I. ˈtīl, esp before pause or consonant -īəl noun
( -s )
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English tigel, tigele; akin to Old Saxon tiegla tile, Old High German ziagala, ziagal, Old Norse tigl; all from a prehistoric West Germanic-North Germanic word borrowed from Latin tegula — more at thatch
1. plural tiles or tile
a. : a flat or curved piece of fired clay, stone, concrete, or other material used especially for roofs, floors, or walls and often for such work of an ornamental nature — see encaustic tile , face tile ; compare block , brick
b. : a hollow or a semicircular and open earthenware or concrete drain (as a pipe or gutter)
laying out underground tile to drain fields — John Bird
also : a piece used in constructing such a drain
c. : a hollow building unit made of burned clay or shale or of gypsum
2. : tiling
3. : a small flat piece of baked earth or earthenware used to cover vessels in which metals are fused
4. : hat ; especially : a high silk hat
5. : a thin piece of resilient material (as an asphalt composition, cork, linoleum, or rubber) used especially for covering floors or walls
6. : a flat usually square ceramic plate used especially as a coaster for hot dishes or as an ornament
7. : a thin block used as a playing piece and usually marked (as with letters or characters) for a particular game
•
- on the tiles
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English tilen, from tile, n.
transitive verb
1. : to cover with or as if with tiles
tile a house
tile a floor
2. also tyle “
a. : to protect (as a lodge meeting) from intrusion : guard
tile the door
b. : to bind or swear (a member of a secret society) to secrecy
3.
a. : to install drainage tile in
b. : to drain by use of tile
intransitive verb
: to install drainage tile