| 释义 |
▪ I. tiger, n.|ˈtaɪgə(r)|
Forms: 1 (pl.) tigras, (-es); 4–7 tygre, 4–8 tigre, 5 tigir, -yr, tygyr, -ur, 5–9 tyger, 6 tygir, Sc. tegir, tegre, 6–7 tigar, 7 tygar, 7– tiger.
[ME. a. OF. tigre (c 1150 in Godef. Compl.), ad. L. tigrem, nom. tigris, whence also rare OE. pl. tigras, -es; Ger., Da., Sw. tiger, Du. tijger, Sp., Pg., It. tigre. L. tigris was a. Gr. τίγρις, a foreign word, evidently oriental, introduced when the beast became known.
(Some have conjectured connexion with Zend tīghri arrow, tighra sharp, pointed, in reference to the celerity of its spring; but no application of either word, or any derivative, to the tiger is known in Zend.)]
1. A large carnivorous feline quadruped, Felis tigris, one of the two largest living felines, a cat-like maneless animal, in colour tawny yellow with blackish transverse stripes and white belly; widely distributed in Asia, and proverbial for its ferocity and cunning.
Bengal tiger, royal tiger († tiger royal), the tiger of Bengal, where it attains its typical development.
a1000De rebus in Oriente in Cockayne Narrat. 38 Ymb þa stowe beoð..fore hundum tigras & leopardos þ̶ hi fedað. c1000ælfric Hom. II. 492 Twa hreðe deor, þe sind tigres ᵹehatene, þær urnon. 13..K. Alis. 5227 (Bodl. MS.) Lyouns, Olyfaunz, Tygres, and dragouns, Vnces grete, and leopardes. c1386Chaucer Sqr.'s T. 411 Ther nys Tygre [v.r. tigre], ne noon so crueel beest..That nolde han wept. 1484Caxton Fables of Auian xiii, Whan he sawe passe the tygre before the busshe, he shote at hym an arowe. 1581G. Pettie Guazzo's Civ. Conv. iii. (1586) 124 So monstrous a creature..that it was doubtfull whether she were a woman or a tigar. 1605Shakes. Macb. iii. iv. 101. 1698 Fryer Acc. E. India & P. iv. v. 176 A Youth killed a Tigre-Royal... It was a Tigre of the Biggest and Noblest Kind. 1777Robertson Hist. Amer. I. iv. 260 America gives birth to no creature that equals the lion or tyger in strength and ferocity. 1847Emerson Repr. Men, Napoleon Wks. (Bohn) I. 369 A man of stone and iron..with the speed and spring of a tiger in action. 1882F. M. Crawford Mr. Isaacs x, Crashing through the jungle after tiger with varying success.
2. a. Applied to other animals of the same genus, as in America to the Jaguar, Felis onca, and the Puma or Cougar, F. concolor (rare); and esp. in South Africa to the Leopard or Panther, F. pardus.
1604E. G[rimstone] D'Acosta's Hist. Indies iii. xv. 166 Vpon the sea shoare the Caymant with his taile gaue great blowes vnto the Tygre. 1698Fryer Acc. E. India & P. iv. v. 177 The lesser sort of Tigres spotted like a Leopard. 1708tr. F. Leguat in R. Raven-Hart Cape of Good Hope 1652–1702 (1971) II. 431 The Company gives twenty Crowns to anyone that kills a Lion, and ten to him that kills a Tigre. 1748Anson's Voy. ii. xii. 267 There were great numbers of tygers in the woods [Pacific coast, Mexico]..they are by no means so fierce as the Asiatic or African tyger. 1785G. Forster tr. Sparrman's Voy. (1786) II. 252 The animals which I and the colonists in this part of Africa call tygers,..represented in..M. de Buffon's work, under the denomination of panthers and leopards. 1832Macgillivray tr. Humboldt's Trav. xvi. (1836) 215 When the tigers approached the edge of the forest, a dog which the travellers had began to howl. 1894E. Eggleston in Century Mag. Apr. 849 The panther was long called a ‘tyger’ in the Carolinas. 1907J. P. Fitzpatrick Jock of Bushveld (1909) 252 Tigers—as they are almost invariably called, but properly, leopards—were plentiful enough.
b. esp. with qualifications.
† American t., † Mexican t., the jaguar; black t., a dark variety of (a) the jaguar, (b) the leopard; clouded t., marbled t., tortoiseshell t., species of tiger-cat; † poltroon t., † red t., earlier names for the puma; † spotted t.; (a) the leopard, (b) the cheetah (also † tiger of chase).
1774Goldsm. Nat. Hist. II. xiv. 332 The tyger of Bengal has been seen to measure twelve feet in length,..whereas the American tyger seldom exceeds three. Ibid. III. vii. 244 An animal of America, which is usually called the Red Tiger, but Mr. Buffon calls it the Cougar. 1784–5Ann. Reg. ii. 20 His tygers of chase likewise pay him a visit... These are the spotted tygers. 1790T. Bewick Hist. Quad. (1824) 220 It [the Cougar] is sometimes called the Poltron tiger. 1825Weddell Voy. S. Pole 210 The American tiger, called by the Spaniards jaguar, is often seen on the coast. 1826Hone Every-Day Bk. I. 1176 Panther, or spotted tiger of Buenos Ayres. 1827Roberts Voy. Centr. Amer. 95 A species of black tiger will also watch the turtle. 1842Penny Cycl. XXIV. 440/2 The Black Tiger, Felis melas,..is considered as only a dark variety of the Leopard. Ibid. 441/1 The Mexican Tiger of Pennant is said to be a representation of F. macroura. 1863Bates Nat. Amazon xi. (1864) 352 The black-tiger appears to be more abundant than the spotted form of jaguar in the neighbourhood of Ega. 1879E. P. Wright Anim. Life 84 The Clouded Tiger (Felis macrocelis) seems to be of a less mischievous disposition than many of the other cats. 1896List Anim. Zool. Soc. 56 Felis nebulosa, Clouded Tiger. Hab. Assam.
c. Applied to other than feline beasts.
