Touraco Tou·ra"co noun (Zoology) Same as Turacou .
Tourbillion Tour·bil"lion noun [ French
torbillion a whirlwind, tourbillion, from Latin
turbo , -
inis , a whirl, whirlwind.]
An ornamental firework which turns round, when in the air, so as to form a scroll of fire. G. Francis.
Touring car Tour"ing car An automobile designed for touring; specif., a roomy car, not a limousine, for five or more passengers.
Tourist Tour"ist noun One who makes a tour, or performs a journey in a circuit.
Tourmaline Tour"ma·line noun [ French
tourmaline , confer Italian
turmalina ,
tormalina , New Latin
turmalina ,
turmalinus ; all from
tournamal , a name given to this stone in Ceylon.]
(Min.) A mineral occurring usually in three-sided or six-sided prisms terminated by rhombohedral or scalenohedral planes. Black tourmaline (schorl) is the most common variety, but there are also other varieties, as the blue (indicolite), red (rubellite), also green, brown, and white. The red and green varieties when transparent are valued as jewels. [ Written also
turmaline .] » Crystals of tourmaline when heated exhibit electric polarity (see
Pyroelectric ,
noun ). Tourmaline is also used in the form of a polariscope called
tourmaline tongs .
Tourn Tourn noun [ See
Turn ]
1. A spinning wheel. [ Prov. Eng.]
2. (O.Eng.Law) The sheriff's turn, or court.
Tournament Tour"na·ment noun [ Middle English
turnement ,
tornement , Old French
torneiement ,
tornoiement , French
tournoiement a turning or wheeling round. See
Tourney .]
1. A mock fight, or warlike game, formerly in great favor, in which a number of combatants were engaged, as an exhibition of their address and bravery; hence, figuratively, a real battle. "In battle and in
tourneyment ."
Chaucer. With cruel tournament the squadrons join.
Milton. » It different from the
joust , which was a trial of skill between one man and another.
2. Any contest of skill in which there are many contestents for championship; as, a chess tournament .
Tournery Tourn"er·y noun Work turned on a lathe; turnery. [ Obsolete] See
Turnery .
Evelyn.
Tourney Tour"ney noun [ Old French
tornei ,
tornoi , French
tournoi , from Old French
torneier ,
tornoier ,
tournoier , to tit, to tourney, French
tournoyer to turn round and round. See
Turn ,
transitive verb ]
A tournament. Bacon. At tilt or tourney or like warlike game.
Spenser. We hold a tourney here to-morrow morn,
And there is scantly time for half the work.
Tennyson.
Tourney Tour"ney intransitive verb [ Confer OF.
torneier . See
Tourney ,
noun ]
To perform in tournaments; to tilt. Well could he tourney , and in lists debate.
Spenser.
Tourniquet Tour"ni·quet noun [ French, from
tourner to turn.]
(Surg.) An instrument for arresting hemorrhage. It consists essentially of a pad or compress upon which pressure is made by a band which is tightened by a screw or other means.
Tournois Tour`nois" noun [ French, belonging to
Tours in France.]
A former French money of account worth 20 sous, or a franc. It was thus called in distinction from the Paris livre , which contained 25 sous.
Tournure Tour·nure" noun [ French, from
tourner to turn.]
1. Turn; contour; figure. 2. Any device used by women to expand the skirt of a dress below the waist; a bustle.
Tous-les-mois Tous`-les`-mois" noun [ French, all the months,
i.e. , every month.]
A kind of starch with very large, oval, flattened grains, often sold as arrowroot, and extensively used for adulterating cocoa. It is made from the rootstocks of a species of Canna , probably C. edulis , the tubers of which are edible every month in the year.
Touse Touse noun A pulling; a disturbance. [ Prov. Eng.]
Halliwell.
Touse, Touze Touse, Touze transitive verb & i. [
imperfect & past participle Toused ;
present participle & verbal noun Tousing .] [ Middle English
tosen √64. See
tease , and confer
Tose ,
Toze . ]
To pull; to haul; to tear; to worry. [ Prov. Eng.]
Shak. As a bear, whom angry curs have touzed .
Spenser.
Tousel Tous"el transitive verb Same as Tousle . [ Colloq.]
Touser Tous"er noun One who touses. [ Prov. Eng.]
Tousle Tou"sle transitive verb [ Freq. of
touse . Confer
Tossle .]
To put into disorder; to tumble; to touse. [ Colloq.]
