I. ˈta(a)](ə)r, ˈte], ]ə\ noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English; probably akin to Middle Dutch tarwe wheat, Gaulish dravoca darnel, Greek daratos, a bread, Lithuanian dirva field, Sanskrit dūrvā panic grass, Old English teran to tear — more at tear
1.
a. : the seed of a vetch
b. : any of several vetches (especially Vicia sativa and V. hirsuta )
2. tares plural : an injurious weed of grainfields especially of Biblical times that is usually held to be the darnel
while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat — Mt 13:25(Authorized Version)
3. tares plural : a bad or undesirable element or growth that endangers the well-being of what is good or desirable
though … generally condemned by the Church … these tares did manage at all times to flourish amidst the orthodox wheat — G.G.Coulton
the bitter tares of the past were exorcised — Sylvia Berkman
the critic … should endeavor to discipline his personal prejudices and cranks — tares to which we are all subject — T.S.Eliot
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French, from Old Italian tara, from Arabic ṭarḥa that which is removed, from ṭaraḥa to remove, reject
1.
a. : the weight of a container or vehicle that is deducted from the gross weight to obtain the net weight — see actual tare
b. : a deduction from the gross weight of a substance and its container made in allowance for the weight of the container — see average tare ; compare tare weight
2.
a. : counterweight ; especially : an empty receptacle similar to one being used as a container used to counterpoise any change in weight of the container due to temperature, moisture, or other conditions
the best tare is made of the same material as the apparatus — A.A.Benedetti-Pichler
b. : the weight of a container used as a deduction especially in laboratory weighing operations
3. : soil or similar waste material adhering to sugar beets
the percentage of tare for a load is estimated from a sample
III. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
: to ascertain or mark the tare of : weigh so as to determine the tare
the weight on one beam being used to tare the bottle or jar while the other weight is left free — E.F.Cook & E.W.Martin
allow the mercury to flow into a tared vessel and divide the net weight — Science
IV.
Usage: usually capitalized
— a communications code word for the letter t