(a) Tasmanian tiger or native tiger: names given to the thylacine, the striped wolf or zebra-wolf of Tasmania. (b) sabre-toothed tiger: see sabre n. 4 b.
1829H. Widowson Present State Van Dieman's Land xviii. 179 The hyena, or as it is sometimes called, the tiger, is about the size of a large terrier; it frequents the wilds of Tasmania. 1832Ross Hobart Town Almanack 85 (Morris) During our stay a native tiger or hyena bounded from its lair beneath the rocks. 1879E. P. Wright Anim. Life 217 The Tiger, or Striped Wolf of the colonists (Thylacinus cynocephalus), inhabits Tasmania. 1892A. Sutherland Elem. Geog. Brit. Colonies xiii. 273 The ‘Tasmanian Tiger’ is of the size of a shepherd's dog, a gaunt yellow creature, with black stripes round the upper part of its body.
†d. Applied (in L. form) to fabulous creatures, beasts or birds: see quots. Obs.
1481Caxton Myrr. ii. vi. 73 In ynde ben ther other bestes grete and fyrs whiche ben of blew colowr, and haue clere spottes on the body,..and ben named Tygris. c15111st Eng. Bk. Amer. (Arb.) p. xxxii/2 Byrdes the whyche ben called Tygris, and they be so stronge that they wyll bere or cary in theyr neste a man sytting vpon an horse all armyd fro the hede to ye fote.
3. The figure or representation of a tiger; esp. one used as a badge or crest; hence, popularly applied to an organization or society having this badge; also, a member of such a society.
spec. (Tammany Tiger), the Tammany organization (U.S.).
c1475Rauf Coilȝear 457 He bair grauit in Gold and Gowlis in grene, Ane Tyger ticht to ane tre, ane takin of tene. 1725Coats Dict. Her. s.v., The Heads of Tigers are also born in Arms either Couped or Eraz'd. 1871Harper's Weekly 25 Nov. 1099/2 The tiger, symbol of the Americus Club, is used in a manner to produce the effect of a telling retort. 1874Chamb. Jrnl. 801 (Farmer) The 17th [foot]..the Bengal Tigers, from their badge—a tiger. 1894Parker's Gloss. Her. s.v., This beast, as drawn by ancient painters, is now often called the heraldic tiger, as distiguished from the natural. 1901Scotsman 7 Nov. 4/3 New York..cannot be worse governed in the future than it has been under the rule of the Tammany Tiger. 1910Westm. Gaz. 14 Mar. 14/2 (Hockey) The cup-holders were defeated by the Leicestershire Regiment (the Tigers) by 2–1.
4. transf. and fig. Applied to one who or that which in some way resembles or suggests a tiger.
a. A person of fierce, cruel, rapacious, or blood-thirsty disposition; also sometimes, a person of very great activity, strength, or courage. Also spec., a native of the Fens (in full, fen tiger). colloq.
1500–20Dunbar Poems xxxviii. 11 The auld kene tegir, with his teith on char, Quhilk in a wait hes lyne for ws so lang. 1581Satir. Poems Reform. xliv. 175 Thou hes Blasphemit our prophet, Preist, and heid; O filthie tegre Babylonical! 1585Thanksgiving in Liturg. Serv. (1847) 585 To save her [Queen Elizabeth] from the jaws of the cruel Tigers that then sought to suck her blood. 1649Roberts Clavis Bibl. 510 Antiochus Epiphanes that cruellest Tyger and Persecutor of the Church. 1806Fessenden Democr. I. 77 note, The blood-thirsty tygers of the French revolution. 1893Baring-Gould Cheap Jack Z. I. 149, I who have lived in the Fens and among the tigers all my days. 1963‘C. Marchant’ Fen Tiger ii. 40 The term ‘fen tiger’... Andrew explained it was the name given to a type of fen man, now almost extinct but not quite, for here and there a descendant of the type of man who had lived deep in the trackless, treacherous fenland, and who fought against the land being drained with cunning, craftiness, and even murder, was still to be found. 1971Country Life 28 Oct. 1128/3 A scattered crowd of rough ‘Fen Tigers’ in corduroy trousers. 1981S. Marshall Everyman's Bk. Eng. Folk Tales 13, I was..not accorded the welcome I would have expected to be given to a fen-tiger returning home from choice.
b. Any animal of savage or vicious temper or of great rapacity.
1859Art of Taming Horses i. 23 The boasting Mr. ―..was beaten pale and trembling out of the circus by that equine tiger. 1884‘R. Boldrewood’ Melbourne Mem. xxi. 153 Many of the others [horses] were ‘regular tigers’, requiring any horseman who essayed to ride them habitually to be young, valiant, in hard training. 1885A. Brassey The Trades 211 The right time of the moon for the ‘tigers of the sea’ [sharks] to be about. 1894Outing (U.S.) Feb. 393/1, I saw one of these sea-tigers [small sharks] glide towards it, and then a sudden splashing struggle began.
c. The tigerish spirit or disposition. Cf. devil n. 6 a.
1825T. Hook Sayings Ser. ii. Passion & Princ. ix. III. 139 The incalculable quantity of nonsense which the admiring fools talked, had nearly roused the tiger. 1877Tennyson Harold i. i, I trust the kingly touch that cures the evil May serve to charm the tiger out of him.
d. colloq. (chiefly Austral. and N.Z.). One who has an insatiable appetite for something. Cf. glutton n.
1896Bulletin (Sydney) 24 Oct. (Red Page), His father thought a lot of Henry; he used to call him a tiger for work. 1927R. Lehmann Dusty Answer ii. 98 Martin..was still..a tiger for raw vegetables. Ibid. iv. 259 You're a tiger for conversation, aren't you? 1935W. Hatfield Black Waterlily 15 ‘Tiger for work, aren't you?’ he smiled. ‘A good fault, of course, if you don't carry it to extremes.’ 1972P. Newton Sheep Thief xx. 170 Don't tell me you're up to your capers again... You're a tiger for punishment.
e. A sportsman or climber of outstanding skill and confidence. Cf. rabbit n.1 2 a. colloq.
