Emily Dickinson Lexicon

TA-RAN'TU-LA, n. [See Tarentula, which is the most correct orthography.]

TAR'A-QUI-RA, n.

A species of American lizard. Cyc.

TAR-DA'TION, n. [L. tardo. See Tardy.]

The act of retarding or delaying. [Not used. We use for this, Retardation.]

TAR-DI-GRADE, or TAR-DI-GRA-DOUS, a. [L. tardigradus; tardus, slow, and gradus, step.]

Slow-paced; moving or stepping slowly. Brown.

TAR-DI-GRADE, n.

The tardigrades are a section of edentate mammals or quadrupeds, including the Bradypus or sloth.

TAR-DI-LY, adv. [from tardy.]

Slowly; with slow pace or motion. Shak.

TAR-DI-NESS, n. [from tardy.]

1. Slowness, or the slowness of motion or pace.
2. Unwillingness; reluctance manifested by slowness.
3. Lateness; as, the tardiness of witnesses or jurors in attendance; the tardiness of students in attending prayers or recitation.

TAR-DI-TY, n. [L. tarditas.]

Slowness; tardiness. [Not used.]

TAR'DO, n. [It.]

In music, denoting a slow movement.

TAR-DY, a. [Fr. tardif, Sp. and It. tardo, from L. tardus; from W. tariaw, to strike against, to stop, to stay, to tarry, whence target; tar, a shock; taran, that gives a shock, a clap of thunder; taranu, to thunder. We see the word is a derivative from a root signifying to strike, to clash, to dash against, hence to retard or stop.]

1. Slow; with a slow pace or motion. And check the tardy flight of time. Sandys.
2. Late; dilatory; not being in season. The tardy plants in our cold orchards plac'd. Waller. You may freely censure him for being tardy in his payments. Arbuthnot.
3. Slow; implying reluctance. Tardy to vengeance, and with mercy brave. Prior.
4. Unwary. [Not in use.] Hudibras.
5. Criminal. [Not in use.] Collier.

TAR'DY, v.i. [Fr. tarder.]

To delay. [Not in use.]

TAR-DY-GAIT-ED, a. [tardy and gait.]

Slow-paced; having a slow step or pace. The mellow horn / Chides the tardy-gaited morn. Clifton.

TARE, n.¹ [I know not the origin of this word. See the next word.]

1. A weed that grows among corn; alledged by modern naturalists to be the Lolium temulentum or Darnel. Locke.
2. Tare is the popular name of Vicia sativa, and also of most of the species of Ervum, both genera being leguminose plants.
3. In agriculture, a plant of the vetch kind, of which there are two sorts, the purple-flowered spring or summer tare, and the purple-flowered wild or winter tare. It is much cultivated in England for fodder. Cyc.

TARE, n.² [Fr. id.; It. and Sp. tara; D. tarra; It. tarare, to abate; Dan. tærer, to waste, Sw. tära, D. teeren, G. zehren.]

In commerce, deficiency in the weight or quantity of goods by reason of the weight of the cask, bag or other thing containing the commodity, and which is weighed with it; hence, the allowance or abatement of a certain weight or quantity from the weight or quantity of a commodity sold in a cask, chest, bag or the like, which the seller makes to the buyer on account of the weight of such cask, chest or bag; or the abatement may be on the price of the commodity sold. When the tare is deducted, the remainder is called the net or neat weight.

TARE, v. [old pret of Tear. We now use tore.]

TARE, v.t.

To ascertain or mark the amount of tare. Laws of Penn.

TAR-ED, pp.

Having the tare ascertained and marked.

TA-REN'TISM, or TA-RAN'TISM, n. [L. tarentismus, from tarentum.]

A fabulous disease, supposed to be produced by the bite of a certain spider, the Lycosa Tarentula, and considered to be incapable of cure except by protracted dancing to appropriate music. On some subjects the bite of the tarentula produces no effect; and on others it is about equal to the sting of a wasp.

TA-REN'TU-LA, or TA-RAN'TU-LA, n. [L. diminutive of Tarentum, now Taranto, in the kingdom of Naples.]

A citigrade pulmonary arachnid, the Lycosa Tarentula. In popular language it is called a spider. Its bite sometimes produces a trifling effect about equal to the sting of a wasp.

TARGE, n. [For Target, is obsolete. Spenser.]

TARG'ET, n. [Sax. targ, targa; Fr. targe; It. targa; W. targed, from taraw, to strike, whence tariad, a striking against or collision, a stopping, a staying, a tarrying; tariaw, to strike against, to stop, to tarry. We see that target is that which stops; hence, a defense; and from the root of tarry and tardy.]

1. A shield or buckler of a small kind, used as a defensive weapon in war.
2. A mark for the artillery to fire at in their practice.

TARG'ET-ED, a.

Furnished or armed with a target. Gauden.

TARG'ET-EER, n.

One armed with a target. Chapman.

TAR-GUM, n. [Ch. תרגום, targum, interpretation.]

A translation or paraphrase of the sacred Scriptures in the Chaldee language or dialect. Of these the Targum of Jonathan, and that of Onkelos, are held in most esteem by the Jews.

TAR-GUM-IST, n.

The writer of a Targum. Parkhurst.