tail

tail
{{11}}tail (n.1) "hindmost part of an animal," O.E. tægl, tægel, from P.Gmc. *tagla- (Cf. O.H.G. zagal, Ger. Zagel "tail," dialectal Ger. Zagel "penis," O.N. tagl "horse's tail"), from PIE *doklos, from root *dek- "something long and thin" (referring to such things as fringe, lock of hair, horsetail; Cf. O.Ir. dual "lock of hair," Skt. dasah "fringe, wick").
The primary sense, at least in Germanic, seems to have been "hairy tail," or just "tuft of hair," but already in O.E. the word was applied to the hairless "tails" of worms, bees, etc. Another O.E. word for "tail" was steort (see STARK (Cf. stark)). Meaning "reverse side of a coin" is from 1680s; that of "backside of a person, buttocks" is recorded from c.1300; slang sense of "pudenda" is from mid-14c.; that of "woman as sex object" is from 1933, earlier "prostitute" (1846). The tail-race (1776) is the part of a mill race below the wheel. To turn tail "take flight" (1580s) originally was a term in falconry. The image of the tail wagging the dog is attested from 1907.
{{12}}tail (n.2) "limitation of ownership," a legal term, early 14c. in Anglo-French; late 13c. in Anglo-Latin, in most cases an aphetic form of ENTAIL (Cf. entail).
{{12}}tail (v.) "follow secretly," U.S. colloquial, 1907, is from earlier sense of "follow or drive cattle," from TAIL (Cf. tail) (n.1). Related: Tailed; tailing. Tail off "diminish" is attested from 1854.

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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  • Tail — Tail, n. [AS. t[ae]gel, t[ae]gl; akin to G. zagel, Icel. tagl, Sw. tagel, Goth. tagl hair. [root]59.] 1. (Zo[ o]l.) The terminal, and usually flexible, posterior appendage of an animal. [1913 Webster] Note: The tail of mammals and reptiles… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Tail — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda tail (que significa cola en inglés) es un programa de los sistemas tipo Unix, que muestra las últimas líneas de uno o más archivos de texto. tail imprimirá por defecto a la salida estándar las últimas diez líneas de… …   Wikipedia Español

  • tail — (que significa cola en inglés) es un programa de los sistemas tipo Unix, que muestra las últimas líneas de uno o más archivos de texto. tail imprimirá por defecto a la salida estándar las últimas diez líneas de sus datos de entrada. Tanto las… …   Wikipedia Español

  • tail — 1 n [Anglo French, literally, cutting, from Old French, from taillier to cut, prune] 1: the condition of being limited or restricted by entailing a tenant in tail 2: entail (2) tail 2 adj: limited as to tenure see al …   Law dictionary

  • tail — tail1 [tāl] n. [ME < OE tægel, akin to OHG zagel < IE base * dek̑ , to tear, tear off > Sans saśā, fringe] 1. a) the rear end of an animal s body, esp. when forming a distinct, flexible appendage to the trunk b) such an appendage 2.… …   English World dictionary

  • tail — ► NOUN 1) the hindmost part of an animal, especially when extended beyond the rest of the body. 2) something extending downwards, outwards, or back like an animal s tail. 3) the rear part of an aircraft, with the tailplane and rudder. 4) the… …   English terms dictionary

  • Tail — утилита в UNIX, выводящая несколько (по умолчанию 10) последних строк из файла. Синтаксис tail [параметры] имя файла Ключ n <количество строк> (или просто <количество строк>) позволяет изменить количество выводимых строк: tail 20… …   Википедия

  • tail — tail  утилита в UNIX, выводящая несколько (по умолчанию 10) последних строк из файла. Синтаксис tail [параметры] имя файла Ключ n <количество строк> (или просто <количество строк>) позволяет изменить количество выводимых строк:… …   Википедия

  • Tail — Tail, v. t. 1. To follow or hang to, like a tail; to be attached closely to, as that which can not be evaded. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] Nevertheless his bond of two thousand pounds, wherewith he was tailed, continued uncanceled, and was called on the …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Tail — Tail, n. [F. taille a cutting. See {Entail}, {Tally}.] (Law) Limitation; abridgment. Burrill. [1913 Webster] {Estate in tail}, a limited, abridged, or reduced fee; an estate limited to certain heirs, and from which the other heirs are precluded;… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Tail — Tail, a. (Law) Limited; abridged; reduced; curtailed; as, estate tail. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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