1929E. Bowen Joining Charles 166 They may be tigers at ping-pong. 1935D. Pilley Climbing Days ii. 27 Wet ground, where most climbers—bar the latest ‘tigers’—find that they slip. 1941R. R. Marett Jerseyman at Oxford ix. 138, I was never really worth more than bare scratch, and clean outside the ‘tiger’ class [in golf]. 1957Clark & Pyatt Mountaineering in Britain x. 178 ‘Tiger’ is the word used to describe the climber whose abilities are outstandingly in advance of his generation. 1974Times 23 Feb. 13/3 There is a third [golf] course strictly for tigers; rabbits should try the excellent par three to seawards of the big course. 1979Country Life 24 May 1674/2 Odon has less of a reputation as a tiger on difficult climbs than his father.
†5. A speckled hemipterous insect of the family Tingitidæ, which infests the leaves of pear and other trees. Cf. tiger-babb in 14. [F. tigre, punaise tigre.] Obs.
1706London & Wise Retir'd Gard. I. i. xiv. 68 Pear-trees planted in an Espalier, have upon trial been found so subject to Tigers, which creates a sort of Sickness in the Trees. 1719London & Wise Compl. Gard. vii. x. 181 Another incurable Distemper is Tigers, which stick to the back of the Leaves of Wall-Pear-Trees, and dry them up, by sucking all the green Matter that was in them. 1725Bradley's Fam. Dict. s.v. Diseases of Trees, Tigers attack only Wall Pear-trees, and never Dwarfs.
6. a. A smartly-liveried boy acting as groom or footman; formerly often provided with standing-room on a small platform behind the carriage, and a strap to hold on by; less strictly, an outdoor boy-servant. obs. slang.
c1817[see quot. 1880]. 1825Hook Sayings Ser. ii. Man of Many Fr. I. 247 ‘Ah!’ said Arden, ‘seven hundred pounds a-year, and a tiger!’ 1827Lytton Pelham xliv, I sent my cab boy (vulgo Tiger) to inquire [etc.]. 1836–7Dickens Sk. Boz, Gt. Winglebury Duel, Leaving his tiger and cab behind him. 1842W. Irving in Life & Lett. (1886) III. 218 The young gentlemen have made a page, or tiger, of a nephew of Lorenzo. 1855Thackeray Newcomes xxv, He is the valet or tiger, more or less impudent and acute. 1880W. H. Husk in Grove Dict. Mus. II. 111/2 Lee, Alexander [1802–1851]... When a boy he entered the service of Lord Barrymore as ‘tiger’, being the first of the class of servants known by that name.
b. Naut. slang. A captain's personal steward.
1929F. C. Bowen Sea Slang 141 Tiger, the, the steward who acts as personal servant to the captain of a liner. 1936E. T. Britten Million Ocean Miles iii. 30 Croughan is my ‘Tiger’, as the Captain's steward is called at sea. 1961‘R. Gordon’ Doctor on Toast x. 87 In the old days, you could have swapped the Captain's tiger for the butler in any stately home in the kingdom, and no one would have been the wiser. 1982Times 11 May 6/6 Captain Jackson's ‘tiger’—the merchant navy equivalent of a batman..was married after the weekend.
†7.
a. A vulgarly or obtrusively overdressed person; also a sponger, hanger-on, parasite; a roué, rake, swell-mobsman. slang. Obs.
1827Scott Jrnl. (1890) I. 367 Our young men..have one capital name for a fellow that outrés and outroars the fashion... They hold him a vulgarian and call him a tiger. 1837T. Hook Jack Brag i, Every well dressed woman..whom he happened to see with the tigers in whose set he mingled. 1849Thackeray Pendennis xix, ‘A man may have a very good coat-of-arms, and be a tiger’, the Major said.., ‘that man is a tiger, mark my word—a low man’.
b. (See quot.) slang.
1899Westm. Gaz. 29 Aug. 8/1 The convict wears a dull yellow cap... The thick rough jacket and trousers are of the same yellowish hue... A favourite form of insubordination is to tear to pieces these yellow suits, the punishment for which is that the ‘tiger’ appears in the quarry next day arrayed in board-like black canvas.
8. U.S. slang. A shriek or howl (often the word ‘tiger’) terminating a prolonged and enthusiastic cheer; a prolongation, finishing touch, final burst.
1845Florence de Lacey 28/1 Nine cheers for old Tip—one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, and a tiger. 1856Knickerb. Mag. XLVIII. 258 (Thornton) Terrific cheers and a tiger. 1859Bartlett Dict. Amer. (ed. 2) s.v., In 1826 the [Boston Light] Infantry visited New York.., and while there the Tigers at a public festival awoke the echoes..by giving the genuine howl... Gradually it became adopted on all festive and joyous occasions, and now ‘three cheers and a tiger’ are the inseparable demonstrations of approbation in that city [New York]. 1869R. F. Burton Highl. Brazil I. 239 When the ceremony ends, the scamp of the party..proposes three cheers and a tiger for Mr. Gordon. 1880Daily Tel. 8 Oct., ‘Three cheers’ in properly hearty unison, without the hysterical American supplement of ‘tigers’. 1892Sat. Rev. 31 Dec. 759/1 The new festival..introduced as a sort of ‘tiger’ to these three days of cheer. 1904N. China Herald 27 May 1119/1 All the guests rising and singing.., giving three times three cheers, followed by a vigorous ‘Tiger’.
9. a. The game of faro. to buck or fight the tiger, at faro or roulette, to play against the bank; also, less strictly, to gamble, play cards. U.S. slang.
1851Adv. Simon Suggs iv. (Thornton Amer. Gloss.) (heading) Simon starts forth to fight the Tiger. 1852Knickerb. Mag. XL. 317 (ibid.) Such is ‘the tiger’, as the faro-table is called at the Springs: why, I never could learn. 1863Rocky Mountain News 29 Jan. (ibid.), Bucking the tiger, which we wouldn't advise any one to do. 1888Daily Inter-Ocean (Chicago) 14 Feb. (Farmer Amer.), More than one unsuspecting wife will have her eyes opened to the fact that the wicked tiger, and not legitimate business has been detaining her husband out so late at night.
b. A hand at poker: see quots.
