tait (1), tate, teat

[Icel. tat a =shreds; tæta =to tease or pick wool.] A small portion of any. thing, consisting of fibers or the like; a shred. ""A tait o' woo' would be scarce amang us,' said the goodwife."- Scott : Guy Manner ing , ch. xxvi. tāit (2), s. (Etym. doubtful.) (NOOLBENGER.] tāi-vērt, a. [TAVERT.] ta-ja-çu, ta-jas-su, s. [Native name.] "I cannot taint with fear." -Shakesp.: Macbeth, v. 3. 2. To be affected with incipient putrefaction; as, Meat taints in hot weather. *taint (2), *taynt, v . t . & i. [Prob. from Latin tango, or a shortened form of attaint ; cf. "I at teynt , I hyt or touche a thyng" ( Palsgrave ).] A. Transitive : 1. To hit, to strike, to touch. "The ii. course they tainted eche other on ye helmes." -Berners: Froi art; Cronycle, vol. ii., ch. clxvii. 2. To break, as a lance, in an unknightly or unskillful manner. 3. To injure, as a lance, without breaking. B. In trans.: To make an ineffectual thrust with a lance.