. and Shropshire (EDD.). ME.thrist, thirst;thriste, to thirst (Wars Alex. 4683, 3848).
throat-brisk,(?) part of the brisket near the throat; speltthrote-briske, Chapman, tr. of Odyssey, iii. 620. Cp.throat-sweetbread(alsoneck-sweetbread), butcher’s name for the thymus gland, see NED. (s.v. Throat, 8 d).
throng,pressed closely together; ‘Hidden in straw throng’ (i.e. in straw pressed closely together), B. Jonson, Tale of a Tub, v. 5 (The fourth Motion). OE.þrungen, pp. ofþringan, to press. Seethring.
throw,a short space, a little while. Spenser, F. Q. iii. 5. 53. ME.throw, a little while (Prompt. EETS., see note, no. 2336). OE.þrāge, ‘for a time’,þrāh, a space of time, a course, running. See M. and S. (s.v. Throwe).
throwster,a twister of silk thread for a weaver. Middleton, World Tost at Tennis (Scholar). In the north country ‘to throw’ is in common use in the sense of to twist, see EDD. (s.v. Throw, 16). OE.þrāwan, to twist.
thrull,to pierce. Morte Arthur, leaf 172. 28; bk. ix, c. 4. Seethrill.
thrum,a weaving term: the waste end of a warp;thrumm’d, furnished with tufts, Drayton, Pol. xxiii. 319; untidily thatched, Middleton, Mich. Term, i. 2. 6;thrum-chinned, with rough untidy chin, id., A Trick to Catch, iv. 3. 7; ‘(A) plaine livery-three-pound-thrum’, B. Jonson, Alchem. i. 1. 16 (applied jocularly to a person). ME.thrummof a clothe, ‘filamen’ (Prompt.). Cp. Norw. dial.trumm, edge, brim (Aasen); Du. ‘drom, a thrum’ (Sewel); G.trumm.
thrum,to beat, Dekker, Honest Wh., Pt. I, iii. 1 (George). An old Suffolk word (EDD.).
thrust,thirst; to thirst. Spenser, F. Q. ii. 2. 29; iii. 7. 50. OE.þurst, thirst. Seethrist.
tial,a bond, tie, obligation; ‘Nor to contract with such (a woman) can be a Tial’, Fletcher, Wildgoose Chase, ii. 1 (Mirabel). A Scotch word (EDD.). Seetyall.
Tib-of-the-buttery,a goose (Cant). Fletcher, Beggar’s Bush, v. 1 (Higgen). ‘Tib’ is a pet form of the Christian name Isabel; Tibbie was once a favourite name with the peasants of the Lowlands. See NED.
ticket, on the,on tick, like one who incurs an acknowledged debt. Shirley, Bird in a Cage, ii. 1. 17.
tickle,not to be depended upon; uncertain, unreliable, changeable. Spenser, F. Q. vi. 3. 5; vii. 8. 1; in unstable equilibrium, easily upset, easily set in motion; in phr.tickle of the sear(sere), easily made to go off (the ‘sear’ being a portion of a gun-lock), usedfig.in Hamlet for yielding easily to any impulse (ii. 2. 327). ME.tikel, unstable, uncertain (Chaucer, C. T.A.3428).
tickle-footed,uncertain, inconstant, Beaumont and Fl., Scornful Lady, v. 4 (Elder Loveless).
ticklish,easily disturbed, Chapman, Widow’s Tears, ii. 2 (Arsace).
tick-tack,a complicated kind of backgammon, played both with men and pegs; for rules, see the Compleat Gamester. Meas. for M. i. 2. 196; B. Jonson, Every Man in Hum. iii. 3 (Kiteley). Du.tiktak. tick-tack; ‘tiktakbörd, tick-tack-tables, backgammon tables’ (Sewel); cp. G.tricktrack, backgammon.
tiddle,to pet, to spoil; said of parents and children; ‘My parents did tiddle me’, Nice Wanton, in Hazlitt’s Dodsley, ii. 173. Hencetidlings, pets, spoilt children, id., 164. In prov. use in Berks., meaning to tend carefully; to bring up a young animal by hand (EDD.).