1889Guerndale Poker Bk. 23 Tiger. This hand is, fortunately, very seldom played. It consists of the lowest possible combination of five cards; these are two, three, four, five, and seven. 1909Cent. Dict. Supp., Tiger, in poker, a hand which is seven high and deuce low, without a pair, sequence, or flush.
c. blind tiger, an establishment at which intoxicating drinks are surreptitiously sold (U.S.).
1892Evening Echo 30 June 1/7 The proprietor of a ‘blind tiger’ (an illicit drinking place) in Lancaster, a..town of Kentucky, has been fined in 577 cases.
10. As a name for various implements: see quots.
1864Webster, Tiger,..a pneumatic box or pan used in sugar-refining. 1877Knight Dict. Mech., Tiger (Sugar), a tank having a perforated bottom, through which the molasses escapes. 1881Raymond Mining Gloss., Tiger. See Nipping-fork. A tool for supporting a column of bore-rods while raising or lowering them.
11. Short for tiger-moth, -shark, -snake, -wolf, etc.
1797Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) XVII. 714/1 Squalus, Shark... 5. Tigrinus, or tigre, is about 15 feet long; the body is..black, interspersed with white stripes and spots, irregularly and transversely. 1819G. Samouelle Entomol. Comp. 418 Arctia Caja. The Garden Tyger. 1870Eng. Mech. 21 Jan. 449/3 One of the handsomest moths belonging to..the ‘Tigers’, is that called the wood tiger (Chelonia plantaginis). 1895Westm. Gaz. 14 Sept. 2/3 The traveller in the bush often comes across two ‘tigers’ pegging away at each other for dear life... Sometimes snakes in captivity are trained to fight, and an owner will occasionally be found to ‘back his ‘tiger’ to fight any snake of his inches in New South Wales’. 1895Chamb. Jrnl. XII. 645/1 The sharks..are at certain seasons a serious drawback, the tiger more especially. 1901Scribner's Mag. XXIX. 455/1 Going out into the garden,..stopping beside the tigers [tiger-lilies] and peonies.
12. a. In proverbial phrases: to ride a tiger and varr. [after the Chinese proverb ‘He who rides a tiger is afraid to dismount’ (W. Scarborough Coll. Chinese Proverbs (1875) xvi. 388)]: to take on a responsibility or embark on a course of action which subsequently cannot safely be abandoned; to have a tiger by the tail and varr.: to catch a Tartar (see Tartar n.2 4).
1902A. R. Colquhoun Mastery of Pacific xvi. 388 These colonies are..for her [sc. France] the tiger which she has mounted (to use the Chinese phrase), and which she can neither manage nor get rid of. 1940Daily Progress (Charlottesville, Va.) 27 Nov. 1/7, I believe that Hitler is riding a tiger in trying to keep all Europe under control by sheer force. 1969Guardian 7 July 9/5 All African politics to-day is concerned with the art of riding this terrible tiger [sc. tribalism]. 1972‘E. Lathen’ Murder without Icing (1973) iii. 30 Convulsions..could be expected... The Sloan Guaranty Trust..might well have a tiger by the tail. 1979P. Driscoll Pangolin xii. 101 You're taking on an organization with..reserves you know nothing about. How do you know you won't be catching a tiger by the tail? 1981W. H. Hallahan Trade iii. 79 It was done. They were all riding the tiger now.
b. to put a tiger in one's tank [after an Esso Petroleum Co. advertising campaign of 1965]: to invest one with energy or ‘go’; also in similar allusive phrases.
1965Guardian 31 May 4/7 Esso's tiger has pounced on to the national consciousness within two months. The phrase ‘Put a tiger in your tank’ has become part of everyday conversation. 1967Listener 22 June 835/2 Westin and Friedman are young men with ideas of their own... They are the tigers in the Ford [Foundation] tank. 1973P. Geddes Ottawa Allegation iii. 32 Lorimount..began pouring tea... The movements were brisk and purposeful. No safety belts worn here, they said, there's a tiger in the tank. 1981N.Z. Tablet 10 June 10/4 Young girls must be made to realise that boys of the same age have a ‘tiger in their tank’ as far as sexual desire goes.
c. paper tiger: see paper n. 12.
13. attrib. and Comb.
a. simple attrib., as tiger cage, tiger country, tiger-cub, tiger-drive, tiger-hunt, tiger-jungle, tiger-pit (pit n.1 5), tiger-skin, tiger-spring, tiger-stripe, tiger trap; objective and obj. genitive, as tiger-hunting, tiger-shooting n. and adj., tiger-slayer.
1763J. Bell Trav. from St. Petersburg xi. 162 There appeared two troops of Tartars, clothed in coats of tiger-skins. 1800Misc. Tr. in Asiat. Ann. Reg. 343/1 Jackets, turbans, and handkerchiefs, marked with the bubberee, or tyger stripe... The tyger stripe was the royal mark, and was peculiar to Tippoo and his family. 1815Scott Guy M. xxv, He had..ridden a-tiger-hunting upon an elephant with the Nabob of Arcot. 1848tr. Hoffmeister's Trav. Ceylon, etc. vii. 244 We remained for several days, on account of a tiger⁓hunt. 1859Lang Wand. India 358 He had enough of tiger⁓shooting in that one tiger. 1865T. Seaton Fr. Cadet to Colonel II. 26 There was no tiger-jungle within thirty miles of the spot. 1886Kipling Departm. Ditties, etc. (1899) 56 A pet tiger-cub in wreaths of rhubarb leaves, symbolical of India under medical treatment. 1895Daily News 27 Nov. 6/3 At Shrovetide, 1509,..Princess Mary, afterwards Queen, wore a black mask as an Ethiopian queen, and a little jacket of tigerskin. 1906Macm. Mag. Aug. 778 The spears showed that a tiger-drive was contemplated, for across each, some eighteen inches below the point, a little piece of wood was lashed on at right angles to the shaft. 1931E. A. Robertson Four Frightened People v. 178 This was tiger country, she knew, but she had never yet seen one of those animals. 1934M. Mitchell Warning to Wantons x. 324 They were like two big game-hunters whose elaborate tiger-trap has netted..a domestic cat! 1936T. S. Eliot Coll. Poems 1909–35 153 The tiger in the tiger-pit Is not more irritable than I. 1970Daily Progress (Charlottesville, Va.) 8 July 5a/3 Harkin said more than 200 men, crammed three to five in 86 5-by-8-foot tiger pits in one building, were unable to stand because they had been there so long. 1970Guardian 8 July 1 (caption) Political prisoners peering up out of a ‘tiger cage’ in Con Son prison in South Vietnam. 1978‘M. M. Kaye’ Far Pavilions xxv. 369 Biju Ram would only have had to wait until they were in tiger country—preferably..where there was known to be a man-eater. 1980N. Freeling Castang's City viii. 47 She was extremely sharp. One kept falling..into tiger traps full of pointed bamboo stakes. One got little out of her. 1982Times 28 Sept. 3/4 (caption) An apprentice animal trainer, in the tiger cage with six Bengal tigers.
