%tatt%

n. [ Cf. F. nécessitation. ] The act of making necessary, or the state of being made necessary; compulsion. [ R. ] bp. Bramhall. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. & i. To make (anything) by tatting; to work at tatting; as, tatted edging. [ 1913 Webster ]

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‖n. [ Hind. &tsdot_;a&tsdot_;&tsdot_;ī, tātī. ] A bamboo frame or trellis hung at a door or window of a house, over which water is suffered to trickle, in order to moisten and cool the air as it enters. [ India ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who makes tatting. Caulfield & S. (Doct. of Needlework). [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Icel. tötur, töttur, pl. tötrar, &unr_;öttrar; cf. Norw. totra, pl. totror, LG. taltern tatters. √240. ] A rag, or a part torn and hanging; -- chiefly used in the plural. [ 1913 Webster ]

Tear a passion to tatters, to very rags. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ p. p. Tattered ] To rend or tear into rags; -- used chiefly in the past participle as an adjective. [ 1913 Webster ]

Where waved the tattered ensigns of Ragfair. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Tatter + OF. desmaillier to break the meshes of, to tear: cf. OF. maillon long clothes, swadding clothes, F. maillot. See Tatter, and Mail armor. ] A ragged fellow; a ragamuffin. L'Estrange. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A famous horse market in London, established in 1766 by Richard Tattersall, also used as the headquarters of credit betting on English horse races; hence, a large horse market elsewhere. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. A kind of lace made from common sewing thread, with a peculiar stitch. [ 1913 Webster ]

Tatting shuttle, the shuttle on which the thread used in tatting is wound. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Tattled p. pr. & vb. n. Tattling ] [ Akin to OE. tateren, LG. tateln, D. tateren to stammer, and perhaps to E. titter. ] 1. To prate; to talk idly; to use many words with little meaning; to chat. [ 1913 Webster ]

The tattling quality of age, which is always narrative. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To tell tales; to communicate secrets; to be a talebearer; as, a tattling girl. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Idle talk or chat; trifling talk; prate. [ 1913 Webster ]

[ They ] told the tattle of the day. Swift. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. One who tattles; an idle talker; one who tells tales. Jer. Taylor. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Zool.) Any one of several species of large, long-legged sandpipers belonging to the genus Totanus. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The common American species are the greater tattler, or telltale (Totanus melanoleucus), the smaller tattler, or lesser yellowlegs (Totanus flavipes), the solitary tattler (Totanus solitarius), and the semipalmated tattler, or willet. The first two are called also telltale, telltale spine, telltale tattler, yellowlegs, yellowshanks, and yelper. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Idle talk or chat; tittle-tattle. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Given to idle talk; apt to tell tales. -- Tat"tling*ly, adv. [1913 Webster]

n. [ Earlier taptoo, D. taptoe; tap a tap, faucet + toe to, shut (i. e., the taps, or drinking houses, shut from the soldiers). ] (Mil.) A beat of drum, or sound of a trumpet or bugle, at night, giving notice to soldiers to retreat, or to repair to their quarters in garrison, or to their tents in camp. [ 1913 Webster ]

The Devil's tattoo. See under Devil. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Tattooed p. pr. & vb. n. Tattooing. ] [ Of Polynesian origin; cf. New Zealand ta to tattoo, tatu puncturation (in Otaheite). ] To color, as the flesh, by pricking in coloring matter, so as to form marks or figures which can not be washed out. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Tattoos An indelible mark or figure made by puncturing the skin and introducing some pigment into the punctures; -- a mode of ornamentation practiced by various barbarous races, both in ancient and modern times, and also by some among civilized nations, especially by sailors. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Tatties /plu>. [ Hind. &tsdot_;a&tsdot_;&tsdot_;ī. ] A mat or screen of fibers, as of the kuskus grass, hung at a door or window and kept wet to moisten and cool the air as it enters. [ India ] [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. [ A reduplication of tattle. ] 1. Idle, trifling talk; empty prattle. Arbuthnot. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. An idle, trifling talker; a gossip. [ R. ] Tatler. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To talk idly; to prate. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The act or habit of parting idly or gossiping. [ 1913 Webster ]