tie-dog,a bandog; a fierce dog who has to be tied up. Udall, tr. of Apoph., Diogenes, § 140. See Nares.
tiego,a dizziness in the head. Massinger, A Very Woman, iv. 3 (Borachia). The expression is put into the mouth of an ignorant woman; it seems to represent’tigo, short for Lat.vertigo.
tiffany,a kind of thin transparent silk; also a gauze muslin. Fletcher, Noble Gentleman, i. 1 (Marine); Shirley, Witty Fair One, ii. 1 (Treedle). Apparently the same word asTiffany, a name for the festival of the Epiphany. OF.Tiphanie(Godefroy), Eccles. L.Theophania, Eccles. Gk. Θεοφάνεια, the Manifestation of God. See Ducange (s.v. Theophania).
tight, tite.Of a ship: water-tight; ‘Twelve tite Gallies’, Tam. Shrew, ii. 1. 381; competent, capable; vigorous, stout, Ant. and Cl. iv. 4. 16; neat, trim, carefully dressed, ‘But you look so bright, And are dress’d so tight’, Farquhar, Beaux Strat. i. 1. In prov. use in various senses in all parts of the English-speaking world: e.g. in good health, sound, vigorous (E. Anglia); neat, trim (Scotland); see EDD. Seetith.
tight,pt. t., tied, Spenser, F. Q. vi. 12. 34.
tiller,in archery, the wooden beam which is grooved for reception of the arrow, or drilled for the bolt; ‘The beanie or tiller (of a balista)’, Holland, Amm. Marcell. 221 (NED.); ‘Arbrier, the tillar of a crosse-bow’, Cotgrave; a stock or shaft fixed to a long-bow to admit of its being used as a cross-bow, for greater precision of aim, Beaumont and Fl., Philaster, ii. 2 (Galatea); a bow fitted with a tiller, id., Scornful Lady, v. 1 (Elder Loveless);tiller-bow, a cross-bow, see Roberts, English Bowman (ed. 1801, p. 261), quoted by Croft (Sir T. Elyot, Governour, i. 297);tillering, the putting of a bow upon a tiller, Ascham, Toxophilus, 114. OF.telier(tellier), the wooden beam of a cross-bow, orig. a weaver’s beam (Godefroy), Mod. L.telarium(Ducange), L.tela, a web.
tilly-vally,an exclamation of contempt at what has been said, like our ‘nonsense!’ Twelfth Nt. ii. 3. 83;Tilly-fally, 2 Hen. IV, ii. 4. 90.Tille valle, Tille vallee!, an exclamation used by Mrs. Alice More, not liking her husband’s question, ‘Is not this house (in the Tower) as nighe heaven as myne owne (at Chelsea)?’, see Life of Sir T. More, by W. Roper (More’s Utopia, ed. Lumby, p. xlv).
tim,a poor wretch; a term of abuse. B. Jonson, Alchem. iv. 4 (Kastril).
timonist,misanthrope. Beaumont and Fl., Knight of Malta, v. 2 (Astorius). Alluding to Timon of Athens.
tinct,to tinge, colour. B. Jonson, Alchemist, ii. 1 (Subtle);tinct, pp. dyed, tinged, Spenser, Shep. Kal., Nov., 107. L.tinctus, dyed.
tincture,a colouring matter, Dryden, Juvenal, Ded. 36; hue, colour, ‘The tincture of a skin’, Addison, Cato, i. 4; a spiritual principle or immaterial substance whose character or quality may be infused into material things, which are then said to be tinctured, ‘Nothing can be so mean, Which with his tincture (“for thy sake”) will not grow bright and clean’, Herbert, The Elixir.
tind,to kindle; ‘As one candle tindeth a thousand’, Sanderson-Serm. (ed. 1689, p. 56) (NED.);tind, pt. t. ‘Stryful Atin in their stub, borne mind Coles of contention and whot vengeance tind’, Spenser, F. Q. ii. 8. 11. In Phaer, tr. of Aeneid, viii. 410, we findtinne(to kindle). ‘Tind’ is in gen. prov. use in various parts of England (EDD.). Wyclif hastend: ‘No man tendeth a lanterne’ (Luke xi. 33). See NED. for an account of the earlier form-history of the word. Seeteend.