b. (a) passing into adj. ‘tiger-like, tigerish’, as tiger despair, tiger fury, tiger joy, tiger spasm, tiger thirst; (b) ‘distinguished by or marked with the figure of a tiger (or tiger's head)’, as tiger gun, tiger soldier.
1800Chron. in Asiat. Ann. Reg. 150/1 Tippoo's Tiger grenadiers..are met by a party of the 73d regt. Ibid., A severe conflict is maintained with the leader of the Tiger men by a serjeant of the Highlanders. 1827–39De Quincey Murder Wks. 1862 IV. 64 The impression of his natural tiger character. 1842Penny Cycl. XXIV. 440/1 The tiger soldiers of Hyder Ali and Tippoo Saib were among the choicest of their troops. 1845Stocqueler Handbk. Brit. India (1854) 288 The arsenal, the gate of which is flanked by two of Tippoo's brass tiger guns, the muzzle representing the open mouth of that animal. 1856H. O. Conant Eng. Bible xix. (1881) 144 To foster..that tiger thirst for blood. 1885Tennyson Anc. Sage in Tiresias, etc. 61 The tiger spasms tear his chest. 1910Westm. Gaz. 22 Mar. 5/2 The ideal Othello, played with a perfect mastery of all the modes of expressing tiger fury and tiger despair.
c. parasynthetic, instrumental, similative, etc., as tiger-footed, tiger-hearted, tiger-looking, tiger-marked, tiger-passioned, tiger-proof, tiger-striped adjs. See also tiger-like.
1597Beard Theatre God's Judgem. (1612) 220 The poore old man thus cruelly handled..departed comfortlesse from his Tygre-minded sonne. 1607Shakes. Cor. iii. i. 312 This Tiger-footed-rage..will (too late) Tye Leaden pounds too's heeles. 1616R. Niccols Overbury's Vision in Harl. Misc. (Malh.) III. 350 Such monsters were my tyger-hearted foes. 1752Sir J. Hill Hist. Anim. 153 The tyger-spotted Porcellana. 1796C. Smith Marchmont I. 205 This tiger-looking man..was..an Attorney. 1820Keats Hyperion ii. 68 Now tiger-passion'd, lion-thoughted, wroth. 1835J. Duncan Beetles (Nat. Libr.) 92 The tiger-marked boa, his tail fixed to the trunk of a tree,..lies in ambush on the bank. 1892Daily News 7 June 5/4 Lofty and tiger⁓proof night shelters for travellers. 1896Ibid. 13 July 7/2 Pansies, bronzed, tiger-striped, and deep purple.
14. a. Special combs.; chiefly names of animals and plants with tiger-like markings: † tiger-babb [? bob n.1 9], a parasite infesting the pear tree: = sense 5; tiger barb, any of several brightly coloured freshwater fishes of the genus Barbus, esp. B. tetrazona; tiger-beetle, any species of the family Cicindelidæ, characterized by variegated colouring, activity, and voracity; tiger-bird, (a) a South American scansorial barbet: = thick-head 2 b; (b) = tiger-bittern; tiger-bittern, a South American bittern of the genus Tigrosoma, with striped plumage; tiger-chop, a species of fig-marigold, Mesembryanthemum tigrinum, the toothed leaf of which suggests a ‘chop’ or jaw: cf. cat-chop (cat n.1 18); tiger-civet, a name for the linsang: see quot.; tiger-cowrie, a white cowrie, Cypræa tigris, with brown spots; tiger-dog, a dog resembling a tiger (cf. sense 2); spec. the spotted carriage-dog; tiger-eye = tiger's-eye: see b; tiger-finch, a name of the Amadavat, Estrilda amandava; tiger-fish, a large fresh-water fish of South-east Africa; tiger-flower, any plant or species of Tigridia, a genus of tropical American bulbous plants bearing large purple, yellow, or white spotted flowers; esp. T. Pavonia (also Peacock or Mexican tiger-flower, tiger-iris, flower of Tigris) with brilliant orange blooms; tiger-foot = tiger's-foot (see b); tiger-frog, the leopard-frog or shad-frog (Rana halecina or virescens) of N. America; tiger-grass (palm), a dwarf fan-palm, Nannorhops (Chamærops) Ritchieana, of Western India and Persia; tiger-hound: see quot., and cf. tiger-dog; tiger-hunter, one who hunts the tiger; also, a gambler (U.S. slang: cf. sense 9 a); tiger-iris, see tiger-flower; tiger-lily, a tall garden lily, Lilium tigrinum, with bell-like orange flowers marked with black or purplish spots; also called tiger-spotted lily; tiger maple N. Amer., a kind of maple-wood with strongly contrasting light and dark lines in the grain; Tiger Milk, a name given to Yugoslavian dessert wine made from over-ripe grapes; tiger-mosquito, any striped or banded mosquito of the genus Stegomyia; tiger-moth, a moth of the family Arctiidæ, esp. the British species Arctia caja, a large scarlet and brown moth spotted and streaked with white; tiger-mouth (also tiger's-mouth), a local name for the Snapdragon, Foxglove, and various species of Toad-flax; tiger-nut, the edible rhizome of Cyperus esculentus, used locally as food, also eaten locally as a sweetmeat by children, and also medicinally; the rush-nut; tiger-owl, the tawny or brown owl; tiger-party, a tiger-shooting party; tiger prawn Austral., a large prawn marked with dark bands, Penæus esculentus; tiger-python, the Indian python; tiger salamander, a name for the large western salamander, Ambystoma tigrinum (Cent. Dict. Suppl. 1909); tiger-shark, a name for various voracious sharks, as Galeocerdo maculatus of warm seas, Stegostoma tigrinum of the Indian Ocean; in New Zealand, the Porbeagle, Lamna cornubica; tiger-shell = tiger-cowrie; tiger-snake, (a) a venomous Australian snake, of the elapid genus Notechis, esp. N. scutatus; in Tasmania also called carpet-snake; (b) a slightly venomous southern African colubrid snake of the genus Telescopus, esp. T. semiannulatus; tiger-spider, a large American burrowing spider, Lycosa tigrina, the legs of which are ringed with grey and black; † tiger-stone: see quot.; tiger-stripe(d) = tiger-cat d; tiger suit, a striped combat uniform worn as camouflage in jungle warfare; tiger-swallowtail, a large North American butterfly, having yellow wings striped with black; the turnus; † tiger-table: see quot.; tiger-ware, sixteenth- or seventeenth-century German stoneware with a mottled brown glaze, or English stoneware made in imitation of this; tiger-wolf, (a) the Spotted Hyena (Hyæna crocuta); (b) = sense 2 c (a) (Ogilvie, 1882); tiger-wood, a streaked black and brown cabinet-maker's wood: = itaka-wood; also, a variety of citron-wood. See also tiger-cat.
