Search results for 'tail':

tail¹ noun 1 the part of an animal's body that projects from the lower or rear end of the back to form a flexible appendage. 2 the feathers that project from the rear of a bird's body. 3 anything which has a similar form, function or position as a creature's tail • shirt tail. 4 a lower, last or rear part • the tail of the storm. 5 the rear part of an aircraft including the rudder and tailplane. 6 astron the trail of luminous particles following a comet. 7 (tails) the reverse side of a coin, that side which does not bear a portrait or head. Compare heads at head noun 21. 8 (tails) a tailcoat. 9 (tails) evening dress for men, usually including a tailcoat and white bow tie. 10 colloq someone who follows and keeps a constant watch on someone else. 11 colloq the buttocks. 12 offensive slang a women thought of as sexual objects; b the female genitalia. verb (tailed, tailing) 1 to remove the stalks (from fruit or vegetables). 2 to follow someone or something very closely. 3 to provide someone with a tail. 4 to join (objects or ideas, etc) with or as if with a tail. tailed adj 1 having a tail. 2 with the tail removed. 3 in compounds having a tail of a specified kind. tailless adj. turn tail to turn round and run away. with one's tail between one's legs completely defeated or humiliated.
ETYMOLOGY: Anglo-Saxon tægel.

tail² law noun the limitation of who may inherit property to one person and that person's heirs, or to some other particular class of heirs. adj limited in this way.
ETYMOLOGY: 15c: from French taillier to cut.