| taille | 1. A tally; an account scored on a piece of wood. "Whether that he paid or took by taille." (Chaucer) 2. Any imposition levied by the king, or any other lord, upon his subjects. "The taille, as it still subsists in France, may serve as an example of those ancient tallages. It was a tax upon the profits of the farmer, which they estimate by the stock that he has upon the farm." (A. Smith) 3. The French name for the tenor voice or part; also, for the tenor viol or viola. Origin: F. See Tally, Tailor. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
|---|---|
| tailor | 1. One whose occupation is to cut out and make men's garments; also, one who cuts out and makes ladies' outer garments. "Well said, good woman's tailor . . . I would thou wert a man's tailor." (Shak) 2. <zoology> The mattowacca; called also tailor herring. The silversides. 3. <zoology> The goldfish. Salt-water tailor, any one of numerous species of small Asiatic and East Indian singing birds belonging to Orthotomus, Prinia, and allied genera. They are noted for the skill with which they sew leaves together to form nests. The common Indian species are O. Longicauda, which has the back, scapulars, and upper tail coverts yellowish green, and the under parts white; and the golden-headed tailor bird (O. Coronatus), which has the top of the head golden yellow and the back and wings pale olive-green. Origin: OF. Tailleor, F. Tailleur, fr. OF. Taillier, F. Tailler to cut, fr. L. Talea a rod, stick, a cutting, layer for planting. Cf. Detail, Entail, Retail, Tally. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| tailor's cramp | An occupational dystonia affecting the forearms and hands of tailors. Synonym: tailor's spasm. (05 Mar 2000) |
| tailor's muscle | <anatomy, muscle> Origin, anterior superior spine of ilium; insertion, medial border of tuberosity of tibia; action, flexes thigh and leg, rotates leg medially and thigh laterally; nerve supply, femoral. Synonym: musculus sartorius, tailor's muscle. (05 Mar 2000) |
| tailor's spasm | An occupational dystonia affecting the forearms and hands of tailors. Synonym: tailor's spasm. (05 Mar 2000) |
| tailoress | A female tailor. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| tailrace | 1. See Race. 2. <chemical> The channel in which tailings, suspended in water, are conducted away. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| taint | 1. To imbue or impregnate with something extraneous, especially with something odious, noxious, or poisonous; hence, to corrupt; to infect; to poison; as, putrid substance taint the air. 2. To stain; to sully; to tarnish. "His unkindness may defeat my life, But never taint my love." (Shak) Synonym: To contaminate, defile, pollute, corrupt, infect, disease, vitiate, poison. Origin: F. Teint, p.p. Of teindre to dye, tinge, fr. L. Tingere, tinctum. See Tinge, and cf. Tint. 1. Tincture; hue; colour; tinge. 2. Infection; corruption; deprivation. "He had inherited from his parents a scrofulous taint, which it was beyond the power of medicine to remove." (Macaulay) 3. A blemish on reputation; stain; spot; disgrace. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| taintworm | <zoology> A destructive parasitic worm or insect larva. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| taira | <zoology> Same as Tayra. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| tait | <zoology> A small nocturnal and arboreal Australian marsupial (Tarsipes rostratus) about the size of a mouse. It has a long muzzle, a long tongue, and very few teeth, and feeds upon honey and insects. Synonym: noolbenger. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| Tait's law | An obsolete dictum that an exploratory laparotomy should be performed in every case of obscure pelvic or abdominal disease that threatens health or life. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Tait, Robert | <person> English gynecologist, 1845-1899. See: Tait's law. (05 Mar 2000) |
| tajassu | <zoology> The common, or collared, peccary. Origin: Pg. Tajaco, from Braz. Tayaco a hog or swine. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| Taka-diastase | <enzyme> An enzyme that catalyses the endohydrolysis of 1,4-alpha-glycosidic linkages in starch, glycogen, and related polysaccharides and oligosaccharides containing 3 or more 1,4-alpha-linked d-glucose units. Pharmacological action: anti-inflammatory agents. Chemical name: 1,4-alpha-D-Glucan glucanohydrolase Registry number: EC 3.2.1.1 (12 Dec 1998) |