1693Evelyn De la Quint. Compl. Gard. I. 81 The Persecution of the *Tyger-babbs [Fr. tigres] keeps the Pears too far off from the Assistance of Wall-trees.
1951R. Dutta Right Way to keep Pet Fish xviii. 155/2 *Tiger barbs. 1962Listener 22 Nov. 852/2, I brought home a tiger barb, round and flat with bold orange and black stripes. 1976Norwich Mercury 19 Nov. 4/8 (Advt.), This week's Fish Centre offers: Neons..Silvertips..Tiger-barbs.
1826Kirby & Sp. Entomol. III. xxx. 152 That beautiful *tiger-beetle, the Cicindela campestris L., not uncommon on warm sunny banks. 1835J. Duncan Beetles (Nat. Libr.) 115 The majority are variegated with spots and streaks of yellow. Their rapacity and agile movements have procured for them the name of Tiger-beetles. 1869A. R. Wallace Malay Archip. I. 409 One beautiful group of insects, the tiger-beetles.
1817Waterton Wand. S. Amer. ii. (1825) 136 The small *Tiger-bird... The throat, and part of the head, are a bright red; the breast and belly have black spots on a yellow ground. 1879J. G. Wood Explan. Index ibid. (1882) 474 The Tiger-Bird utters its cry in the early morning and late in the evening.
1785Latham Gen. Synopsis V. 63 *Tiger Bittern..the plumage deep rufous, marked with black, like the skin of a tiger..inhabits Cayenne, Surinam, and other parts of South America.
1894Lydekker Royal Nat. Hist. I. 456 On account of their striking and handsome coloration, the name of *tiger-civets has been suggested for these animals [the Linsangs].
1839J. Pye Smith Script. & Geol. 408 A well-known species is on almost every mantel-piece, the *tiger-cowry.
1682Creech Lucretius (1683) 90 The *Tyger-dog will flie pursuing Deer. 1883R. Groom Gt. Dane 8 The name Tiger Dog, as used in Germany, was applied to those specimens with patches and spots of black upon a white ground.
1891Cent. Dict., *Tiger-eye. 1896Chester Dict. Names Min., Tiger-eye, a popular name for a siliceous pseudomorph after crocidolite, in allusion to its yellow-brown colour and chatoyant lustre.
1900Feathered World 28 Sept. 399 The common Avadavat is the *Tiger⁓finch... Brown and reddish copper, spotted with white.
1893F. C. Selous Trav. S.E. Africa 303 Burnett..caught a fine *tiger⁓fish. 1894Sat. Rev. 24 Nov. 563/1 In fly-fishing..the chief quarry, the ‘tiger-fish’, ran to 8½ lbs., and afforded nearly as good sport as salmon.
1797Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) XI. 671/2 A beautiful flower called the *tyger-flower, with three red pointed petals, the middle part mixed with white and yellow. 1845–50A. H. Lincoln Lect. Bot. 175 The Mexican tiger⁓flower, genus Tigridia, is a splendid plant of this order [Iridaceæ]. 1888Nicholson's Dict. Gard., Tigridia, Mexican Tiger Flower; Tiger Iris. This genus includes about seven species of..bulbous plants, from Mexico, Central America, Peru, and Chili... T. pavonia..Flower of Tigris; Peacock Tiger Flower.
1836Smart, *Tiger-foot (a plant).
1884Miller Plant-n., Palm, *Tiger-grass, Chamærops Ritchieana. 1891Cent. Dict., Tiger-grass, a dwarf fan-palm, Nannorhops Ritchieana, of western India, extending into Persia.
1880Lewis & Short, Tigris ii. 2, The name of the spotted *tiger-hound of Actæon.
1896J. F. B. Lillard Poker Stories iii. 87 The unsophisticated young *tiger hunter had something on his mind.
1824Miss Mitford Village Ser. i. (1863) 40 Those fierce and warlike flowers the *tiger⁓lilies.
[1952J. Downs Amer. Furnit. p. xxxii, [In] Queen Anne maple furniture..the curly figure is produced by fibers which develop spirally, without any known reason, giving a tiger-stripe pattern much prized by collectors. ]1961Webster, *Tiger maple. 1967Canad. Antiques Collector Apr. 4/1 (Advt.), Canadian Tiger maple desk,..circa 1830. 1978Times 13 Mar. 20/4 Another American Chippendale piece was a tiger maple desk and bookcase.