tine,to kindle, inflame; ‘As late the clouds . . . Tine the slant lightning’, Milton, P. L. x. 1075; ‘The priest . . . was seen to tine The cloven wood’, Dryden, Iliad, i. 635. A form oftind(to kindle), in prov. use in various parts of England. See EDD. (s.v. Tind).
tine,to perish, to be lost. Spenser, F. Q. iv. 11. 36. In prov. use in Scotland in this sense, and also, meaning ‘to lose’; see EDD. (s.v. Tine, vb.1). The original sense of the word was ‘to lose’. ME.tine, to lose (Hampole, Psalter, lxi. 10); Icel.tȳna, to lose, to destroy, put to death.
tine,affliction, sorrow. Spenser, F. Q. i. 9. 15; Tears of the Muses, 3; Fletcher, Faithful Shepherdess, i. 3 (Cloe); to feel pain, F. Q. ii. 11. 21. OE.tȳnan, to give pain, to vex. Seeteen.
tintamar, tintimar,a confused noise, hubbub. Spelttintamar, Howell, Famil. Letters, vol. i, sect. i. 19, § 2;tintimar, Vanbrugh, The Confederacy, v. 2 (Mrs. Amlet). F.tintamarre, ‘A clashing or crashing, a rustling or gingling noise made in the fall of wooden stuff, or vessels of metal; also a black Santus’ (Cotgr.). Seesanctus.
tinternall,the name of an old tune or burden for a song. Gascoigne, ed. Hazlitt, i. 430. Cp. F.tinton, the burden of a song; fromtinter, to ring.
tip for tap,tit for tat; one hit in requital for another. Gascoigne, ed. Hazlitt, i. 463. See NED. (s.v. Tip, sb.2).
tipe over,to tilt over, overthrow; ‘I type over, I overthrow,je renverse’, Palsgrave; ‘She tiped the table over and over’, Udall, tr. of Apoph., Socrates, § 83. In prov. use in north of England, Shropshire, and E. Anglia (EDD.). ME.type, to tilt over, knock down, see NED. (s.v. Tip, vb.2).
tiphon,a ‘typhoon’, whirlwind; ‘A mental tiphon’, Shirley, Example, ii. 1 (Vainman). Gk. τυφῶν = τυφώς, a furious whirlwind (Sophocles).
tippet:in phr.to turn one’s tippet, to change one’s course or behaviour completely; to act the turncoat. B. Jonson, Case is Altered, iii. 3 (Aurelia); also,to change one’s tippet, Merry Devil of Edmonton, iii. 2. 139; ‘He changed his typpette, and played the Apostata’, Foxe, Book of Martyrs, 1049. 2 (NED.).
tipstaff,a staff with a tip or cap of metal, carried as a badge by certain officials. Mercury’s caduceus is called a ‘snaky tipstaff’, B. Jonson, Cynthia’s Revels, i. 1 (Cupid); an official carrying a tipped staff, a sheriff’s officer, an officer appointed to wait upon a court in session; ‘Then their Lordships . . . commissioned Atterbury the Tipstaff to fetch a smith to force them open’, Magd. Coll. and Jas. II. p. 148 (Oxf. Hist. Soc).
tire,a ‘tier’, row, rank. Spenser, F. Q. i. 4. 35; Milton, P. L. vi. 605; Fletcher, Span. Curate, iv. 7 (near the end); Dryden, Hind. and P. iii. 317. OF.tire, row, rank (Godefroy); ‘tire à tire, l’un après l’autre’ (Didot); O. Prov.tiera,teira, ‘suite, série’ (Levy).
tire,to ‘attire’, L. L. L. iv. 2. 131. Hencetire-men, dressers belonging to the theatre, Middleton, Your Five Gallants, ii. 1 (Fitsgrave).Tire, a head-dress, Two Gent. iv. 4. 190; spelttier, London Prodigal, iv. 3. 32;tire-valiant, a fanciful head-dress, Merry Wives, iii. 3. 60.
