Thickbill Thick"bill` noun The bullfinch. [ Prov. Eng.]

Thicken Thick"en transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Thickened ; present participle & verbal noun Thickening .] To make thick (in any sense of the word). Specifically: --

(a) To render dense; to inspissate; as, to thicken paint.

(b) To make close; to fill up interstices in; as, to thicken cloth; to thicken ranks of trees or men.

(c) To strengthen; to confirm. [ Obsolete]

And this may to thicken other proofs.

Shak.

(d) To make more frequent; as, to thicken blows.

Thicken Thick"en intransitive verb To become thick. "Thy luster thickens when he shines by." Shak.

The press of people thickens to the court.

Dryden.

The combat thickens , like the storm that flies.

Dryden.

Thickening Thick"en·ing noun Something put into a liquid or mass to make it thicker.

Thicket Thick"et noun [ Anglo-Saxon þiccet . See Thick , adjective ] A wood or a collection of trees, shrubs, etc., closely set; as, a ram caught in a thicket . Gen. xxii. 13.

Thickhead Thick"head` noun 1. A thick-headed or stupid person. [ Colloq.]

2. (Zoology) Any one of several species of Australian singing birds of the genus Pachycephala . The males of some of the species are bright-colored. Some of the species are popularly called thrushes .

Thickish Thick"ish adjective Somewhat thick.

Thickly Thick"ly adverb In a thick manner; deeply; closely.

Thickness Thick"ness noun [ Anglo-Saxon ...icnes .] The quality or state of being thick (in any of the senses of the adjective).

Thickset Thick"set` adjective 1. Close planted; as, a thickset wood; a thickset hedge. Dryden.

2. Having a short, thick body; stout.

Thickset Thick"set` noun 1. A close or thick hedge.

2. A stout, twilled cotton cloth; a fustian corduroy, or velveteen. McElrath.

Thickskin Thick"skin` noun A coarse, gross person; a person void of sensibility or sinsitiveness; a dullard.

Thickskull Thick"skull` noun A dullard, or dull person; a blockhead; a numskull. Entick.

Thider Thid"er adverb Thither. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Thiderward Thid"er·ward adverb Thitherward. [ Obsolete]

Thief Thief (thēf) noun ; plural Thieves (thēvz). [ Middle English thef , theef , Anglo-Saxon þeóf ; akin to OFries. thiaf , Old Saxon theof , thiof , Dutch dief , German dieb , Old High German diob , Icelandic þjōfr , Swedish tjuf , Danish tyv , Goth. þiufs , þiubs , and perhaps to Lithuanian tupeti to squat or crouch down. Confer Theft .] 1. One who steals; one who commits theft or larceny. See Theft .

There came a privy thief , men clepeth death.

Chaucer.

Where thieves break through and steal.

Matt. vi. 19.

2. A waster in the snuff of a candle. Bp. Hall.

Thief catcher . Same as Thief taker . -- Thief leader , one who leads or takes away a thief. L'Estrange. -- Thief taker , one whose business is to find and capture thieves and bring them to justice. -- Thief tube , a tube for withdrawing a sample of a liquid from a cask. -- Thieves' vinegar , a kind of aromatic vinegar for the sick room, taking its name from the story that thieves, by using it, were enabled to plunder, with impunity to health, in the great plague at London. [ Eng.]

Syn. -- Robber; pilferer. -- Thief , Robber . A thief takes our property by stealth; a robber attacks us openly, and strips us by main force.

Take heed, have open eye, for thieves do foot by night.

Shak.

Some roving robber calling to his fellows.

Milton.

Thiefly Thief"ly adjective & adverb Like a thief; thievish; thievishly. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Thiënone Thi"ë·none noun [ Thiën yl + ket one .] (Chemistry) A ketone derivative of thiophene obtained as a white crystalline substance, (C ₄ H ₃ S) ₂ .CO, by the action of aluminium chloride and carbonyl chloride on thiophene.

Thiënyl Thi"ë·nyl noun [ Thi oph ene + -yl .] (Chemistry) The hypothetical radical C ₄ H ₃ S, regarded as the essential residue of thiophene and certain of its derivatives.

Thieve Thieve transitive verb & i. [ imperfect & past participle Thieved ; present participle & verbal noun Thieving .] [ Anglo-Saxon ge þeófian .] To practice theft; to steal.

Thievery Thiev"er·y noun 1. The practice of stealing; theft; thievishness.

Among the Spartans, thievery was a practice morally good and honest.

South.

2. That which is stolen. [ Obsolete] Shak.

Thievish Thiev"ish adjective 1. Given to stealing; addicted to theft; as, a thievish boy, a thievish magpie.