1961Guardian 21 Nov. 16/5 Yugoslavia is now exporting..‘*Tiger Milk’,..an excellent dessert wine. 1977T. Heald Just Desserts vii. 172 Not just claret..but.. Tigermilk (or Ranina Radgona Spatlese).
1835Marryat Olla Podr. v, No one can have an idea how hard the *tiger-musquito can bite.
1816Kirby & Sp. Entomol. xxi. (1818) II. 226 The caterpillar of the great *tiger-moth (Bombyx Caja, F.). 1864–5Wood Homes without H. xiv. (1868) 286 The well known Tiger Moth whose scarlet, white, and brown robes are so familiar.
1886Britten & Holland Eng. Plant-n., *Tiger, or Tiger's Mouth.
1887C. A. Moloney Forestry W. Afr. 72 The *tiger nut, the tuber of the Cyperus esculentus, is well known in West Africa. 1927W. E. Collinson Contemp. Eng. 18 Bull's eyes.., acid drops, fondants..are still in demand, though the popularity of monkey-nuts and tiger-nuts has somewhat waned. 1957J. Kirkup Only Child ix. 122 We knew..the illicit joy of spending our Sunday school collection money on ‘tiger⁓nuts’ and coconut ice. 1972Country Life 30 Nov. 1481/3 The sort of boy who would..find such delight in munching tiger nuts.
1864Trevelyan Compet. Wallah (1866) 133 An account of our *tiger-party in Nepaul.
1893J. D. Ogilby Edible Fishes & Crustaceans N.S.W. 203 This is the ‘*Tiger Prawn’ of the Sydney fishermen. 1952W. J. Dakin Austral. Seashores xv. 176 The tiger-prawn is a large northern species that..has dark vertical bands on its body. 1978O. White Silent Reach vi. 72 It could be arranged..for a marine biologist..to complete his thesis on the breeding habits of..the tiger prawn.
1926J. K. Strecker in J. F. Dobie Rainbow in Morning (1965) 63 In the plains region of Western Texas, the large *tiger salamander is a common animal. 1966R. C. Stebbins Field Guide Western Reptiles & Amphibians 33 Tiger salamander... A large stocky salamander with small eyes.
1784–5Ann. Reg. 241 The squalus or true *tyger shark,..well known to our seamen in the West Indies. 1898Morris Austral Eng. s.v. Shark, Tiger Shark (N.S.W.), Galeocerdo rayneri... New Zealand... Tiger Shark, Scymnus spinosus (Maori name, Mako).
1753Chambers Cycl. Supp., *Tiger-shell, the English name of the red voluta, with large white spots.
1869*Tiger-snake [see brown-banded snake s.v. brown a. 7]. 1874Beveridge Loot Life 50 [He] eyed me as a tiger snake The bull-frog or the fieldmouse eyes. 1890Science Gossip XXVI. 37/2 The tiger-snake reaches the length of eight, or occasionally even ten feet. 1907Westm. Gaz. 25 Sept. 12/1 The venom of the tiger-snake is fourteen times more deadly than that of the black snake. 1910F. W. Fitzsimons Snakes S. Afr. iii. 54 Tiger Snake... Average length 2 feet to 2 feet 6 inches. 1941K. Tennant Battlers xviii. 193 The driver of the car..very efficiently despatched a large tiger snake. 1947J. Stevenson-Hamilton Wild Life S. Afr. xxxvi. 330 The tiger snake..is a yellowish snake spotted with brown. 1966Southerly XXVI. 109 A fisherman had been bitten by a tigersnake there and had died. 1974Stand. Encycl. S. Afr. X. 504/1 Tiger-snake..is conspicuously marked throughout its length with alternate black and yellow to reddish brown cross-bands.
1829Glover's Hist. Derby I. 94 Fluor with barytes, commonly called *tiger-stone, being opaque, and full of dirty brown spots.
1977Time 31 Oct. 49/1 His tabby—a *tiger-stripe he calls Dr. Carleton P. Forbes—has amassed $3,000 worth of ‘cat toys’ by filching checks from Steve's mailbox. 1981P. Mallory Killing Matter ii. 23 The cat..was a big grey tiger-stripe.
1965F. Manolson C is for Cat 187 A striped cat (even if it's the result of the mating of a *Tiger striped with a Tabby striped) is either one or the other.
1970A. Marin Rise with Wind xx. 241 The soldier was dressed in a *tiger suit. 1977M. Herr Dispatches (1978) 5 [He] took his pills by the fistful, downs from the left pocket of his tiger suit and ups from the right.
1601Holland Pliny (1634) I. 395 The wood curleth in and out along the graine, and therefore such bee named Tigrinæ (i. *Tigre-tables).
1874C. Schreiber Jrnl. (1911) I. 325 A grand old cruche of *Tiger Ware, with Royal Arms of England, and date 1604. 1928Daily Express 5 June 4 There are few [objects] which exercise a stronger fascination over collectors than old stone wine jugs known as tiger-ware. High prices—up to {pstlg}1,500—have been paid for these ‘stone pottes garnished with sylver’. 1983Country Life 1 Dec. (Suppl.) 85/1 A rare Elizabeth I Norwich Tigerware jug.
1731Medley Kolben's Cape G. Hope II. 108 The Lion, Tiger, and Leopard are bitter enemies to the *Tiger-Wolf. 1838Penny Cycl. XII. 369/1 The Spotted Hyæna, or Tiger⁓Wolf of the [South African] colonists.
1858Simmonds Dict. Trade, *Tiger-wood, a valuable wood for cabinet making,..obtained in Guiana. 1866[see itaka-wood].
b. Combs. with tiger's: tiger's-claw, (a) a weapon for secret attack used by the Mahrattas, consisting of short sharp curved steel blades fixed to a plate or strap which is secured to the palm of the hand; (b) in Mech. a boring or rifling rod in which the cutting tool is automatically sheathed as it enters the bore and expands on the cutting stroke; tiger's-eye, popular name for (a) a yellowish brown quartz wth brilliant lustre, used as a gem (also called tiger-eye): see crocidolite; (b) a crystalline pottery glaze, with auriferous reflections (U.S.); tiger's-foot, a convolvulaceous plant, Ipomœa Pes-tigridis, common in India, with hairy palmate leaves; tiger's horn, tiger's tooth, old names for species of Strombus or wing-shell; tiger's milk, (a) an acrid white juice of Excœcaria Agallocha, a small euphorbiaceous East Indian tree; (b) gin (slang); (c) = Tiger Milk, sense 14 a above; tiger's mouth = tiger-mouth (see 14 a).
