Chapter 1701

Each morning sees some task begin, Each evening sees it close. Longfellow.

2. Business; employment; undertaking; labor.

His mental powers were equal to greater tasks . Atterbury.

To take to task . See under Take .

Syn. -- Work; labor; employment; business; toil; drudgery; study; lesson; stint.

Task <Xpage=1476>

Task , v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Tasked (?) ; p. pr. & vb. n. Tasking .] 1. To impose a task upon; to assign a definite amount of business, labor, or duty to.

There task thy maids, and exercise the loom. Dryden.

2. To oppress with severe or excessive burdens; to tax.

3. To charge; to tax; as with a fault.

Too impudent to task me with those errors. Beau. & Fl.

Tasker <Xpage=1476>

Task"er (?) , n. 1. One who imposes a task.

2. One who performs a task, as a day-laborer. [R.]

3. A laborer who receives his wages in kind. [Scot.]

Taskmaster <Xpage=1476>

Task"mas`ter (?) , n. One who imposes a task, or burdens another with labor; one whose duty is to assign tasks; an overseer.

Ex. i. 11.

All is, if I have grace to use it so, As ever in my great Taskmaster's eye. Milton.

Taskwork <Xpage=1476>

Task"work` (?) , n. Work done as a task; also, work done by the job; piecework.

Taslet <Xpage=1476>

Tas"let (?) , n. [See Tasse a piece of armor.] A piece of armor formerly worn to guard the things; a tasse.

Tasmanian <Xpage=1476>

Tas*ma"ni*an (?) , a. Of or pertaining to Tasmania, or Van Diemen's Land. -- n. A native or inhabitant of Tasmania; specifically (Ethnol.) , in the plural, the race of men that formerly inhabited Tasmania, but is now extinct.

Tasmanain cider tree . (Bot.) See the Note under Eucalyptus . -- Tasmanain devil . (Zo\'94l.) See under Devil . -- Tasmanain wolf (Zo\'94l.) , a savage carnivorous marsupial; -- called also zebra wolf . See Zebra wolf , under Wolf .

Tasse <Xpage=1476>

Tasse (?) , n. [OF. tassette .] A piece of armor for the thighs, forming an appendage to the ancient corselet.

&hand; Usually the tasse was a plate of iron swinging from the cuirass, but the skirts of sliding splints were also called by this name.

Tassel <Xpage=1476>

Tas"sel (?) , n. (Falconry) A male hawk. See Tercel .

Tassel <Xpage=1476>

Tas"sel , n. [See Teasel .] A kind of bur used in dressing cloth; a teasel.

Tassel <Xpage=1476>

Tas"sel , n. [OE., a fastening of a mantle, OF. tassel a fastening, clasp, F. tasseau a bracket, Fr. L. taxillus a little die, dim. of talus a die of a longish shape, rounded on two sides and marked only on the other four, a knuckle bone.] 1. A pendent ornament, attached to the corners of cushions, to curtains, and the like, ending in a tuft of loose threads or cords.

2. The flower or head of some plants, esp. when pendent.

And the maize field grew and ripened, Till it stood in all the splendor Of its garments green and yellow, Of its tassels and its plumage. Longfellow.

3. A narrow silk ribbon, or the like, sewed to a book to be put between the leaves.

4. (Arch.) A piece of board that is laid upon a wall as a sort of plate, to give a level surface to the ends of floor timbers; -- rarely used in the United States.

Tassel flower (Bot.) , a name of several composite plants of the genus Cineraria , especially the C. sconchifolia , and of the blossoms which they bear.

Tassel <Xpage=1476>

Tas"sel , v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Tasseled (?) or Tasselled ; p. pr. & vb. n. Tasseling or Tasselling .] To put forth a tassel or flower; as, maize tassels .

Tassel <Xpage=1476>

Tas"sel , v. t. To adorn with tassels.

Chaucer.

Tasset <Xpage=1476>

Tas"set (?) , n. [See Tasse .] A defense for the front of the thigh, consisting of one or more iron plates hanging from the belt on the lower edge of the corselet. <-- same as tasse? -->

Tastable <Xpage=1476>

Tast"a*ble (?) , a. Capable of worthy of being tasted; savory; relishing.

Taste <Xpage=1476>

Taste (?) , v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Tasted (?) ; p. pr. & vb. n. Tasting .] [OE. tasten to feel, to taste, OF. taster , F. tater to feel, to try by the touch, to try, to taste, (assumed) LL. taxitare , fr. L. taxare to touch sharply, to estimate. See Tax , v. t. ] 1. To try by the touch; to handle; as, to taste a bow . [Obs.]