2. Like a thief; acting by stealth; sly; secret.

Time's thievish progress to eternity.

Shak.

3. Partaking of the nature of theft; accomplished by stealing; dishonest; as, a thievish practice.

Or with a base and biosterous sword enforce
A thievish living on the common road.

Shak.

-- Thiev"ish*ly , adverb -- Thiev"ish*ness , noun

Thigh Thigh (thī) noun [ Middle English thi , þih , þeh , Anglo-Saxon þeóh ; akin to OFries. thiach , Dutch dij , dije , Old High German dioh , thioh , Icelandic þjō thigh, rump, and probably to Lithuanian taukas fat of animals, tukti to become fat, Russian tuke fat of animals. √56.] 1. (Anat.) The proximal segment of the hind limb between the knee and the trunk. See Femur .

2. (Zoology) The coxa, or femur, of an insect.

Thigh bone (Anat.) , the femur.

Thigmotactic Thig`mo·tac"tic adjective (Physiol.) Of or pertaining to thigmotaxis.

Thigmotaxis Thig`mo·tax"is noun [ New Latin , from Greek ... touch + ... an arranging.] (Physiol.) The property possessed by living protoplasm of contracting, and thus moving, when touched by a solid or fluid substance.

» When the movement is away from the touching body, it is negative thigmotaxis ; when towards it, positive thigmotaxis .

Thilk Thilk pron. [ Confer Ilk same.] That same; this; that. [ Obsolete] "I love thilk lass." Spenser.

Thou spake right now of thilke traitor death.

Chaucer.

Thill Thill noun [ Middle English thille , Anglo-Saxon ...ille a board, plank, beam, thill; akin to ...el a plank, Dutch deel a plank, floor, German diele , Old High German dili , dilla , Icelandic ...ilja a plank, planking, a thwart, ...ili a wainscot, plank; confer Sanskrit tala a level surface. √236. Confer Fill a thill, Deal a plank.] 1. One of the two long pieces of wood, extending before a vehicle, between which a horse is hitched; a shaft.

2. (Mining) The floor of a coal mine. Raymond.

Thill coupling , a device for connecting the thill of a vehicle to the axle.

Thiller Thill"er noun The horse which goes between the thills, or shafts, and supports them; also, the last horse in a team; -- called also thill horse .

Thimble Thim"ble noun [ Middle English thimbil , Anglo-Saxon ......mel , from ......ma a thumb. √56. See Thumb .] 1. A kind of cap or cover, or sometimes a broad ring, for the end of the finger, used in sewing to protect the finger when pushing the needle through the material. It is usually made of metal, and has upon the outer surface numerous small pits to catch the head of the needle.

2. (Mech.) Any thimble-shaped appendage or fixure. Specifically: -- (a) A tubular piece, generally a strut, through which a bolt or pin passes. (b) A fixed or movable ring, tube, or lining placed in a hole. (c) A tubular cone for expanding a flue; -- called ferrule in England.

3. (Nautical) A ring of thin metal formed with a grooved circumference so as to fit within an eye-spice, or the like, and protect it from chafing.

Thimbleberry Thim"ble·ber`ry noun (Botany) A kind of black raspberry ( Rubus occidentalis ), common in America.

Thimbleeye Thim"ble·eye` noun (Zoology) The chub mackerel. See under Chub .

Thimbleful Thim"ble·ful noun ; plural Thimblefuls As much as a thimble will hold; a very small quantity.

For a thimbleful of golf, a thimbleful of love.

Dryden.

Thimblerig Thim"ble·rig` noun A sleight-of-hand trick played with three small cups, shaped like thimbles, and a small ball or little pea.

Thimblerig Thim"ble·rig` transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Thimblerigged ; present participle & verbal noun Thimblerigging .] To swindle by means of small cups or thimbles, and a pea or small ball placed under one of them and quickly shifted to another, the victim laying a wager that he knows under which cup it is; hence, to cheat by any trick.

Thimblerigger Thim"ble·rig`ger noun One who cheats by thimblerigging, or tricks of legerdemain.

Thimbleweed Thim"ble·weed` noun (Botany) Any plant of the composite genus Rudbeckia , coarse herbs somewhat resembling the sunflower; -- so called from their conical receptacles.

