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tack

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tack

1  [tak] ,
Use tack in a Sentence
–noun
1. a short, sharp-pointed nail, usually with a flat, broad head.
2. Nautical.
a. a rope for extending the lower forward corner of a course.
b. the lower forward corner of a course or fore-and-aft sail.
c. the heading of a sailing vessel, when sailing close-hauled, with reference to the wind direction.
d. a course run obliquely against the wind.
e. one of the series of straight runs that make up the zigzag course of a ship proceeding to windward.
3. a course of action or conduct, esp. one differing from some preceding or other course.
4. one of the movements of a zigzag course on land.
5. a stitch, esp. a long stitch used in fastening seams, preparatory to a more thorough sewing.
6. a fastening, esp. of a temporary kind.
7. stickiness, as of nearly dry paint or glue or of a printing ink or gummed tape; adhesiveness.
8. the gear used in equipping a horse, including saddle, bridle, martingale, etc.
–verb (used with object)
9. to fasten by a tack or tacks: to tack a rug to the floor.
10. to secure by some slight or temporary fastening.
11. to join together; unite; combine.
12. to attach as something supplementary; append; annex (often fol. by on or onto).
13. Nautical.
a. to change the course of (a sailing vessel) to the opposite tack.
b. to navigate (a sailing vessel) by a series of tacks.
14. to equip (a horse) with tack.
–verb (used without object)
15. Nautical.
a. to change the course of a sailing vessel by bringing the head into the wind and then causing it to fall off on the other side: He ordered us to tack at once.
b. (of a sailing vessel) to change course in this way.
c. to proceed to windward by a series of courses as close to the wind as the vessel will sail.
16. to take or follow a zigzag course or route.
17. to change one's course of action, conduct, ideas, etc.
18. to equip a horse with tack (usually fol. by up): Please tack up quickly.
—Idiom
19. on the wrong tack, under a misapprehension; in error; astray: His line of questioning began on the wrong tack.
Origin:
1300–50; (n.) ME tak buckle, clasp, nail (later, tack); c. G Zacke prong, D tak twig; (v.) ME tacken to attach, deriv. of the n.; see tache, attach

Related forms:
tacker, noun
tackless, adjective

Synonyms:
12. affix, fasten, add.
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tack

2  [tak] ,
–noun
food; fare.
Origin:
1740–50; orig. uncert.

tack

3  [tak] ,
–noun Scot. and North England.
1. a lease, esp. on farmland.
2. a rented pasture.
3. a catch, haul, or take of fish.
Origin:
1250–1300; ME tak < ON tak goods, seizure, grasp. See take
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To tack
tack 1   (tāk)   
n.  

  1. A short, light nail with a sharp point and a flat head.

  2. Nautical

    1. A rope for holding down the weather clew of a course.

    2. A rope for hauling the outer lower corner of a studdingsail to the boom.

    3. The part of a sail, such as the weather clew of a course, to which this rope is fastened.

    4. The lower forward corner of a fore-and-aft sail.

    5. The position of a vessel relative to the trim of its sails.

    6. The act of changing from one position or direction to another.

    7. The distance or leg sailed between changes of position or direction.

    8. A course of action meant to minimize opposition to the attainment of a goal.

    9. An approach, especially one of a series of changing approaches.

  3. Nautical

    1. The position of a vessel relative to the trim of its sails.

    2. The act of changing from one position or direction to another.

    3. The distance or leg sailed between changes of position or direction.

    4. A course of action meant to minimize opposition to the attainment of a goal.

    5. An approach, especially one of a series of changing approaches.

    1. A course of action meant to minimize opposition to the attainment of a goal.

    2. An approach, especially one of a series of changing approaches.

  5. A large, loose stitch made as a temporary binding or as a marker.

  6. Stickiness, as that of a newly painted surface.

v.   tacked, tack·ing, tacks

v.   tr.

  1. To fasten or attach with or as if with a tack: tacked the carpet down.

  2. To fasten or mark (cloth or a seam, for example) with a loose basting stitch.

  3. To put together loosely and arbitrarily: tacked some stories together in an attempt to write a novel.

  4. To add as an extra item; append: tacked two dollars onto the bill.

  5. Nautical To bring (a vessel) into the wind in order to change course or direction.

v.   intr.

  1. Nautical

    1. To change the direction or course of a vessel: Stand by to tack.

    2. To change tack: The ship tacked to starboard.

  2. To change one's course of action.


[Middle English tak, fastener, from Old North French taque, probably of Germanic origin.]
tack'er n., tack'less adj.
tack 2   (tāk)   
n.  Food, especially coarse or inferior foodstuffs.

[Origin unknown.]
tack 3   (tāk)   
n.  The harness for a horse, including the bridle and saddle.

[Short for tackle.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

tack  (1)
"clasp, hook, fastener," 1296, from O.N.Fr. taque "nail, pin, peg," probably from a Gmc. source (cf. M.Du. tacke "twig, spike," Low Ger. takk "tine, pointed thing," Ger. Zacken "sharp point, tooth, prong"); perhaps related to tail. Meaning "small, sharp nail with a flat head" is attested from 1463. Verb sense of "to attach as a supplement" (with suggestion of hasty or arbitrary proceeding) is attested from 1683. The meaning "rope to hold the corner of a sail in place" is first recorded 1481; hence the verb meaning "sail into the wind," first recorded 1557, which lead to the fig. sense of "course or line of conduct or action" (1675).

tack  (2)
"horse's harness, etc.," 1924, shortening of tackle in sense of "equipment." Tack in a non-equestrian sense as a shortening of tackle is recorded in dialect from 1777.

tack  (3)
"food," 1833, perhaps a shortening and special use of tackle in the sense of "gear." Hard-tack was originally "ship's biscuit," soft-tack being bread.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: tack
Function: transitive verb
: to combine (a use, possession, or period of time) with that of another esp. in order to satisfy the statutory time period for acquiring title to or a prescriptive easement in the property of a third party tack successive adverse possessions of land —Hall v. Kerlee, 461 South Eastern Reporter, Second Series 911 (1995)>
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Idioms & Phrases

tack

see get down to brass tacks; on the right tack; sharp as a tack.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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