Chapman.

Taste it well and stone thou shalt it find. Chaucer.

2. To try by the touch of the tongue; to perceive the relish or flavor of (anything) by taking a small quantity into a mouth. Also used figuratively.

When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine. John ii. 9.

When Commodus had once tasted human blood, he became incapable of pity or remorse. Gibbon.

3. To try by eating a little; to eat a small quantity of.

I tasted a little of this honey. 1 Sam. xiv. 29.

4. To become acquainted with by actual trial; to essay; to experience; to undergo.

He . . . should taste death for every man. Heb. ii. 9.

5. To partake of; to participate in; -- usually with an implied sense of relish or pleasure.

Thou . . . wilt taste No pleasure, though in pleasure, solitary. Milton.

Taste <Xpage=1476>

Taste , v. i. 1. To try food with the mouth; to eat or drink a little only; to try the flavor of anything; as, to taste of each kind of wine .

2. To have a smack; to excite a particular sensation, by which the specific quality or flavor is distinguished; to have a particular quality or character; as, this water tastes brackish; the milk tastes of garlic .

Yea, every idle, nice, and wanton reason Shall to the king taste of this action. Shak.

3. To take sparingly.

For age but tastes of pleasures, youth devours. Dryden.

4. To have perception, experience, or enjoyment; to partake; as, to taste of nature's bounty .

Waller.

The valiant never taste of death but once. Shak.

Taste <Xpage=1476>

Taste , n. 1. The act of tasting; gustation.

2. A particular sensation excited by the application of a substance to the tongue; the quality or savor of any substance as perceived by means of the tongue; flavor; as, the taste of an orange or an apple; a bitter taste ; an acid taste ; a sweet taste .

3. (Physiol.) The one of the five senses by which certain properties of bodies (called their taste , savor , flavor ) are ascertained by contact with the organs of taste.

&hand; Taste depends mainly on the contact of soluble matter with the terminal organs (connected with branches of the glossopharyngeal and other nerves) in the papill\'91 on the surface of the tongue. The base of the tongue is considered most sensitive to bitter substances, the point to sweet and acid substances.

4. Intellectual relish; liking; fondness; -- formerly with of , now with for ; as, he had no taste for study .

I have no taste Of popular applause. Dryden.

5. The power of perceiving and relishing excellence in human performances; the faculty of discerning beauty, order, congruity, proportion, symmetry, or whatever constitutes excellence, particularly in the fine arts and belles-letters; critical judgment; discernment.

6. Manner, with respect to what is pleasing, refined, or in accordance with good usage; style; as, music composed in good taste ; an epitaph in bad taste .

7. Essay; trial; experience; experiment.

Shak.

8. A small portion given as a specimen; a little piece tastted of eaten; a bit.

Bacon.

9. A kind of narrow and thin silk ribbon.

Syn. -- Savor; relish; flavor; sensibility; gout. -- Taste , Sensibility , Judgment . Some consider taste as a mere sensibility , and others as a simple exercise of judgment ; but a union of both is requisite to the existence of anything which deserves the name. An original sense of the beautiful is just as necessary to \'91sthetic judgments, as a sense of right and wrong to the formation of any just conclusions or moral subjects. But this "sense of the beautiful" is not an arbitrary principle. It is under the guidance of reason; it grows in delicacy and correctness with the progress of the individual and of society at large; it has its laws, which are seated in the nature of man; and it is in the development of these laws that we find the true "standard of taste."

What, then, is taste , but those internal powers, Active and strong, and feelingly alive To each fine impulse? a discerning sense Of decent and sublime, with quick disgust From things deformed, or disarranged, or gross In species? This, nor gems, nor stores of gold, Nor purple state, nor culture, can bestow, But God alone, when first his active hand Imprints the secret bias of the soul. Akenside.

Taste of buds , &or; Taste of goblets (Anat.) , the flask-shaped end organs of taste in the epithelium of the tongue. They are made up of modified epithelial cells arranged somewhat like leaves in a bud.

Tasteful <Xpage=1476>

Taste"ful (?) , a. 1. Having a high relish; savory. " Tasteful herbs."

Pope.

2. Having or exhibiting good taste; in accordance with good taste; tasty; as, a tasteful drapery .

-- Taste"ful*ly , adv. -- Taste"ful*ness , n.

Tasteless <Xpage=1476>

Taste"less , a. 1. Having no taste; insipid; flat; as, tasteless fruit .