Thin Thin adjective [ Compar. Thiner ; superl. Thinest .] [ Middle English thinne , thenne , thunne , Anglo-Saxon þynne ; akin to Dutch dun , German dünn , Old High German dunni , Icelandic þunnr , Swedish tunn , Danish tynd , Gael. & Ir. tana , W. teneu , Latin tenuis , Greek ... (in comp.) stretched out, ... stretched, stretched out, long, Sanskrit tanu thin, slender; also to Anglo-Saxon ...enian to extend, German dehnen , Icelandic ...enja , Goth. ...anjan (in comp.), Latin tendere to stretch, tenere to hold, Greek ... to stretch, Sanskrit tan . √51 & 237. Confer Attenuate , Dance , Tempt , Tenable , Tend to move, Tenous , Thunder , Tone .] 1. Having little thickness or extent from one surface to its opposite; as, a thin plate of metal; thin paper; a thin board; a thin covering.

2. Rare; not dense or thick; -- applied to fluids or soft mixtures; as, thin blood; thin broth; thin air. Shak.

In the day, when the air is more thin .

Bacon.

Satan, bowing low
His gray dissimulation, disappeared,
Into thin air diffused.

Milton.

3. Not close; not crowded; not filling the space; not having the individuals of which the thing is composed in a close or compact state; hence, not abundant; as, the trees of a forest are thin ; the corn or grass is thin .

Ferrara is very large, but extremely thin of people.

Addison.

4. Not full or well grown; wanting in plumpness.

Seven thin ears . . . blasted with the east wind.

Gen. xli. 6.

5. Not stout; slim; slender; lean; gaunt; as, a person becomes thin by disease.

6. Wanting in body or volume; small; feeble; not full.

Thin , hollow sounds, and lamentable screams.

Dryden.

7. Slight; small; slender; flimsy; wanting substance or depth or force; superficial; inadequate; not sufficient for a covering; as, a thin disguise.

My tale is done, for my wit is but thin .

Chaucer.

» Thin is used in the formation of compounds which are mostly self-explaining; as, thin -faced, thin -lipped, thin -peopled, thin -shelled, and the like.

Thin section . See under Section .

Thin Thin adverb Not thickly or closely; in a seattered state; as, seed sown thin .

Spain is thin sown of people.

Bacon.

Thin Thin transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Thinned ; present participle & verbal noun Thinning .] [ Confer Anglo-Saxon ge þynnian .] To make thin (in any of the senses of the adjective).

Thin Thin intransitive verb To grow or become thin; -- used with some adverbs, as out , away , etc.; as, geological strata thin out, i. e. , gradually diminish in thickness until they disappear.

Thin-skinned Thin"-skinned` adjective Having a thin skin; hence, sensitive; irritable.

Thine Thine (&thlig;īn) pron. & adjective [ Middle English thin , Anglo-Saxon ðīn , originally gen. of ðu , ðū , thou; akin to German dein thine, Icelandic þinn , possessive pron., þīn , gen. of þū thou, Goth. þeins , possessive pron., þeina , gen. of þu thou. See Thou , and confer Thy .] A form of the possessive case of the pronoun thou , now superseded in common discourse by your , the possessive of you , but maintaining a place in solemn discourse, in poetry, and in the usual language of the Friends, or Quakers.

» In the old style, thine was commonly shortened to thi ( thy ) when used attributively before words beginning with a consonant; now, thy is used also before vowels. Thine is often used absolutely, the thing possessed being understood.

Thing Thing (thĭng) noun [ Anglo-Saxon þing a thing, cause, assembly, judicial assembly; akin to þingan to negotiate, þingian to reconcile, conciliate, Dutch ding a thing, Old Saxon thing thing, assembly, judicial assembly, German ding a thing, formerly also, an assembly, court, Icelandic þing a thing, assembly, court, Swedish & Danish ting ; perhaps originally used of the transaction of or before a popular assembly, or the time appointed for such an assembly; confer German dingen to bargain, hire, Middle High German dingen to hold court, speak before a court, negotiate, Goth. þeihs time, perhaps akin to Latin tempus time. Confer Hustings , and Temporal of time.] 1. Whatever exists, or is conceived to exist, as a separate entity, whether animate or inanimate; any separable or distinguishable object of thought.

God made . . . every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind.

Gen. i. 25.

He sent after this manner; ten asses laden with the good things of Egypt.

Gen. xiv. 23.

A thing of beauty is a joy forever.

Keats.

2. An inanimate object, in distinction from a living being; any lifeless material.

Ye meads and groves, unconscious things !

Cowper.

3. A transaction or occurrence; an event; a deed.

[ And Jacob said] All these things are against me.

Gen. xlii. 36.

Which if ye tell me, I in like wise will tell you by what authority I do these things .

Matt. xxi. 24.

4. A portion or part; something.

Wicked men who understand any thing of wisdom.

Tillotson.

5. A diminutive or slighted object; any object viewed as merely existing; -- often used in pity or contempt.

See, sons, what things you are!

Shak.

The poor thing sighed, and . . . turned from me.

Addison.

I'll be this abject thing no more.

Granville.

