tail

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A ring-tailed lemur with a long tail
See also täil

Contents

[edit] English

[edit] Etymology

From Old English tæġel. In some senses, apparently by a generalization of the usual opposition between head and tail.

[edit] Pronunciation

[edit] Noun

Singular
tail

Plural
tails

tail (plural tails)

  1. (anatomy) The caudal appendage of an animal that is attached to its posterior and near the anus.
  2. The tail-end of a creature (buttocks, even if tailless) or an object, e.g. the rear of an aircraft's fuselage, containing the tailfin.
    When a grumpy client of the frat's annual carwash complained the tail of his menure-soiled tractor wasn't completely cleaned, the poor pledges had to drop trou and bend over to get their own tails paddled in public.
  3. An object or part thereof resembling a tail in shape, such as the thongs on a cat-o'-nine-tails or other multi-tail whip.
  4. Specifically, the visible stream of dust and gases blown from a comet by the solar wind.
  5. The latter part of a time period or event, or (collectively) persons or objects represented in this part.
  6. (statistics) The part of a distribution most distant from the mode; as, a long tail.
  7. One who surreptitiously follows another.
  8. (cricket) The last four or five batsmen in the batting order, usually specialist bowlers.
  9. (typography) The lower loop of the letters in the roman alphabet, as in g, q or y.
  10. (chiefly in plural) The side of a coin not bearing the head; normally the side on which the monetary value of the coin is indicated; the reverse.
  11. (mathematics) (of a sequence) All the last terms of a sequence, from some term on.
  12. (slang) The male member of a person or animal.
    After the burly macho nudists' polar bear dip, their tails were spectacularly shrunk, so they looked like an immature kid's innocent tail
  13. (slang, uncountable) Sexual intercourse as a man on top.
    I'm gonna get me some tail tonight.

[edit] Synonyms

[edit] Translations

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[edit] Derived terms

[edit] See also

[edit] Verb

Infinitive
to tail

Third person singular
tails

Simple past
tailed

Past participle
tailed

Present participle
tailing

to tail (third-person singular simple present tails, present participle tailing, simple past and past participle tailed)

  1. (transitive) To surreptitiously follow and observe.

[edit] Translations

[edit] Anagrams