2. Destitute of the sense of taste; or of good taste; as, a tasteless age .

Orrery.

3. Not in accordance with good taste; as, a tasteless arrangement of drapery .

-- Taste"less*ly , adv. -- Taste"less*ness , n.

Taster <Xpage=1476>

Tast"er (?) , n. 1. One who tastes; especially, one who first tastes food or drink to ascertain its quality.

Thy tutor be thy taster , ere thou eat. Dryden.

2. That in which, or by which, anything is tasted, as, a dram cup, a cheese taster, or the like .

3. (Zo\'94l.) One of a peculiar kind of zooids situated on the polyp-stem of certain Siphonophora. They somewhat resemble the feeding zooids, but are destitute of mouths. See Siphonophora .

Tastily <Xpage=1476>

Tast"i*ly (?) , adv. In a tasty manner.

Tasting <Xpage=1476>

Tast"ing , n. The act of perceiving or tasting by the organs of taste; the faculty or sense by which we perceive or distinguish savors.

Tasto <Xpage=1476>

Tas"to (?) , n. [It.] (Mus.) A key or thing touched to produce a tone.

Tasto solo , single touch; -- in old music, a direction denoting that the notes in the bass over or under which it is written should be performed alone, or with no other chords than unisons and octaves.

Tasty <Xpage=1476>

Tast"y (?) , a. [ Compar. Tastier (?) ; superl. Tastiest .] 1. Having a good taste; -- applied to persons; as, a tasty woman . See Taste , n. , 5. <-- not used in that sense now. -->

2. Being in conformity to the principles of good taste; elegant; as, tasty furniture; a tasty dress.

Tat <Xpage=1476>

Tat (?) , n. [Hind. t\'bet .] Gunny cloth made from the fiber of the Corchorus olitorius , or jute. [India]

Tat <Xpage=1476>

Tat , n. [Hind. tatt<?/ .] (Zo\'94l.) A pony. [India]

Tataupa <Xpage=1476>

Ta*tau"pa (?) , n. [From the native name.] (Zo\'94l.) A South American tinamou ( Crypturus tataupa ).

Tatch <Xpage=1476>

Tatch (?) , n. [F. tache spot. See Techy .] A spot or stain; also, a trick. [Obs.]

Sir T. Elyot.

Tath <Xpage=1476>

Tath (?) , obs. 3d pers. sing. pres. of Ta , to take.

Tath <Xpage=1476>

Tath , n. [Prov. E.; of Scand. origin; cf. Icel. ta<?/ dung, ta<?/a the grass of a manured pasture, te<?/ja to manure. \'fb58. Cf. Ted .] 1. Dung, or droppings of cattle. [Prov. Eng. & Scot.]

2. The luxuriant grass growing about the droppings of cattle in a pasture. [Prov. Eng. & Scot.]

Tath <Xpage=1476>

Tath , v. t. To manure (land) by pasturing cattle on it, or causing them to lie upon it. [Prov. Eng. & Scot.]

Tatou <Xpage=1476>

Ta*tou" (?) , n. [Cf. Tatouay .] (Zo\'94l.) The giant armadillo ( Priodontes gigas ) of tropical South America. It becomes nearly five feet long including the tail. It is noted for its burrowing powers, feeds largely upon dead animals, and sometimes invades human graves.

Tatouay <Xpage=1476>

Tat"ou*ay (?) , n. [Of Brazilian origin; cf. Pg. tatu , F. tatou .] (Zo\'94l.) An armadillo ( Xenurus unicinctus ), native of the tropical parts of South America. It has about thirteen movable bands composed of small, nearly square, scales. The head is long; the tail is round and tapered, and nearly destitute of scales; the claws of the fore feet are very large. Called also tatouary , and broad-banded armadillo .

Tatouhou <Xpage=1476>

Tat"ou*hou (?) , n. [Cf. Tatouay .] (Zo\'94l.) The peba.

Tatt <Xpage=1476>

Tatt (?) , v. t. & i. To make (anything) by tatting; to work at tatting; as, tatted edging .

<page="1477"> Page 1477

Tatta <Xpage=1477>

Tat"ta (?) , n. [Hind. <?/a<?/<?/\'c6 , t\'bet\'c6 .] A bamboo frame or trellis hung at a door or window of a house, over which water is suffered to trickle, in order to moisten and cool the air as it enters. [India]

Tatter <Xpage=1477>

Tat"ter (?) , n. One who makes tatting.

Caulfield & S. (Doct. of Needlework).