I have a thing in prose.

Swift.

6. plural Clothes; furniture; appurtenances; luggage; as, to pack or store one's things . [ Colloq.]

» Formerly, the singular was sometimes used in a plural or collective sense.

And them she gave her moebles and her thing .

Chaucer.

» Thing was used in a very general sense in Old English, and is still heard colloquially where some more definite term would be used in careful composition.

In the garden [ he] walketh to and fro,
And hath his things [ i. e. , prayers, devotions] said full courteously.

Chaucer.

Hearkening his minstrels their things play.

Chaucer.

7. (Law) Whatever may be possessed or owned; a property; -- distinguished from person .

8. [ In this sense pronounced tĭng.] In Scandinavian countries, a legislative or judicial assembly. Longfellow.

Things personal . (Law) Same as Personal property , under Personal . -- Things real . Same as Real property , under Real .

Thing Thing Ting noun [ Danish thing , ting , Norw. ting , or Swedish ting .] In Scandinavian countries, a legislative or judicial assembly; -- used, esp. in composition, in titles of such bodies. See Legislature , Norway .

Think Think transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Thought ; present participle & verbal noun Thinking .] [ Middle English thinken , properly, to seem, from Anglo-Saxon þyncean (cf. Methinks ), but confounded with Middle English thenken to think, from Anglo-Saxon þencean (imp. þōhte ); akin to Dutch denken , dunken , Old Saxon thenkian , thunkian , German denken , dünken , Icelandic þekkja to perceive, to know, þykkja to seem, Goth. þagkjan , þaggkjan , to think, þygkjan to think, to seem, OL. tongere to know. Confer Thank , Thought .] 1. To seem or appear; - - used chiefly in the expressions methinketh or methinks , and methought .

» These are genuine Anglo-Saxon expressions, equivalent to it seems to me , it seemed to me . In these expressions me is in the dative case.

2. To employ any of the intellectual powers except that of simple perception through the senses; to exercise the higher intellectual faculties.

For that I am
I know, because I think .

Dryden.

3. Specifically: -- (a) To call anything to mind; to remember; as, I would have sent the books, but I did not think of it.

Well thought upon; I have it here.

Shak.

(b) To reflect upon any subject; to muse; to meditate; to ponder; to consider; to deliberate.

And when he thought thereon, he wept.

Mark xiv. 72.

He thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?

Luke xii. 17.

(c) To form an opinion by reasoning; to judge; to conclude; to believe; as, I think it will rain to-morrow.

Let them marry to whom they think best.

Num. xxxvi. 6.

(d) To purpose; to intend; to design; to mean.

I thought to promote thee unto great honor.

Num. xxiv. 11.

Thou thought'st to help me.

Shak.

(e) To presume; to venture.

Think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father.

Matt. iii. 9.

» To think , in a philosophical use as yet somewhat limited, designates the higher intellectual acts, the acts preëminently rational; to judge; to compare; to reason. Thinking is employed by Hamilton as "comprehending all our collective energies." It is defined by Mansel as "the act of knowing or judging by means of concepts,"by Lotze as "the reaction of the mind on the material supplied by external influences." See Thought .

To think better of . See under Better . -- To think much of , or To think well of , to hold in esteem; to esteem highly.

Syn. -- To expect; guess; cogitate; reflect; ponder; contemplate; meditate; muse; imagine; suppose; believe. See Expect , Guess .

Think Think transitive verb 1. To conceive; to imagine.

Charity . . . thinketh no evil.

1 Cor. xiii. 4,5.

2. To plan or design; to plot; to compass. [ Obsolete]

So little womanhood
And natural goodness, as to think the death
Of her own son.

Beau. & Fl.

3. To believe; to consider; to esteem.

Nor think superfluous other's aid.

Milton.

To think much , to esteem a great matter; to grudge. [ Obsolete] "[ He] thought not much to clothe his enemies." Milton. -- To think scorn . (a) To disdain. [ Obsolete] "He thought scorn to lay hands on Mordecai alone." Esther iii. 6. (b) To feel indignation. [ Obsolete]

Think Think noun Act of thinking; a thought. [ Obsolete or Colloq.]

Thinkable Think"a·ble adjective Capable of being thought or conceived; cogitable. Sir W. Hamilton.

Thinker Think"er noun One who thinks; especially and chiefly, one who thinks in a particular manner; as, a close thinker ; a deep thinker ; a coherent thinker .

Thinking Think"ing adjective Having the faculty of thought; cogitative; capable of a regular train of ideas; as, man is a thinking being. -- Think"ing*ly , adverb

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
You are here: Webster > Letter T > Page 44 of 124.
« Previous ¦36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 ¦ Next »