tabn.1
/tab/, U.S. /tæb/ I. A short strap or tongue, and related uses.
1.
a. A short broad strap, flat loop, or the like, attached by one end to an object, or forming a short projecting part by which a thing can be taken hold of, hung up, fastened, or pulled; in various applications: see quots.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > tool > parts of tools generally > [noun] > handle
handleeOE
helvec897
haftc1000
steal1377
start1380
handa1400
helmc1430
handlinga1450
pull1551
grasp1561
hilt1574
cronge1577
hold1578
tab1607
manubrium1609
tree1611
handfast1638
stock1695
handing1703
gripe1748
stem1796
handhold1797
grip1867
society > occupation and work > equipment > building and constructing equipment > fastenings > [noun] > strap > types of
billet1481
tab1607
bale-sling1883
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > percussion instrument > bell > [noun] > other parts
yokeOE
stirrup1341
cod1379
bell-string1464
frame1474
stock1474
ear1484
poop1507
bell-wheel1529
skirt1555
guarder1583
imp1595
tab1607
jennet1615
pluck1637
bell-rope1638
cagea1640
cannon1668
stilt1672
canon1688
crown1688
sound-bow1688
belfry1753
furniture1756
sounding bow1756
earlet1833
brima1849
busk-board1851
headstock1851
sally hole1851
slider1871
mushroom head1872
sally beam1872
pit1874
tolling-lever1874
sally-pin1879
sally-pulley1901
sally-wheel1901
1607 G. Markham Cavelarice iii. 70 How the horse is girt..and by some speciall markes or obseruations about the tabs to know how his garthes do hold.
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Contre-sanglot, a Tab; the leather whereto a girth is fastened; a girth-leather.
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Crampon de cuir, a loope, or tab, of leather.
1629 in J. Barmby Churchwardens' Accts. Pittington (1888) 298 For tabbs to the bells, iiijd. [Cf. p. 293 (1618) For 2 tagges for the belstrings, 6d.]
1664 in Archæol. Æl. XVII. 127 For broomes and a tab for ye bell 2d.
1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory (1905) iii. xviii. 126/1 The tab at the end of a belt.
1846 W. E. Brockett J. T. Brockett's Gloss. North Country Words (ed. 3) Tab..a strap.
1879 F. Rutley Study of Rocks v. 40 It [a geologist's bag] should have a little tab by which it can be loosely attached to a button.
1894 J. N. Maskelyne ‘Sharps & Flats’ 90 The ‘tab’ or loop at the back of the..boot.
1896 C. D. Waldo Ban of Gubbe 144 If there were tabs to pull up the lid, why should there ever have been a knob or handle?
1904 Eng. Dial. Dict. Tab... 5. The loop by which a garment is hung up. Sc.
1905 Daily News 27 Sept. 6 Strong leather tabs are being fastened to the backs of the volumes of the brobdingnagian catalogues [in the British Museum Library].
b. spec. A shoe latchet, for fastening with a buckle, button, or thong. Chiefly dialect.
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the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > footwear > parts of footwear > [noun] > protective studs or plates > fastenings > lace, thong, or strap
latchetc1440
langueta1500
shoe-latchet1526
shoe-tie1600
shoestring1616
latch1653
tab1674
languid1688
shoe whang1691
shoe-latch1884
1674 J. Ray N. Countrey Words in Coll. Eng. Words 47 The Tab of a Shooe, the Latchet of a Shooe.
1731 in N. Bailey Universal Etymol. Eng. Dict.
1775 J. Ash New Dict. Eng. Lang. Tab (a local word), the string of a shoe.
1904 in Eng. Dial. Dict. [from North of Eng. to E. Anglia].
c. A short strap attached at one end to one side of a coat, jacket, vest, etc., and having a buttonhole at the free end for fastening across.Such a tab is often ornamented with a button at the attached end, so as to be symmetrical, and may become purely ornamental as in 2c.
d. The metal end of a lace, etc.; = tag n.1 3; a shoestring. dialect.
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the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > parts of clothing > [noun] > fastenings > lace, cord, or string > tag of
aglet1365
dagc1400
tag1570
auglet1594
point-tag1649
taba1825
a1825 R. Forby Vocab. E. Anglia (1830) Tab... 2. The end of a lace, commonly, and perhaps more properly called a tag.
1904 in Eng. Dial. Dict. [Cumbld. to Oxford, and E. Anglia].
1904 Eng. Dial. Dict. Tab..a shoe-string [Hampsh.].
e. The tongue of a shoe or boot. dialect.
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1866– in Eng. Dial. Dict. from midland counties.
f. = pull tab n. 1b: used to open a can of beer, etc.
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the world > space > relative position > condition of being open or not closed > [noun] > action or process of opening > one who or that which opens > ring-pull
pop-top1957
pull tab1962
tab1963
ring opener1968
ring pull2005
1963 Wal. St. Jrnl. 1 Oct. 16/1 The beer drinker opens the can by pulling off the tab.
1978 O. White Silent Reach xi. 108 The fat man..pulled the tab from a can.
2.
a. As an ornament of dress: Each of the projecting square pieces formed by cutting out the lower edge of a jacket or other article of dress, or sewn on to its uncut edge, and usually embellished with buttons, embroidery, etc.