tire,to prey or feed ravenously upon. 3 Hen. VI, i. 1. 269; Venus and Ad. 56; Marlowe, 1 Tamburlaine, ii. 7; Fletcher, Love’s Pilgrimage, iii. 2 (Leocadia). ‘Tiring(in Falconry) is a giving the Hawk a Leg or Pinion of a Pullet or Pigeon to pluck at’, Phillips, Dict. 1706. ME.tyren, to tear, rend (Chaucer, Boethius, iii. 12. 49). F.tirer, to draw, pull, tug; see NED. (s.v. Tire, vb.22).
tirik,a mechanical device explaining astronomical phenomena, a ‘theorick’; ‘He turnyd his tirikkis, his volvell ran fast’, Skelton, Speke Parrot, 139; Garl. of Laurell, 1518. See NED. (s.v. Theoric, sb. 3).
tirliry-pufkin,a light and flighty woman. Ford, Lady’s Trial, iii. 1.
tit,a small creature, young thing;a tit of tenpence, a girl worth tenpence; a depreciatory epithet. Fletcher, Woman’s Prize, iv. 2 (Petruchio).
tite:phr.swithe and tite, quickly and at once, Gammer Gurton’s Needle, i. 4. 13. Very common in the phr.as tite, as soon, as lief, in the north country, see EDD. (s.v. Tite, adv.2). ME.tite, quickly;as tyte as, as soon as (Wars Alex. 219, 693). Icel.tītt, at once with all speed; see Icel. Dict. (s.v. Tīðr).
tith,a variant oftight(q.v.). Of a ship: water-tight, Fletcher, Woman’s Prize, iii. 5; sound in body, ‘A good stanch wench, that’s tith’, id., Mons. Thomas, ii. 3 (Thomas). The compar.titheroccurs in The Mad Lover, iii. 3 (Chilax) in a nautical allusion.Tithly, vigorously, Island Princess, i. 1. 20; closely, Women Pleased, iv. 3 (Penurio).
tithe,to decimate. Beaumont and Fl., Bonduca, ii. 1 (Penius).
titillation,a means of titillating, producing a pleasant sensation, used of a perfume. B. Jonson, Alchem. iv. 2 (Face).
titivil(tytyvyllus),a term of reprobation, a knave, villain, and esp. a mischievous tale-bearer, Hall, Henry VI (ed. 1542, f. 43); Skelton, Garl. Laurell, 642; Colyn Cloute, 418; ‘Coquette, a pratling or proud gossip . . . a titifill, a flebergebit’, Cotgrave;titifil, Heywood’s Proverbs (ed. Farmer, 24). Originally, the name of a devil said to collect fragments of words dropped, skipped, or mumbled in the recitation of the daily offices, and to carry them to hell to be registered against the offender; the name occurs in the mystery plays. Myrrour of our Ladye, i. 20. 54. See note to P. Plowman, C. xiv. 123. See NED. for a full and interesting account of this curious creation of monastic wit.
titivilitium,an exclamation of contempt. B. Jonson, Silent Woman, iv. 1 (Otter). L.titivillitium, a small trifle (used once by Plautus).
to,in comparison with. Temp. i. 2. 480, &c.
to-,prefix, in twain, asunder, in pieces. The following examples occur in Caxton’s Hist. of Troye:to-breke(pt. t.to-brake), to break in pieces;to-breste, to burst asunder;to-bruse, to bruise in pieces;to-drawe, to draw asunder;to-frusshe, to break in pieces;to-hewe, to hew in pieces;to-rente, to rend in pieces. Malory’s Morte Arthur hasto-cratche, to tear to pieces;to-ryue, to rive asunder;to-sheuer, to reduce to shivers. See NED. (s.v. To-, pref.2).
toadstone,a stone fabled to be found in a toad’s head, which could cure pain instantly. See As You Like It, ii. 1. 13; Fletcher, Woman’s Prize, v. 1 (Livia); Mons. Thomas, iii. 1 (Thomas).