Tousy Tou"sy adjective [ See
Touse ,
noun & v. ]
Tousled; tangled; rough; shaggy. [ Colloq.]
Tout Tout (tōt)
intransitive verb [ See 1st
Toot .]
1. To act as a tout. See 2d Tout . [ Cant. Eng.]
2. To ply or seek for customers. [ Prov. Eng.]
Tout Tout noun One who secretly watches race horses which are in course of training, to get information about their capabilities, for use in betting. [ Cant. Eng.]
Tout Tout intransitive verb [ See 3d
Toot . ]
To toot a horn.
Tout Tout noun The anus. [ Obsolete]
Chaucer.
Tout Tout noun [ Prob. from French
tout all.]
In the game of solo, a proposal to win all eight tricks.
Tout Tout intransitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Touted ;
present participle & verbal noun Touting .]
1. To look narrowly; spy. [ Scot. & Dial. Eng.]
2. (Horse Racing) (a) To spy out the movements of race horses at their trials, or to get by stealth or other improper means the secrets of the stable, for betting purposes. [ Cant, Eng.]
(b) To act as a tout; to tout, or give a tip on, a race horse. [ Cant, U. S.]
Tout Tout transitive verb (Horse Racing) (a) To spy out information about, as a racing stable or horse. [ Cant, Eng.]
(b) To give a tip on (a race horse) to a better with the expectation of sharing in the latter's winnings. [ Cant, U. S.]
Tout Tout noun 1. One who gives a tip on a race horses for an expected compensation, esp. in hopes of a share in any winnings; -- usually contemptuous. [ Cant, U. S.]
2. One who solicits custom, as a runner for a hotel, cab, gambling place. [ Colloq.]
3. A spy for a smuggler, thief, or the like. [ Colloq.]
Tout-ensemble Tout`-en`sem"ble noun [ French]
All together; hence, in costume, the fine arts, etc., the general effect of a work as a whole, without regard to the execution of the separate perts.
Touter Tout"er noun One who seeks customers, as for an inn, a public conveyance, shops, and the like: hence, an obtrusive candidate for office. [ Colloq.]
The prey of ring droppers, . . . duffers, touters , or any of those bloodless sharpers who are, perhaps, better known to the police.
Dickens.
Touze Touze v.t & i. See Touse . [ Prov. Eng.]
Tow Tow noun [ Middle English
tow , Anglo-Saxon
tow , akin to OD.
touw , Icelandic ... a tuft of wool for spinning; confer English
taw , v.t.]
The coarse and broken part of flax or hemp, separated from the finer part by the hatchel or swingle.
Tow Tow transitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Towed ;
present participle & verbal noun Towing .] [ Middle English
towen , to...en; akin to OFries.
toga to pull about, Old High German zogōn, Icelandic
toga , Anglo-Saxon
toh line a towline, and Anglo-Saxon teón to draw, past participle
getogen . See
Tug ]
To draw or pull through the water, as a vessel of any kind, by means of a rope.
Tow Tow noun [ Confer Icelandic
taug a rope, from the same root as English
tow ,
transitive verb ]
1. A rope by which anything is towed; a towline, or towrope. 2. The act of towing, or the state of being towed; --chiefly used in the phrase, to take in tow , that is to tow. 3. That which is towed, or drawn by a towline, as a barge, raft, collection of boats, ect.
Tow-head Tow"-head` noun 1. An urchin who has soft, whitish hair. [ Colloq.]
2. (Zoology) The hooded merganser. [ Local, U. S. ]
Tow-head Tow"-head` noun A low alluvial island or shoal in a river. [ Local, U. S.]
Towage Tow"age noun [ From
Tow ,
v. Confer French
touage .]
1. The act of towing. 2. The price paid for towing.
Towall Tow"all noun A towel. [ Obsolete]
Chaucer.
Toward To"ward adjective [ Anglo-Saxon .... See
Toward ,
preposition ]
1. Approaching; coming near. "His
toward peril."
Spenser. 2. Readly to do or learn; compliant with duty; not froward; apt; docile; tractable; as, a toward youth. 3. Ready to act; forward; bold; valiant. Why, that is spoken like a toward prince.
Shak.
Toward, Towards To"ward, To"wards preposition [ Anglo-Saxon ... impending, imminent, future, toward, ... towards. See
To , and -
ward ,
wards .]
1. In the direction of; to. He set his face toward the wilderness.
Num. xxiv. 1. The waves make towards \'b6 the pebbled shore.