Tatter <Xpage=1477>

Tat"ter (?) , n. [Icel. t\'94tur , t\'94ttur , pl. t\'94trar , <?/\'94ttrar ; cf. Norw. totra , pl. totror , LG. taltern tatters. \'fb240.] A rag, or a part torn and hanging; -- chiefly used in the plural.

Tear a passion to tatters , to very rags. Shak.

Tatter <Xpage=1477>

Tat"ter , v. t. [ p. p. Tattered (?) .] To rend or tear into rags; -- used chiefly in the past participle as an adjective.

Where waved the tattered ensigns of Ragfair. Pope.

Tatterdemalion <Xpage=1477>

Tat`ter*de*mal"ion (?) , n. [ Tatter + OF. desmaillier to break the meshes of, to tear: cf. OF. maillon long clothes, swadding clothes, F. maillot. See Tatter , and Mail armor.] A ragged fellow; a ragamuffin.

L'Estrange.

Tatting <Xpage=1477>

Tat"ting (?) , n. A kind of lace made from common sewing thread, with a peculiar stitch.

Tatting shuttle , the shuttle on which the thread used in tatting is wound.

Tattle <Xpage=1477>

Tat"tle (?) , v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Tattled (?) ; p. pr. & vb. n. Tattling (?) .] [Akin to OE. tateren , LG. tateln , D. tateren to stammer, and perhaps to E. titter .] 1. To prate; to talk idly; to use many words with little meaning; to chat.

The tattling quality of age, which is always narrative. Dryden.

2. To tell tales; to communicate secrets; to be a talebearer; as, a tattling girl .

Tattle <Xpage=1477>

Tat"tle , n. Idle talk or chat; trifling talk; prate.

[They] told the tattle of the day. Swift.

Tattler <Xpage=1477>

Tat"tler (?) , n. 1. One who tattles; an idle talker; one who tells tales.

Jer. Taylor.

2. (Zo\'94l.) Any one of several species of large, long-legged sandpipers belonging to the genus Totanus .

&hand; The common American species are the greater tattler, or telltale ( T. melanoleucus ), the smaller tattler, or lesser yellowlegs ( T. flavipes ), the solitary tattler ( T. solitarius ), and the semipalmated tattler, or willet. The first two are called also telltale , telltale spine , telltale tattler , yellowlegs , yellowshanks , and yelper.

Tattlery <Xpage=1477>

Tat"tler*y (?) , n. Idle talk or chat; tittle-tattle.

Tattling <Xpage=1477>

Tat"tling (?) , a. Given to idle talk; apt to tell tales. -- Tat"tling*ly , adv.

Tattoo <Xpage=1477>

Tat*too" (?) , n. [Earlier taptoo , D. taptoe ; tap a tap, faucet + toe to, shut ( i. e. , the taps, or drinking houses, shut from the soldiers).] (Mil.) A beat of drum, or sound of a trumpet or bugle, at night, giving notice to soldiers to retreat, or to repair to their quarters in garrison, or to their tents in camp.

The Devil's tattoo . See under Devil .

Tattoo <Xpage=1477>

Tat*too" , v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Tattooed (?) ; p. pr. & vb. n. Tattooing .] [Of Polynesian origin; cf. New Zealand ta to tattoo, tatu puncturation (in Otaheite).] To color, as the flesh, by pricking in coloring matter, so as to form marks or figures which can not be washed out.

Tattoo <Xpage=1477>

Tat*too" , n. ; pl. Tattoos (<?/) . An indelible mark or figure made by puncturing the skin and introducing some pigment into the punctures; -- a mode of ornamentation practiced by various barbarous races, both in ancient and modern times, and also by some among civilized nations, especially by sailors.

Tatu <Xpage=1477>

Ta*tu" (?) , n. (Zo\'94l.) Same as Tatou .

Tatusiid <Xpage=1477>

Ta*tu"si*id (?) , n. (Zo\'94l.) Any armadillo of the family Tatusiid\'91 , of which the peba and mule armadillo are examples. Also used adjectively.

Tau <Xpage=1477>

Tau (?) , n. [Gr. tay^ the letter &tau; (English T ).] (Zo\'94l.) The common American toadfish; -- so called from a marking resembling the Greek letter tau (&tau;).

Tau cross . See Illust . 6, of Cross .

Taught <Xpage=1477>

Taught (?) , a. See Taut .

Totten.

Taught <Xpage=1477>

Taught , imp. & p. p. of Teach . [AS. imp. t&aemac;hte , p.p. get&aemac;ht .] See Teach .

Taunt <Xpage=1477>