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tor

 - 6 dictionary results

tor

  [tawr] ,
Use tor in a Sentence
–noun
a rocky pinnacle; a peak of a bare or rocky mountain or hill.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME; OE torr < Celtic; cf. Ir tor rocky height, Welsh twr heap, pile

-tor

 
a suffix found in loanwords from Latin, forming personal agent nouns from verbs and, less commonly, from nouns: dictator; genitor; janitor; orator; victor.
Origin:
< L -tor (s. -tōr-), c. Gk -tōr (s. -tor-), Skt -tar-
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To tor
tor   (tôr)   
n.  

  1. A high rock or pile of rocks on the top of a hill.

  2. A rocky peak or hill.


[Middle English, from Old English torr, probably of Celtic origin.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

tor 
"high, rocky hill," O.E. torr "tower, rock." Obviously cognate with Gael. torr "lofty hill, mound," O.Welsh twrr "heap, pile;" and probably ult. from L. turris "high structure" see tower). But sources disagree on whether the Celts borrowed it from the Anglo-Saxons or the other way round.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Abbreviations & Acronyms
TOR
Toronto Blue Jays
The American Heritage® Abbreviations Dictionary, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Encyclopedia

tor

exposed rock mass of jointed and broken blocks. Tors are seldom more than 15 metres (50 feet) high and often occur as residues at the summits of inselbergs and at the highest points of pediments. Tors usually overlie unaltered bedrock and are thought to be formed either by freeze-thaw weathering or by groundwater weathering before exposure. There is often evidence of spheroidal weathering of the squared joint blocks

Learn more about tor with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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