tandem
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈtændəm/
ipa: /ˈtændəm/
ipa: [ˈtɛəndəm]
rhymes: -ændəm
Forms: form: tandems
Etymology: PIE word
 *téh₂m
The noun is borrowed from Latin tandem (“of time: at last, at length, finally”), applied humorously in English to two horses harnessed “at length” (that is, in a single line) instead of side-by-side. Tandem is derived from tam (“so, to such an extent”) + -dem (demonstrative suffix).
The adjective, adverb, and verb are derived from the noun.
Senses: examples: text: [H]e was a man whose head was at this time entirely full of gigs, and tandems, and unicorns: business was his aversion; pleasure was his business.
ref: 1804, Maria Edgeworth, “The Contrast. Chapter II. Ignorance of Things, into which It is a Duty to Enquire, is the Cause of Many Odious Vices.”, in Popular Tales, volume III, London: Printed for J[oseph] Johnson, […], [b]y C. Mercier and Co., […], →OCLC, page 30:
text: A friend of mine accompanies me in my carriage to Edinburgh. There we shall leave it, and proceed in a tandem (a species of open carriage) through the western passes to Inverary, where we shall purchase shelties, to enable us to view places inaccessible to vehicular conveyances.
ref: 1807 August 11, Lord Byron, “Letter XVII. To Miss ——.”, in Thomas Moore, editor, Letters and Journals of Lord Byron: With Notices of His Life, […], volume I, London: John Murray, […], published 1830, →OCLC, pages 118–119:
text: Mr. Foker was no more like a gentleman now than in his school days: and yet Pen felt a secret pride in strutting down High Street with a young fellow who owned tandems, talked to officers, and ordered turtle and champagne for dinner.
ref: 1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, “In which Pendennis Appears as a Very Young Man Indeed”, in The History of Pendennis. […], volume I, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1849, →OCLC, page 31:
text: The chief characteristic of this set was the most reckless extravagance of every kind. […] They drove tandems in all directions, scattering their ample allowances, which they treated as pocket money, about roadside inns and Oxford taverns with open hand, and going tick for every thing which could by possibility be booked.
ref: 1859–1861, [Thomas Hughes], “St. Ambrose’s College”, in Tom Brown at Oxford: […], part 1st, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor and Fields, published 1861, →OCLC, page 3:
glosses: A carriage pulled by two or more draught animals (generally draught horses) harnessed one behind the other, both providing pulling power but only the animal in front being able to steer.
examples: text: Later in the day the Row is empty, but, on the other hand, the pleasure horse monopolises the circle, now comparatively deserted. Singly, in pairs, tandems, and fours, he draws the family carriage with a lozenge on the panels, the brougham of the fashionable doctor, the coupé of the popular actress, the man about town's smart dog-cart.
ref: [1903], Charles Dudley, “Equine London”, in George R[obert] Sims, editor, Living London: Its Work and Its Play, Its Humour and Its Pathos, Its Sights and Its Scenes, special edition, volume II, section I, London: Cassell and Company, →OCLC, pages 158–159, column 2:
glosses: Two draught animals (generally draught horses) harnessed one behind the other.
examples: text: If you want a canoe that can seat both of you comfortably, you’ll need a tandem.
glosses: A thing with two components arranged one behind the other.
topics: cycling
hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: A thing with two components arranged one behind the other.
Ellipsis of tandem bicycle (“a bicycle or tricycle in which two people sit one behind the other, both able to pedal but only the person in front being able to steer”).
examples: text: If an interstitial implant is placed in a patient with an intact uterus, a tandem should be inserted and loaded with cesium 137 or iridium 192.
ref: 2007, Akila N. Viswanathan, Daniel G. Petereit, “Gynecologic Brachytherapy”, in Phillip M. Devlin, editor, Brachytherapy: Applications and Techniques, Philadelphia, Pa.: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, →ISBN, page 236:
topics: medicine
sciences
glosses: A hollow metal tube containing radioactive material, inserted through the vagina into the uterus to treat gynecological cancer.
examples: text: Stubb's whale had been killed some distance from the ship. It was a calm; so, forming a tandem of three boats, we commenced the slow business of towing the trophy to the Pequod.
ref: 1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “Stubb’s Supper”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC, page 324:
glosses: A group of two or more machines, people, etc., working together; hence (uncountable), close collaboration.
examples: text: Spanish and English tandem learners discuss the meaning of a given word in a semi-structured conversation. […] Tandem learning is the term used to describe the learning which takes place when native speakers and learners of each other's language learn from each other and help each other learn. […] Tandem learners are responsible for identifying their own needs, setting their own goals and finding means to achieve them.
ref: 2007, Jane Woodin, “Intercultural Positioning: Tandem Conversations about Word Meaning”, in Regina Weinert, editor, Spoken Language Pragmatics: An Analysis of Form-Function Relations, London; New York, N.Y.: Continuum, →ISBN, page 208:
topics: education
glosses: A method of language learning based on mutual exchange, where ideally each learner is a native speaker in the language the other person wants to learn.
Derived terms: drive Irish tandem
randem
riding in tandem
short tandem repeat
tandem axle
tandem bicycle
tandem cart
tandem engine
tandemer
tandem gait
tandem harness
tandemist
tandemize
tandem landing gear
tandemly
tandemocracy
tandem repeat
tandem spoke
tandem system
tandem trailer
tandem wheel
tandemwise
tansad
tridem
variable tandem repeat locus