preposition
1.
up to the time of; until: to fight till death.
2.
before (used in negative constructions): He did not come till today.
3.
near or at a specified time: till evening.
4.
Chiefly Midland, Southern, and Western U.S. before; to: It's ten till four on my watch.
00:10
Till
is always a great word to know.
So is flibbertigibbet. Does it mean:
| an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance. |
| a chattering or flighty, light-headed person. |
Origin:
before 900; Middle English; Old English (north) til < Old Norse til to, akin to Old English till station, German Ziel goal. See till2
before 900; Middle English; Old English (north) til < Old Norse til to, akin to Old English till station, German Ziel goal. See till2
Usage note
Till1 and until are both old in the language and are interchangeable as both prepositions and conjunctions: It rained till (or until) nearly midnight. The savannah remained brown and lifeless until (or till) the rains began. Till is not a shortened form of until and is not spelled 'till. 'Til is usually considered a spelling error, though widely used in advertising: Open 'til ten.
Till1 and until are both old in the language and are interchangeable as both prepositions and conjunctions: It rained till (or until) nearly midnight. The savannah remained brown and lifeless until (or till) the rains began. Till is not a shortened form of until and is not spelled 'till. 'Til is usually considered a spelling error, though widely used in advertising: Open 'til ten.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
verb (used with object)
1.
to labor, as by plowing or harrowing, upon (land) for the raising of crops; cultivate.
2.
to plow.
verb (used without object)
3.
to cultivate the soil.
Origin:
before 900; Middle English tilen, Old English tilian to strive after, get, till; cognate with Dutch telen to breed, cultivate, German zielen to aim at
before 900; Middle English tilen, Old English tilian to strive after, get, till; cognate with Dutch telen to breed, cultivate, German zielen to aim at
Related forms
mis·tilled, adjective
un·tilled, adjective
un·till·ing, adjective
well-tilled, adjective
noun
1.
a drawer, box, or the like, as in a shop or bank, in which money is kept.
2.
a drawer, tray, or the like, as in a cabinet or chest, for keeping valuables.
3.
an arrangement of drawers or pigeonholes, as on a desk top.
Origin:
1425–75; late Middle English tylle, noun use of tylle to draw, Old English -tyllan (in fortyllan to seduce); akin to Latin dolus trick, Greek dólos bait (for fish), any cunning contrivance, treachery
1425–75; late Middle English tylle, noun use of tylle to draw, Old English -tyllan (in fortyllan to seduce); akin to Latin dolus trick, Greek dólos bait (for fish), any cunning contrivance, treachery
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
|
Link To Till
Collins
World English Dictionary
till1 (tɪl) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —conj, —prep | |
| 1. | short for until Also (not standard): 'til |
| 2. | (Scot) to; towards |
| 3. | dialect in order that: come here till I tell you |
| usage Till is a variant of until that is acceptable at all levels of language. Until is, however, often preferred at the beginning of a sentence in formal writing: until his behaviour improves, he cannot become a member | |
| till2 (tɪl) | |
| —vb | |
| 1. | to cultivate and work (land) for the raising of crops |
| 2. | another word for plough |
| [Old English tilian to try, obtain; related to Old Frisian tilia to obtain, Old Saxon tilōn to obtain, Old High German zilōn to hasten towards] | |
| 'tillable2 | |
| —adj | |
| 'tiller2 | |
| —n | |
| till3 (tɪl) | |
| —n | |
| a box, case, or drawer into which the money taken from customers is put, now usually part of a cash register | |
| [C15 tylle, of obscure origin] | |
| till4 (tɪl) | |
| —n | |
| an unstratified glacial deposit consisting of rock fragments of various sizes. The most common is boulder clay | |
| [C17: of unknown origin] | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
till
"until," O.E. til (Northumbrian), from O.N. til "to, until," from P.Gmc. *tilan (cf. Dan. til, O.Fris. til "to, till," Goth. tils "convenient," Ger. Ziel "limit, end, goal"). A common preposition in Scand., probably originally the accusative case of a noun now lost except for Icelandic tili "scope,"
the noun used to express aim, direction, purpose (e.g. aldrtili "death," lit. "end of life"). Also cf. Ger. Ziel "end, limit, point aimed at, goal," and compare till (v.).
till
"cultivate (land)" (early 13c.), "plow" (late 14c.), from O.E. tilian "tend, work at, get by labor," originally "strive after," related to till "fixed point, goal," and til "good, suitable," from P.Gmc. *tilojanan (cf. O.Fris. tilia "to get, cultivate," O.S. tilian "to obtain," M.Du., Du. telen "to
breed, raise, cultivate, cause," O.H.G. zilon "to strive," Ger. zielen "to aim, strive"), from source of till (prep.).
till
"cashbox," 1452, from Anglo-Fr. tylle "compartment," O.Fr. tille "compartment, shelter on a ship," probably from O.N. þilja "plank, floorboard," from P.Gmc. *theljon. The other theory is that the word is from M.E. tillen "to draw," from O.E. -tyllan (see toll (v.)),
with a sense evolution as in drawer (see draw).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
till  (tĭl) Pronunciation Key
An unstratified, unconsolidated mass of boulders, pebbles, sand, and mud deposited by the movement or melting of a glacier. The size and shape of the sediments that constitute till vary widely. |
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases
till
In addition to the subsequent idioms beginning with till, also see hand in the till; until.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Example sentences
Of course land and natural resource economists recognize that there is only so much land to till, or ore in the mine.
They often take long, on-mountain lunches, and have been known to party till the wee hours of the morning.
They do not want to wait till they are home to surf.
Unfortunately, a recipe that is bringing fame-and cash in the till-can't be patented.
Slang
Idioms & Phrases
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