I. ˈtik noun
Etymology: Middle English tyke, teke; akin to Middle High German zeche tick, Armenian tiz
Date: 14th century
1. : any of a superfamily (Ixodoidea) of bloodsucking acarid arachnids that are larger than the related mites, attach themselves to warm-blooded vertebrates to feed, and include important vectors of infectious diseases
2. : any of various usually wingless parasitic dipteran flies — compare sheep ked
[
tick 1
]
II. noun
Etymology: Middle English tike, probably from Middle Dutch (akin to Old High German ziahha tick), from Latin theca cover, from Greek thēkē case; akin to Greek tithenai to place — more at do
Date: 15th century
1. : the fabric case of a mattress, pillow, or bolster ; also : a mattress consisting of a tick and its filling
2. : ticking I
III. noun
Etymology: Middle English tek pat, light stroke; akin to Middle High German zic light push
Date: 1680
1.
a. : a light rhythmic audible tap or beat ; also : a series of such ticks
b. : the time taken by the tick of a clock : moment
2. : a small spot or mark ; especially : one used to direct attention to something, to check an item on a list, or to represent a point on a scale
IV. verb
Date: 1721
intransitive verb
1. : to make the sound of a tick or a series of ticks
2. : to operate as a functioning mechanism : run
tried to understand what made him tick
the motor was tick ing over quietly
transitive verb
1. : to mark with a written tick : check — usually used with off
tick ed off each item in the list
2. : to mark, count, or announce by or as if by ticking beats
a meter tick ing off the cab fare
3. : to touch with a momentary glancing blow
tick ed the ball
V. noun
Etymology: short for ticket (I)
Date: 1642
chiefly British : credit , trust ; also : a credit account