Shak. 2. With direction to, in a moral sense; with respect or reference to; regarding; concerning. His eye shall be evil toward his brother.
Deut. xxviii. 54. Herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offense toward God, and toward men.
Acts xxiv. 16. 3. Tending to; in the direction of; in behalf of. This was the first alarm England received towards any trouble.
Clarendom. 4. Near; about; approaching to. I am toward nine years older since I left you.
Swift.
Toward, Towards To"ward, To"wards adverb Near; at hand; in state of preparation. Do you hear sught, sir, of a battle toward ?
Shak. We have a trifling foolish banquet Towards .
Shak.
Towardliness To"ward·li·ness noun The quality or state of being towardly; docility; tractableness. The beauty and towardliness of these children moved her brethren to envy.
Sir W. Raleigh.
Towardly To"ward·ly adjective Same as Toward , adjective , 2. He's towardly and will come on apace.
Dryden.
Towardness To"ward·ness noun Quality or state of being toward.
Towards To"wards preposition & adverb See Toward .
Towboat Tow"boat` noun 1. A vessel constructed for being towed, as a canal boat. 2. A steamer used for towing other vessels; a tug.
Towel Tow"el noun [ Middle English
towaille ,
towail , French
touaille , Late Latin
toacula , of Teutonic origin; confer Old High German
dwahila ,
swahilla , German
zwehle , from Old High German
dwahan to wash; akin to Dutch
dwaal a towel, Anglo-Saxon
þweán to wash, Old Saxon
thwahan , Icelandic
þvā , Swedish
två , Danish
toe , Goth.
þwahan . Confer
Doily .]
A cloth used for wiping, especially one used for drying anything wet, as the person after a bath. Towel gourd (Botany) ,
the fruit of the cucurbitaceous plant Luffa Ægyptiaca ; also, the plant itself. The fruit is very fibrous, and, when separated from its rind and seeds, is used as a sponge or towel. Called also Egyptian bath sponge , and dishcloth .
Towel Tow"el transitive verb To beat with a stick. [ Prov. Eng.]
Toweling Tow"el·ing noun Cloth for towels, especially such as is woven in long pieces to be cut at will, as distinguished from that woven in towel lengths with borders, etc. [ Written also
towelling .]
Tower Tow"er noun [ Middle English
tour ,
tor ,
tur , French
tour , Latin
turris ; akin to Greek ...; confer W.
twr a tower, Ir.
tor a castle, Gael.
torr a tower, castle. Confer
Tor ,
Turret .]
1. (Architecture) (a) A mass of building standing alone and insulated, usually higher than its diameter, but when of great size not always of that proportion. (b) A projection from a line of wall, as a fortification, for purposes of defense, as a flanker, either or the same height as the curtain wall or higher. (c) A structure appended to a larger edifice for a special purpose, as for a belfry, and then usually high in proportion to its width and to the height of the rest of the edifice; as, a church tower . 2. A citadel; a fortress; hence, a defense. Thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy.
Ps. lxi. 3. 3. A headdress of a high or towerlike form, fashionable about the end of the seventeenth century and until 1715; also, any high headdress. Lay trains of amorous intrigues
In towers , and curls, and periwigs.
Hudibras. 4. High flight; elevation. [ Obsolete]
Johnson. Gay Lussac's tower (Chemistry) ,
a large tower or chamber used in the sulphuric acid process, to absorb (by means of concentrated acid) the spent nitrous fumes that they may be returned to the Glover's tower to be reemployed. See Sulphuric acid , under Sulphuric , and Glover's tower , below. --
Glover's tower (Chemistry) ,
a large tower or chamber used in the manufacture of sulphuric acid, to condense the crude acid and to deliver concentrated acid charged with nitrous fumes. These fumes, as a catalytic, effect the conversion of sulphurous to sulphuric acid. See Sulphuric acid , under Sulphuric , and Gay Lussac's tower , above. --
Round tower .
See under Round , adjective --
Shot tower .
See under Shot . --
Tower bastion (Fort.) ,
a bastion of masonry, often with chambers beneath, built at an angle of the interior polygon of some works. --
Tower mustard (Botany) ,
the cruciferous plant Arabis perfoliata . --
Tower of London ,
a collection of buildings in the eastern part of London, formerly containing a state prison, and now used as an arsenal and repository of various objects of public interest.
Use the search box below if you want to search in Websters only, use the search box at the right to search all of Enyclo.
