TANTIVY, tan-tiv'i, _adv._ with great speed.--_adj._ swift, hasty.--_v.i._
to hurry off.--_n._ a hunting cry: a rapid movement, a rush. [Imit.]
TANTONY, tan't[=o]-ni, _n._ the smallest pig in the litter--also TANTONY
PIG: a petted servant or follower. [From St _Anthony_, who was attended by
a pig.]
TANTRA, tan'tra, _n._ in Sanscrit literature, one of the religious
text-books of the numerous sects of _S'âktas_--i.e. worshippers of the
_S'akti_, or active divine energy, personified in some female deity, esp.
in one of the many forms of Pârvatî, the wife of S'iva.--_ns._ TAN'TRISM,
the doctrines of the tantras; TAN'TRIST, a devotee of tantrism. [Sans.
_tantra_, thread, fundamental doctrine.]
TANTRUM, tan'trum, _n._ a capricious fit of ill-temper without adequate
cause. [Prob. W. _tant_, a passion.]
TANTUM ERGO, tan'tum er'g[=o], _n._ the fifth stanza of the hymn 'Pange,
lingua, gloriosi corporis mysterium,' written for the office of the
Festival of Corpus Christi, which St Thomas of Aquino drew up in 1263.
[From its opening words.]
TANZIMAT, tan'zi-mat, _n._ an organic statute of the Turkish empire,
introducing reforms and granting fuller personal liberty, esp. applied to
the _hatti-sherif_ of the sultan Abdul Medjid in 1839. [Turk.]
TÂOISM, tä'[=o]-izm, or tow'izm, _n._ the religious system founded by the
Chinese philosopher Lâo-tsze (born 604 B.C.), set forth in the _Tâo Teh
King_.--_n._ TÂ'[=O]IST, an adherent of Tâoism.--_adj._ TÂOIST'IC.
TAO-TAI, tä'[=o]-t[=i]', _n._ an officer presiding over a Chinese _tao_, or
circuit, containing two or more _fu_, or departments.
TAP, tap, _n._ a gentle blow or touch, esp. with something small: a signal
with a drum to put lights out.--_v.t._ to strike lightly, touch
gently.--_v.i._ to give a gentle knock:--_pr.p._ tap'ping; _pa.t._ and
_pa.p._ tapped. [O. Fr. _tapper_--Low Ger. _tappen_.]
[Illustration]
TAP, tap, _n._ a hole or short pipe through which liquor is drawn: a place
where liquor is drawn: any particular liquor drawn through a tap.--_v.t._
to pierce, so as to let out fluid: to open a cask and draw off liquor: to
broach a vessel.--_v.i._ to act as a tapster:--_pr.p._ tap'ping; _pa.t._
and _pa.p._ tapped.--_ns._ TAP'-BOLT, a bolt with a head on one end and a
thread on the other, to be screwed into some fixed part instead of passing
through and receiving a nut; TAP'-CIN'DER, slag produced during puddling;
TAP'-HOUSE, a tavern; TAP'LASH, poor stale swipes; TAPOTE'MENT, percussion;
TAP'PER, one who taps; TAP'PING, an operation frequently resorted to for
the removal of fluid accumulations, particularly in the pleural and
peritoneal cavities, consisting in the introduction of one end of a small
tube into the cavity and withdrawing the fluid by siphon action, or by
means of a vacuum: the act or art of tapping or drawing out fluid;
TAP'ROOM, a room where beer is served from the tap or cask; TAP'ROOT, a
root of a plant or tree striking directly downward without dividing, and
tapering towards the end, as that of the carrot; TAP'STER, one who taps or
draws off liquor, a publican, barman.--ON TAP, kept in cask--opp. to
bottled: ready to be drawn upon. [A.S. _tæppe_, seen in _tæppere_, one who
taps casks; Dut. _tap_, Ger. _zapfen_, a tap.]
TAP, tap, _n._ a Scotch form of _top_.