Hypertext Webster Gateway: "tack"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Tack \Tack\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Tacked}; p. pr. & vb. n.
{Tacking}.] [Cf. OD. tacken to touch, take, seize, fix, akin
to E. take. See {Tack} a small nail.]
1. To fasten or attach. ``In hopes of getting some commendam
tacked to their sees.'' --Swift.
And tacks the center to the sphere. --Herbert.
2. Especially, to attach or secure in a slight or hasty
manner, as by stitching or nailing; as, to tack together
the sheets of a book; to tack one piece of cloth to
another; to tack on a board or shingle; to tack one piece
of metal to another by drops of solder.
3. In parliamentary usage, to add (a supplement) to a bill;
to append; -- often with on or to. --Macaulay.
4. (Naut.) To change the direction of (a vessel) when sailing
closehauled, by putting the helm alee and shifting the
tacks and sails so that she will proceed to windward
nearly at right angles to her former course.
Note: In tacking, a vessel is brought to point at first
directly to windward, and then so that the wind will
blow against the other side.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Tack \Tack\, n. [From an old or dialectal form of F. tache. See
{Techy}.]
1. A stain; a tache. [Obs.]
2. [Cf. L. tactus.] A peculiar flavor or taint; as, a musty
tack. [Obs. or Colloq.] --Drayton.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Tack \Tack\, n. [OE. tak, takke, a fastening; akin to D. tak a
branch, twig, G. zacke a twig, prong, spike, Dan. takke a
tack, spike; cf. also Sw. tagg prickle, point, Icel. t[=a]g a
willow twig, Ir. taca a peg, nail, fastening, Gael. tacaid,
Armor. & Corn. tach; perhaps akin to E. take. Cf. {Attach},
{Attack}, {Detach}, {Tag} an end, {Zigzag}.]
1. A small, short, sharp-pointed nail, usually having a
broad, flat head.
2. That which is attached; a supplement; an appendix. See
{Tack}, v. t., 3. --Macaulay.
Some tacks had been made to money bills in King
Charles's time. --Bp. Burnet.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Tack \Tack\, v. i. (Naut.)
To change the direction of a vessel by shifting the position
of the helm and sails; also (as said of a vessel), to have
her direction changed through the shifting of the helm and
sails. See {Tack}, v. t., 4.
Monk, . . . when he wanted his ship to tack to
larboard, moved the mirth of his crew by calling out,
``Wheel to the left.'' --Macaulay.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
tack
n 1: the heading or position of a vessel relative to the trim of
its sails
2: a short nail with a sharp point and a large head
3: gear for a horse [syn: {stable gear}, {saddlery}]
4: a line (rope or chain) that regulates the angle at which a
sail is set in relation to the wind [syn: {sheet}, {mainsheet},
{weather sheet}, {shroud}]
5: (nautical) the act of changing tack [syn: {tacking}]
6: sailing a zigzag course
v 1: fasten with tacks; "tack the notice on the board"
2: turn into the wind; "The sailors decided to tack" [syn: {wear
round}]
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