Emily Dickinson Lexicon

TOUR, n. [Fr. tour, a turn; D. toer; Heb. תור, Ar. قَارَ taura, to go round. Class Dr, No. 38.]

1. Literally, a going round; hence, a journey in a circuit; as, the tour of Europe; the tour of France or England.
2. A turn; a revolution; as, the tours of the heavenly bodies. [Not now in use.]
3. A turn; as, a tour of duty; a military use of the word.
4. A tress or circular border of hair on the head, worn sometimes by both sexes. Cyc.
5. A tower. [Not in use.]

TOUR-IST, n.

One who makes a tour, or performs a journey in a circuit.

TOUR'MA-LIN, or TUR'MA-LIN, n. [probably a corruption of tournamal, a name given to this stone in Ceylon.]

In mineralogy, a silicious stone, sometimes used as a gem by jewelers, remarkable for exhibiting electricity by heat or friction. It occurs in long prisms deeply striated. Its fracture is conchoidal, and its internal luster vitreous. Cyc. Turmalin is considered as a variety of shorl. Cleaveland.

TOURN, n.

The sherif's turn or court; also, a spinning wheel. [Not American.]

TOURN-A-MENT, n. [turn'ament; from Fr. tourner, to turn.]

A martial sport or exercise formerly performed by cavaliers to show their address and bravery. These exercises were performed on horseback, and were accompanied with tilting, or attacks with blunted lances and swords. Bacon.

TOURN-E-QUET, n. [turn'eket; Fr.]

A surgical instrument or bandage which is straitened or relaxed with a screw, and used to check hemorrhages. Cyc.

TOURN-EY, n. [turn'ey.]

A tournament. [supra.]

TOURN-EY, v.i. [turn'ey.]

To tilt; to perform tournaments. Spenser.

TOUSE, v.t. [touz; G. zausen, to pull.]

To pull; to haul; to tear. [Hence Towser.] As a bear whom angry curs have tous'd. Spenser.

TOUS'EL, v.t. [s as z.]

The same as touse; to put into disorder; to tumble; to tangle. [Used by the common people of New England.]

TOW, n. [Sax. tow; Fr. etoupe; L. stupa; It. stoppa; Sp. estopa. It coincides with stuff.]

The coarse and broken part of flax or hemp, separated from the finer part by the hatchel or swingle.

TOW, v.t. [Sax. teogan, teon; Fr. touer; G. ziehen, to pull; zug, a pulling, a tug; L. duco. See Class Dg, No. 62, 64.]

To drag, as a boat or ship, through the water by means of a rope. Towing is performed by another boat or ship, or by men on shore, or by horses. Boats on canals are usually towed by horses.

TOW-AGE, n. [from tow, the verb.]

1. The act of towing.
2. The price paid for towing. Walsh.

TO'WARD, a.

Ready to do or learn; not froward; apt; as, a toward youth.

TO'WARD, adv.

Near; at hand; in a state of preparation.

TO'WARD, prep. [Sax. toward; to and ward, weard; L. versus, verto.]

1. In the direction to. He set his face toward the wilderness. Numb. xxiv.
2. With direction to, in a moral sense; with respect to; regarding. His eye shall be evil toward his brother. Deut. xxviii. Herein do I exercise myself to have always a conscience void of offense toward God and toward men. Acts xxiv. Hearing of thy love and faith which thou hast toward the Lord Jesus Christ, and toward all saints. Philemon 5.
3. With ideal tendency to. This was the first alarm England received toward any trouble. Clarendon.
4. Nearly. I am toward nine years older since I left you. Swift.

TO'WARD-LI-NESS, n. [from towardly.]

Readiness to do or learn; aptness; docility. The beauty and towardliness of these children moved her brethren to envy. Ralegh.

TO'WARD-LY, a.

Ready to do or learn; apt; docile; tractable; compliant with duty. Bacon.

TO'WARD-NESS, n.

Docility; towardliness. South.

TOW-BOAT, n.

A boat which is towed, or drawn by a tow-line.

TOW'EL, n. [Fr. touaille; Gaelic, tubailt; It. tovaglia; Port. toalha; Arm. touailhon; Sp. toballa, tobaja, toaja, or toalla. In Italian the word signifies a table cloth.]

A cloth used for wiping the hands, and for other things.

TOW'EL-ING, n.

Cloth for towels.

TOW'ER, n. [Sax. tor, tirre; Ir. tor; Fr. and Arm. tour; Sp. It. and Port. torre; W. twr, a heap or pile; Corn. id.; G. thurm; D. torm; L. turris; Gr. τυρσις; Heb. טורה. Class Dr, No. 24.]

1. A building, either round or square, raised to a considerable elevation, and consisting of several stories. When towers are erected with other buildings, as they usually are, they rise above the main edifice. They are generally flat on the top, and thus differ from steeples or spires. Before the invention of guns, places were fortified with towers, and attacked with movable towers mounted on wheels, which placed the besiegers on a level with the walls. Cyc.
2. A citadel; a fortress. Ps. lxi.
3. A high head dress. Hudibras.
4. High flight; elevation. Johnson. Tower bastion, in fortification, a small tower in the form of a bastion, with rooms or cells underneath for men and guns. Cyc. Tower of London, a citadel containing an arsenal. It is also a palace where the kings of England have sometimes lodged. Cyc.

TOW'ER, v.i.

To rise and fly high; to soar; to be lofty. Sublime thoughts, which tower above the clouds. Locke.

TOW'ER-ED, a.

Adorned or defended by towers. Milton.