tessera

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See also: tesserà

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin tessera (“a cube, a die with numbers on all six sides”), from Ancient Greek τέσσαρες (téssares, “four”).

Noun

tessera (plural tesserae)

  1. A small square piece of stone, wood, ivory or glass used for making a mosaic.
    • 2014, Jerry Brotton, Great Maps, DK, page 35:
      The map was laid using tesserae, small cube-shaped tiles of limestone, marble, or colored stone.
  2. (planetology) complex-ridged surface feature seen on plateau highlands of Venus and perhaps on Triton
  3. (rare) An ancient Roman die.
    • 1971, Gwen White, Antique Toys And Their Background, page 110:
      During the reign of Augustus, Rome imported marble from Egypt and Africa, and games of tali and tessera were played.

Derived terms

Further reading

Anagrams

Italian

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

From Latin tessera (“a cube, a die with numbers on all six sides”), from Ancient Greek τέσσαρες (téssares, “four”).

Cognate with Piedmontese téssera.

Noun

tessera f (plural tessere)

  1. card; credit card
  2. pass
  3. tessera (small square piece used for making a mosaic)
  4. domino
Synonyms
Derived terms

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

tessera

  1. inflection of tesserare:
    1. third-person singular present indicative
    2. second-person singular imperative

Anagrams

Latin

Etymology

    From Ancient Greek τέσσαρες (téssares, “four”).

    Pronunciation

    Noun

    tessera f (genitive tesserae); first declension

    1. tessera
    2. die (used in games)
    3. watchword
    4. token
    5. ticket

    Declension

    First-declension noun.

    Case Singular Plural
    Nominative tessera tesserae
    Genitive tesserae tesserārum
    Dative tesserae tesserīs
    Accusative tesseram tesserās
    Ablative tesserā tesserīs
    Vocative tessera tesserae

    References

    • “tessera”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
    • “tessera”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
    • tessera in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
    • tessera in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
    • Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎, London: Macmillan and Co.
      • to give the watchword, countersign: tesseram dare (Liv. 28. 14)
    • “tessera”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
    • “tessera”, in William Smith et al., editor (1890), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin
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