dovetail
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈdʌvteɪl/
ipa: /ˈdʌvˌteɪl/
Forms: form: dovetails
form: dove-tail
form: dufftail
Etymology: The noun is derived from dove + tail. The verb is derived from the noun.
Senses: examples: text: Beſides this, another fine Starfiſh came to my Hands, […] Its body hath ten corners, and it hath a Star above vvith as many Rays; each of theſe one may compare unto a Sail of the VVindmills that the Children run againſt the VVind vvithal, or to a piece of ſuch Croſſes that are broad before, and narrovv vvhere they meet together; that is to ſay, of the ſhape of a Dove-tail: […]
ref: 1694, John Narborough; Jasmen Tasman [i.e., Abel Tasman]; John Wood; Frederick Marten [i.e., Friedrich Martens], “[The Voyage into Spitzbergen and Greenland] Of the Crustaceous Fish that I Observed”, in [probably Tancred Robinson], editor, An Account of Several Late Voyages & Discoveries to the South and North. […], London: […] Sam[uel] Smith and Benj[amin] Walford, printers to the Royal Society, […], →OCLC, 4th part, section V (Of the Star-fish), pages 118–119:
glosses: The tail of a dove (family Columbidae); also, something having the shape of a dove's tail.
examples: text: [T]heſe muſt be joined at Bottom to the Piles by a ſtrong Dove-tail, and the Piles joined vvith Braces; […]
ref: 1733, Philip Miller, “WINE-PRESS”, in The Gardeners Dictionary: […], 2nd edition, volume I, London: […] C[harles] Rivington, […], →OCLC, column 1:
text: With a warding file cut a dovetail on each of the ends to be joined, as shown by Fig. 1.
ref: 1900, “Brazing Keys”, in Paul N[ooncree] Hasluck, editor, Cassell’s Cyclopædia of Mechanics […] (First Series), London; Paris: Cassell and Company, […], →OCLC, page 311, column 1:
text: After marking out the pins on the drawer sides, we proceed with the next operation, that is, sawing the dovetails ready for chopping out the waste material.
ref: [1921], [William Fairham], “The Dovetail Joint”, in Woodwork Joints: How They are Set Out, How Made and Where Used; […], Philadelphia, Pa.; London: J[oshua] B[allinger] Lippincott Company, →OCLC, page 123:
text: DOVETAIL joints, well known for their strength, have long been used in fine cabinet work. Nowadays they are frequently displaced by other types of joints that are easier to make with power tools, but where a self-locking joint is needed for use without glue, the dovetail is unsurpassed.
ref: 1944 April, Edwin M. Love, “Handmade Dovetails”, in Charles McLendon, editor, The Popular Science Monthly, volume 144, number 4, New York, N.Y.: Popular Science Publishing Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 151, column 1:
topics: arts
business
carpentry
construction
crafts
hobbies
lifestyle
manufacturing
woodworking
synonyms: culvertail
fantail
swallowtail
glosses: In full dovetail joint: a type of joint where adjoining components are fastened by multiple tenons cut into wedge shapes resembling a dove's tail, which interlock with mortises having corresponding shapes.
topics: arts
business
carpentry
construction
crafts
hobbies
lifestyle
manufacturing
woodworking
glosses: A tenon cut into a wedge shape resembling a dove's tail so that it interlocks with a mortise having a corresponding shape in a dovetail joint.
examples: text: I ſhall add other tvvo Forms of Lines, […] The firſt of theſe tvvo is termed Patee, or Dove-Tail, from a Form of Art uſed by Joiners, vvho make Joints one into the other by that Name: […]
ref: 1722, Alexander Nisbet, “Of the Points and Parts of the Shield; and Forms of Lines, which Divide the Shield into Several Parts”, in A System of Heraldry Speculative and Practical: […], Edinburgh: […] J. MackEuen, →OCLC, page 23:
text: ASSEMBLEE, [in Heraldry,] a Dovetail or more to hold the tvvo Parts of the Eſcutcheon together, vvhere the Partition Line is, being countercharged, is ſome of the Metal and ſome of the Colour of the Eſcutcheon.
ref: 1736, John Harris, “ASSEMBLEE”, in Lexicon Technicum: Or, An Universal English Dictionary of Arts and Sciences: […], 5th edition, volume I, London: […] J. Walthoe, […], →OCLC, column 2:
text: The ninth is Quarterly per Pale dovetail, Ruby and Topaz; born by the Right Hon. Thomas Bromley, Lord Montfort, &c.
ref: 1765, Mark Anthony Porny [pseudonym; Antoine Pyron du Martre], “Of the Charges. Article I. Of Honourable Ordinaries.”, in The Elements of Heraldry, […], London: […] J[ohn] Newbery, […], →OCLC, section II (Of the Pale), page 47:
topics: government
heraldry
hobbies
lifestyle
monarchy
nobility
politics
glosses: A line resembling a dovetail joint (sense 2.1).
Derived terms: dovetail joint
Related terms: finger joint