toase,to pluck, to pull, draw. Winter’s Tale, iv. 4. 760; ‘It is a great craft to tose wolle wel’, Palsgrave. ME.tosynor tose wul or odyre lyk, ‘carpo’ (Prompt. EETS. 501). Seetooze.
toater;seetoter.
to-boil,to boil thoroughly, boil down. Webster, Duch. of Malfi, ii. 5 (Ferdinand).
to-break,to break in pieces; ‘So inward force my heart doth all to-break’, Sir T. Wyatt, The Lover compareth (ed. Bell, p. 200);to-brake, pt. t., ‘And all to brake his scull’,Bible, Judges ix. 53. See Dict. M. and S. (s.v. Tobreken). OE.tobrecan, pt. t.tobræc.
tod,a fox. B. Jonson, Sad Shepherd, i. 2 (Tuck); Pan’s Anniversary, Hymn iv, l. 12. A north-country word; Jamieson says, ‘the fox is vulgarly known by no other name throughout Scotland’, see EDD. (s.v. Tod, sb.2).
tod,a bushy mass (esp. of ivy). Spenser, Sheph. Kal., March, 67; Beaumont and Fl., Bonduca, i. 1 (Caratach); id., Rule a Wife, iv. 3 (Juan). In E. Anglia the word is in use for the head of a pollard tree, see EDD. (s.v. Tod, sb.51).
to-dash,to dash in pieces. Sackville, Mirror for Mag., Induction, st. 18.
todder,slime; the spawn of frogs or toads; ‘Where in their todder loathly paddocks breed’, Drayton, Moses, bk. ii, 116. In prov. use in Leic. for the spawn of frogs or toads, see EDD. (s.v. Tother, sb. 3).
†toderer,a man of loose life. Marston, Malcontent, i. 1 (Malevole).
†tods;‘I wear out my naked legs and my foots and my teds’, Dekker, O. Fortunatus. iv. 2 (Andelocia). A misreading for ‘toes’.
tofore,formerly. Titus And. iii. 1; Spenser, F. Q. iv. 4. 7. ME.toforn, beforehand (Chaucer);tofore, prep. before (P. Plowman, B. v. 457).
to-frusshed,pp.broken to pieces, crushed, battered. ‘All to-frusshed’, Warner, Alb. England, bk. ii, ch. 12, st. 33. Seefrush.
toft,taut, tightly drawn, Peele, Tale of Troy, ed. Dyce, p. 554. See NED. (s.v. Taut, adj. 2). See EDD. (s.v. Taut). ME.toght, tightly drawn (Chaucer, C. T.D.2267).
token,a small coin, struck by private individuals to pass for a farthing.Tavern-token, Westward Ho, ii. 3 (Birdlime); ‘Not worth a tavern-token’, Massinger, New Way to Pay, i. 1 (Tapwell).
tole,to entice, draw on. Beaumont and Fl., Wit at sev. Weapons, iv. 2 (near the end);tole on, Fletcher, Faithful Shepherdess, i. 1 (Clorin). In prov. use in various parts of England, see EDD. (s.v. Toll, vb.21). ME.tollen, to attract, entice (Chaucer, Boethius, ii. 7. 15).
toledo,a Toledo sword. Webster, White Devil (Flamineo); near the end; Beaumont and Fl., Love’s Cure, iii. 4 (Bobadilla).
ton,a tunny-fish. Middleton, Game at Chess, v. 3 (B. Knight). F.thon, a tunny-fish (Cotgr.); L.thunnus; Gk. θύννος.
tone:the tone, forthet one, i.e. that one, the one. Golding, tr. of Ovid, Preface, 96; cp.the tother, forthet other, that other, the other (in the same line). Just below, l. 105, we findtone part, forthe tone part, i.e. the one part. See Nares.
tonnell;seetunnel.
tony,a simpleton. In Middleton, The Changeling, i. 2 (Lollio), we findTonyused as an abbreviation of Antony, and at the same time signifying a simpleton; ‘Be pointed at for a tony’, Wycherley, Plain Dealer, iii (Freeman);tonies, pl. Dryden, All for Love, Prol., 15.
