| ton | The prevailing fashion or mode; vogue; as, things of ton. "If our people of ton are selfish, at any rate they show they are selfish." (Thackeray) Bon ton. Origin: F. See Tone. A measure of weight or quantity. Specifically: The weight of twenty hundredweight. In England, the ton is 2,240 pounds. In the United States the ton is commonly estimated at 2,000 pounds, this being sometimes called the short ton, while that of 2,240 pounds is called the long ton. Forty cubic feet of space, being the unit of measurement of the burden, or carrying capacity, of a vessel; as a vessel of 300 tons burden. See the Note under Tonnage. A certain weight or quantity of merchandise, with reference to transportation as freight; as, six hundred weight of ship bread in casks, seven hundred weight in bags, eight hundred weight in bulk; ten bushels of potatoes; eight sacks, or ten barrels, of flour; forty cubic feet of rough, or fifty cubic feet of hewn, timber, etc. Ton and tun have the same etymology, and were formerly used interchangeably; but now ton generally designates the weight, and tun the cask. See Tun. Origin: OE. Tonne, tunne, a tun, AS. Tunne a tun, tub, a large vessel; akin to G. & F. Tonne a ton, tun, LL. Tunna a tun; all perhaps of Celtic origin; cf. Ir. & Gael. Tunna a tun. Cf. Tun,Tunnel. <zoology> The common tunny, or house mackerel. Origin: Cf. Tunny. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
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| tonaphasia | Loss, through cerebral lesion, of the ability to remember tunes. Origin: G. Tonos, tone, + a-priv. + phasis, speech (05 Mar 2000) |
| tonca bean | <botany> See Tonka bean. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| toncanet | <zoology> A small toucan. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| tone | 1. The normal degree of vigour and tension, in muscle, the resistance to passive elongation or stretch, tonus. 2. A particular quality of sound or of voice. 3. To make permanent or to change, the colour of silver stain by chemical treatment, usually with a heavy metal. Origin: Gr. Tonos, L. Tonus (18 Nov 1997) |
| tone colour | The distinguishing quality of a sound, by which one may determine its source. Synonym: tone colour. Origin: Fr. (05 Mar 2000) |
| tone decay test | The sounding of a continuous tone at threshold for 1 min; if the intensity must be increased by more than 5 dB for continued perception, it may be a sign of retrocochlear damage. (05 Mar 2000) |
| toner | A solution used in toning. (05 Mar 2000) |
| tonga | <medicine> A drug useful in neuralgia, derived from a Fijian plant supposed to be of the aroid genus Epipremnum. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| tongue | 1. <anatomy> An organ situated in the floor of the mouth of most vertebrates and connected with the hyoid arch. The tongue is usually muscular, mobile, and free at one extremity, and in man other mammals is the principal organ of taste, aids in the prehension of food, in swallowing, and in modifying the voice as in speech. "To make his English sweet upon his tongue." (Chaucer) 2. The power of articulate utterance; speech. "Parrots imitating human tongue." (Dryden) 3. Discourse; fluency of speech or expression. "Much tongue and much judgment seldom go together." (L. Estrange) 4. Honorable discourse; eulogy. "She was born noble; let that title find her a private grave, but neither tongue nor honor." (Beau. & Fl) 5. A language; the whole sum of words used by a particular nation; as, the English tongue. "Whose tongue thou shalt not understand." (Deut. Xxviii. 49) "To speak all tongues." (Milton) 6. Speech; words or declarations only; opposed to thoughts or actions. "My little children, let us love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth." (1 John III. 18) 7. A people having a distinct language. "A will gather all nations and tongues." (Isa. Lxvi. 18) 8. <zoology> The lingual ribbon, or odontophore, of a mollusk. The proboscis of a moth or a butterfly. The lingua of an insect. 9. <zoology> Any small sole. 10. That which is considered as resembing an animal's tongue, in position or form. Specifically: A projection, or slender appendage or fixture; as, the tongue of a buckle, or of a balance. A projection on the side, as of a board, which fits into a groove. A point, or long, narrow strip of land, projecting from the mainland into a sea or a lake. The pole of a vehicle; especially, the pole of an ox cart, to the end of which the oxen are yoked. The clapper of a bell. A sort piece of rope spliced into the upper part of standing backstays, etc.; also. The upper main piece of a mast composed of several pieces. Same as Reed. To hold the tongue, to be silent. <anatomy> Tongue bone, the hyoid bone. Tongue grafting. See Grafting. Synonym: Language, speech, expression. See Language. Origin: OE. Tunge, tonge, AS. Tunge; akin to OFries. Tunge, D. Tong, OS. Tunga, G. Zunge, OHG. Zunga, Icel. & Sw. Tunga, Dan tunge, Goth. Tug, OL. Dingua, L. Lingua. 243 Cf.Language, Lingo. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| tongue bone | <anatomy> A U-shaped bone lying between the mandible and the larynx, suspended from the styloid processes by slender stylohyoid ligaments. See: hyoid apparatus. Synonym: os hyoideum, lingual bone, tongue bone. (05 Mar 2000) |
| tongue crib | An appliance used to control visceral (infantile) swallowing and tongue thrusting and to encourage the mature or somatic tongue posture and function. (05 Mar 2000) |
| tongue depressor | An instrument with a broad flat extremity used for pressing down the tongue to facilitate examination of the oral cavity and pharynx. (05 Mar 2000) |
| tongue flap | A flap derived from the tongue; used to close a defect in an adjacent part, such as the lip or palate. Synonym: lingual flap. (05 Mar 2000) |
| tongue habits | Acquired responses regularly manifested by tongue movement or positioning. (12 Dec 1998) |
| green ton | 2,000 pounds of undried biomass material. Moisture content must be specified if green tons are used as a measure of fuel energy. (05 Dec 1998) |
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| metric ton | (or tonne) 1000 kilograms. 1 metric ton = 2,204.62 lb = 1.023 short tons. (05 Dec 1998) |
| short ton | 2000 pounds. A ton, as commonly used in the U.S. And Canada. (05 Dec 1998) |
| dry ton | 2,000 pounds of material dried to a constant weight. (05 Dec 1998) |
| oven dry ton | An amount of wood that weighs 2,000 pounds at zero percent moisture content. (05 Dec 1998) |
| long ton | (shipping ton) 2,240 pounds. Commonly used in Great Britain. (05 Dec 1998) |