I. ˈtīd noun
Etymology: Middle English, time, from Old English tīd; akin to Old High German zīt time and perhaps to Greek daiesthai to divide
Date: before 12th century
1.
a. obsolete : a space of time : period
b. : a fit or opportune time : opportunity
c. : an ecclesiastical anniversary or festival ; also : its season — usually used in combination
Easter tide
2.
a.
(1) : the alternate rising and falling of the surface of the ocean and of water bodies (as gulfs and bays) connected with the ocean that occurs usually twice a day and is the result of differing gravitational forces exerted at different parts of the earth by another body (as the moon or sun)
(2) : a less marked rising and falling of an inland body of water
(3) : a periodic movement in the earth's crust caused by the same forces that produce ocean tides
(4) : a periodic distortion on one celestial body caused by the gravitational attraction of another
(5) : one of the periodic movements of the atmosphere resembling those of the ocean and produced by gravitation or diurnal temperature changes
b. : flood tide 1
3.
a. : something that fluctuates like the tides of the sea
the tide of public opinion
b. : a surging movement of a group
a tide of opportunists
4.
a. : a flowing stream : current
b. : the waters of the ocean
c. : the overflow of a flooding stream
• tide·less -ləs adjective
II. verb
( tid·ed ; tid·ing )
Date: 1593
intransitive verb
: to flow as or in a tide : surge
transitive verb
: to cause to float with or as if with the tide
III. intransitive verb
( tid·ed ; tid·ing )
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English tīdan; akin to Middle Dutch tiden to go, come, Old English tīd time
Date: before 12th century
archaic : betide , befall