tattered

[Eng. tatter; -ed.] 1. Rent in tatters; torn, ragged. "A tatter'd apron hides, Worn as a cloak, and hardly hides, a gown More tatter'd still." Cowper: Task , i. 549-51. 2. Dre ed in tatters or rags; ragged. "Now, the treasure found, and matron's store, Sought other objects than the tatter'd poor." Harte. (Todd.) 3. Dilapidated; showing gaps, breaks, or rents. "I do not like ruined, tattered cottages."- Mi Austen : Sense and Sensibility , ch. xviii. *tat-ter-ing, a. [Eng. tatter; -ing.] Tattered; hanging in rags. "Wound our tattering colors clearly up." Shakesp.: King John , v. 5. Tăt'-ter-sall's, s . A place of equestrian entertainment, named from Richard Tattersall, who conducted a large establishment of the kind at London, England, in 1766. tăt-tie, s . [Hind. tatt i ; Mahratta tali a mat. See def.] A screen made of split bamboo placed vertically in doors and windows in India (the window frames being temporarily taken out) while the dry hot wind is blowing during April, May, and June. A native with a pail of water stands outside drenching the mat, so that every interstice has a drop of water. As the dry wind blows into the house through these drops, evaporation takes place with such speed as to cool the wind, which enters the house at a temperature quite refreshing. A single pane of gla is sometimes placed in the window tattie to afford the inmates of the room a small amount of light. When the hot season is succeeded by the rainy season, the tatties are removed, as the wind is already saturated with moisture, and the temperature does not require to be artificially reduced. ( Anglo - Indian .) tatt-ing, s. [Etymology doubtful; perhaps con. nected with tatter.] 1. A kind of lace edging, consisting of a set of loops strung upon a thread, on which they are afterward pulled up to form a loop-edging. 2. The act or operation of making such lace. Used also adjectively; as, tatting cotton.