Meaning of tail in English

Table of contents

Verb
tail
Definitions
1. go after with the intent to catch
Examples
- « The policeman chased the mugger down the alley »
- « the dog chased the rabbit »
Derived terms
2. remove or shorten the tail of an animal
Derived terms
3. remove the stalk of fruits or berries
Noun
tail
Etymology
Old English tæg(e)l, from a Germanic base meaning ‘hair, hairy tail’; related to Middle Low German tagel‘twisted whip, rope's end’. The early sense of the verb (early 16th century) was ‘fasten to the back of something’
Definitions
1. the posterior part of the body of a vertebrate especially when elongated and extending beyond the trunk or main part of the body
Derived terms
- bob
- dock
2. the time of the last part of something
Examples
- « the fag end of this crisis-ridden century »
- « the tail of the storm »
3. any projection that resembles the tail of an animal
4. the fleshy part of the human body that you sit on
Examples
- « he deserves a good kick in the butt »
- « are you going to sit on your fanny and do nothing? »
5. a spy employed to follow someone and report their movements
Derived terms
6. (usually plural) the reverse side of a coin that does not bear the representation of a person's head
Antonyms
- head
7. the rear part of an aircraft
8. the rear part of a ship

Famous quotes

« If you are a dog and your owner suggests that you wear a sweater suggest that he wear a tail. »
Fran Lebowitz
« I had an amazing childhood, lots of love. But my dad worked his tail off, getting up at 4 in the morning and going off at 5, 6 o'clock, yet he always had time to spend with his kids and his wife. »
Criss Angel
« A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way. »
Mark Twain
« Money will buy a pretty good dog, but it won't buy the wag of his tail. »
Josh Billings
« The life of an uneducated man is as useless as the tail of a dog which neither covers its rear end, nor protects it from the bites of insects. »
Chanakya