toot;seetote.
toothful,toothsome, delicious. Massinger, Virgin Martyr, v. 1 (Theoph.).
too-too,extremely, very. Hamlet, i. 2. 129; Two Noble Kinsmen, v. 4. 15 (Common);toto muche, Udall, tr. of Apoph., Diogenes, § 42.
tooze,to tease wool; ‘Toozing wooll’, Golding, Metam. xiv. 265; fol. 170 (1603); ‘I toose wolle or cotton or suche lyke,Je force de la laine, andje charpis de la laine’, Palsgrave. Seetoase.
top-ayle,highest spike or beard of an ear of corn. Chapman, tr. of Iliad, xx. 211. ‘Ails’ (‘iles’) is in prov. use in the south of England for the beards or awns of barley or any other bearded grain, see EDD. (s.v. Ail, sb.2). OE.egl, ‘festuca’ (Luke vi. 41).
tope,I pledge you; lit. touch (or strike) my glass with yours. Shirley, Honoria, v. 1 (2 Soldier). See Dict. (s.v. Toper).
topsiturne,to upset, turn upside down; ‘This object . . . Which topsiturnes my braine’, Heywood, Iron Age (Ajax), vol. iii, p. 341; ‘All things are topside-turn’d’, id., Dialogue 9, in vol. vi, p. 214.
tormentour,a torturer, one deputed to torture and punish offenders, an executioner. Udall, tr. of Apoph., Diogenes, § 49;Bible, Matt. xviii. 34. ME.tormentour, executioner (Chaucer, C. T.G.527).
tortious,injurious, wrongful. Spenser, F. Q. ii. 2. 18. See Dict. (s.v. Tort).
torved,stern. Webster, Appius and Virginia, v. 3 (Virginius). Fortorvid, Med. L.torvidus(Ducange).
†toss, tosses,pl.(?). Massinger, Picture, ii. 2 (Honoria).
tote,to look, gaze; ‘How often dyd I tote Upon her prety fote’, Skelton, Phyllyp Sparowe, 1146; spelttoote, Speke Parrot, 12;toot, Peele, Arraignment of Paris, i. 2 (Oenone). In prov. use in north of England down to Warw. in the sense of to peep and pry about, see EDD. (s.v. Toot, vb.2). ME.toten(P. Plowman, B. xv. 22), OE.tōtian, to look, gaze.
tote,to project, stick out; ‘Your tail toteth out behind’, The Four Elements, in Hazlitt’s Dodsley, i. 42; ‘A toting huge swelling ruff’, Howell’s Letters, bk. i, sect. 3, let. 31, § 7. In prov. use in the north country, also in Warw., see EDD. (s.v. Toot, vb.23).
toter,a player upon the horn. B. Jonson, Tale of a Tub, iii. 3 (Pan);toater, Fletcher, Maid in a Mill, iii. 1 (end). See EDD. (s.v. Toot, vb.1).
tother:the tother, forthet other, the other. Seetone.
toto,variant oftoo-too,q.v.
totters,tatters, rags. Ford, Sun’s Darling, i. 1 (Folly’s song);tottered, tattered, Marlowe, Jew of Malta, iv. 5. 6; Edward II, ii. 3. 21; Richard II, iii. 3. 52. Norw. dial.totra, a rag,totror, pl. rags, alsotaltra(r) (Aasen).
totty,unsteady, confused in thought. Spenser, F. Q. vii. 7. 39; Sheph. Kal., Feb., 55. In prov. use in various parts of England (EDD.). ME.toty: ‘Myn heed is toty of my swink to-night’ (Chaucer, C. T.A.4253).
touch,a trait or feature; ‘One touch of nature makes the whole world kin’, Tr. and Cr. iii. 3. 175; ‘Evill touches’, Ascham, Scholemaster, 48.Touch=Touchstone, Richard III, iv. 2. 8; used alsofig.with reference to the trial of gold, 1 Hen. IV, iv. 4. 10.