1891Cent. Dict., *Tiger's claw, *Tiger's-eye. 1896Chester Dict. Names Min., Tiger's eye, same as tiger-eye. 1893E. A. Barber Pottery & Porcelain U.S. xiii. 290 The highest achievements in glazing are the so-called tiger's-eye and gold-stone, which glisten in the light with a beautiful auriferous sheen.
1828–32Webster, *Tiger's-foot (citing Lee).
1713Petiver Aquat. Anim. Amboinæ Tab. iv, Strombus..Brown *Tygers Horn.
1850R. G. Cumming Hunter's Life S. Afr. (1902) 9/1 A fountain of *tiger's milk had started in the stern of the waggon.
1959W. James Word-bk. Wine 155 Ranina, the ‘Tiger's Milk’ wine of Radgona, in Yugoslavia, a sweet and strong dessert wine made from late-gathered grapes. 1965O. A. Mendelsohn Dict. Drink & Drinking 277 Ranina, Yugoslavian (Radgona) dessert wine. Syn. ‘Tiger's Milk’.
1886*Tiger's Mouth [see tiger-mouth in 14].
1713Petiver Aquat. Anim. Amboinæ Tab. v, Strombus..Thick *Tygers-tooth.
Hence (nonce-wds.) † tigeˈrantic a. [? after elephantic]= tigerish 1; tigeˈrette, a diminutive she-tiger, a ‘cat’; ˈtigerling, a young or diminutive tiger; tigeˈrocious a. [nonce-wd. after ferocious], = tigerish 1.
a1704T. Brown Lett. fr. Dead Wks. 1720 II. 216 In what Sheeps-head Ordinary have you chew'd away the meridian Altitude of your Tygerantick Stomach? 1858Mrs. Gore Heckington xxxi, Miss Corbet, on whom the tamed tigerling [a small boy] was now lavishing his endearments. 1874F. W. Newman in Davies Heterodox Lond. II. 311 He is dietetically, neither swinish nor tigerocious. 1906Daily Chron. 23 Aug. 5/7 Amongst the tigeresses who devour, and the tigerettes who scheme, you will not find a woman who can claim to have passed through a public school and university training.
Sense 6 b in Dict. becomes 6 c. Add: [c indigo][4.] f.[/c] A nickname for any one of the more successful smaller economies of East Asia, esp. those of Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, and South Korea.
1981Amer. Banker 29 July 57/1 A global shift in development..is taking place amid the booming trade activities of Japan and the ‘Four Tigers’, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea. 1987Times 25 July 37/1 The so-called ‘tiger’ markets of the Far East—Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines—have become the latest ‘next big thing’. 1988Times 3 Aug. 20/3 Asia's four tigers—South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore—are becoming the world's most dynamic importers as well as exporters. The tigers are still more important as exporters. 1990Times 5 Feb. 27 Sir Hugh found his hosts keen to develop a regional economic force resembling the ‘tiger’ economies of the Pacific Rim.
[6.] b. Austral. slang. A person engaged in menial employment; spec. a sheep shearer.
[1853H. B. Jones Adventures in Austral. 130 We left..for the bush, respectively mounted on Admiral, Abelard, and Polka, with a young ‘tiger’ carrying our saddle bags and ‘swag’.] 1865G. S. Lang Aborigines of Austral. 37 Nearly all the squatters, at some time or other, adopt black boys, keeping them as ‘tigers’ or horse-breakers. 1897Bulletin (Sydney) 20 Feb. 3/2 And tigers might have heard the Boss ere any harm was done. 1900[see sheep-oh int. and n.] 1956F. B. Vickers First Place to Stranger ix. 135 Those tigers (he meant the shearers) will make you dance.
▸ Usu. with capital initial. = Tamil Tiger n. at Tamil n. Additions. Freq. in pl.
1978Far Eastern Econ. Rev. 24 Feb. 20/3 (heading) ‘Tigers’ on the prowl. 1992W. McGowan Only Man is Vile (1993) i. 13 The Tigers were only turning over things they didn't need and had scattered large caches of weapons in Jaffna's lagoons for an inevitable renewal of hostilities. 2000Front Oct. 88/1 They explained that, due to the dire situation currently in Sri Lanka, they couldn't put me directly in touch with the Tigers, but they would let them know I was coming.
▪ II. tiger, v.|ˈtaɪgə(r)|
[f. the n.]
1. To act, behave, or walk to and fro, like a tiger. nonce-wd.
1898M. M. Dowie Crook of Bough 52 He finished his cigar by tigering on the platform, his hands behind him, his head turning from side to side.
2. trans. To mark like a tiger with lines or streaks of contrasting colour.
1930R. Campbell Adamastor 50 Striped with the fiery colours of the sky, Tigered with war-paint..The green waves charged the sunrise. 1934― Broken Record iii. 74 She [sc. a dog] was tigered with wounds from head to tail. 1960T. Hughes Lupercal 56 Pike, three inches long, perfect Pike in all parts, green tigering the gold.
Hence ˈtigered ppl. a., striped or broken into stripes; ˈtigering vbl. n., a striated condition (see quot. 1961).
1961R. D. Baker Essent. Path. xiv. 344 The yellowness of the heart muscle may be diffuse or concentrated in narrow stripes forming a peculiar and distinctive pattern especially along the papillary muscles and the inside of the ventricles... This striated appearance has suggested the descriptive designation of ‘tigering’ or ‘thrush breast’. 1969Burpee Catal. 50/2 Calceolaria... Many [flowers] are attractively tigered, blotched, spotted and laced in most unique patterns. 1980J. O'Faolain No Country for Young Men ix. 197 Tigered light which fell slantwise through a Venetian blind. |