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the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > parts of clothing > [noun] > trimmings or ornamentation > border or edging > parts of
dag1399
tag1402
tatter1402
jag1530
cut1563
Vandyke1827
tab1834
tabc1880
c1880 Mrs. G. M. E. Campbell Let. to Editor A series of small squares cut out of the edge of a cape or sleeve and the intermediate pieces left hanging by way of fringe or ornament, is known by the name of Tabs.
1883 Truth 31 May 768/2 This brocade was cut out in deep tabs over a skirt of copper-coloured satin.
1887 Illustr. London News 6 Aug. 151/1 The edges of the loose fronts [of the bodice] were..cut out in tabs.
Thesaurus »
Categories »
b. A similar piece sewn by its upper edge on the surface of dress, so as to hang loose.
c. In 19th cent. use, sewn on entirely, and variously adorned with buttons, beads, embroidery, etc., sometimes simulating that described in 1c.
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1834 J. R. Planché Hist. Brit. Costume xviii. 275 Towards the close of James [I]'s reign, however,..short jackets or doublets, with tabs and false sleeves hanging behind, succeed to the long~waisted doublets.
1882 Daily News 30 Aug. 3/1 Tabs are a favourite trimming for tunics.
1883 C. D. Warner Roundabout Journey 39 Some of them have a black rosette on the shoulder, and a tab hanging from it tipped with ermine.
1909 Civ. Serv. Store Catal. 353 [Lady's] coat, 30 inches long, trimmed satin, with satin tabs and buttons.
d. A coloured tab, esp. a red tab or gorget patch, worn by a senior or staff Army officer; hence formerly, in Army slang, such an officer.Recorded earliest in red tab n. at red adj. and n. Compounds 1f(c)(i).
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society > armed hostility > military organization > insignia > [noun] > patch or epaulette > of officer
tab1899
1899 Macmillan's Mag. Sept. 346/2 Soon after the red tabs of a Staff-officer or two appeared.
1917 B.E.F. Times 20 Jan. 4/2 Realising Men must laugh, Some wise Man devised the Staff: Dressed them up in little dabs Of rich variegated tabs.
1918 Better Times Nov. 4/1 Some who by prowess lately proved in war, May sport red ‘tabs’ and ribboned breasts galore.
1925 E. Fraser & J. Gibbons Soldier & Sailor Words 275 Tab, a, a Staff Officer.
3. transferred. A small piece of some substance, e.g. of sod or turf.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > incompleteness > part of whole > [noun] > a separate part > a piece or bit > small piece
fingereOE
snedec1000
seed?a1200
morselc1300
bittlock?a1400
farthingc1405
spota1413
lipetc1430
offe?1440
drewc1450
remnantc1450
parcel1483
crap1520
flakec1525
patch1528
spark1548
a piece1559
sparklec1570
inch1573
nibbling?1577
scantling1585
scrat1593
mincing1598
scantle1598
halfpenny1600
quantity1600
nip1606
kantch1608
bit1609
catch1613
scripa1617
snap1616
sippeta1625
crumblet1634
scute1635
scantleta1642
snattock1654
cantlet1700
tab1729
pallion1738
smallness1818
knobble1823
wisp1836
1729 E. Smith Compl. Housewife (ed. 3) 326 Take..three or four Tabes of the whitest Goose-dung; put all in a quart of strong Beer.
1893 ‘Q’ Delectable Duchy 43 The boys..could toss tabs of turf down her chimney.
4. technical.
a. One of the revolving arms which lift the beaters of a fulling-mill (E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. 1877).
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b. A narrow projecting strip of metal along the inside of a hollow calico-printing roller to secure it to its mandrel by means of a slot in the latter.
c. Aeronautics. A usually hinged part of a control surface that serves to modify the action or response of the surface.
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society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > aeroplane > parts of aircraft > [noun] > movable control surface > trimming tab or flap
trimming plane1921
tab1934
trimmer1935
trimming flap1935
trimming tab1935
trim tab1944
1934 Flight 25 Jan. 75/1 The word ‘tab’ has been approved by the [U.S.] Department of Commerce as the name for auxiliary control flaps.
1942 ‘B. J. Ellan’ Spitfire! p. x Winding the bias control one way or the other moves the tab and gives port or starboard bias.
1965 C. N. Van Deventer Introd. Gen. Aeronaut. iv. 95/2 Controllable or fixed tabs may be attached to any of the control surfaces—the elevators, the ailerons, or the rudder.
1983 D. Stinton Design of Aeroplane xi. 397 Often trimming is achieved on the ground by bent plate tabs.
5. A tie-label, a luggage label (cf. tag n.1 8).
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society > communication > indication > that which identifies or distinguishes > labelling > [noun] > label, tag, or ticket
bill1474
schedule1523
label?1577
libel1603
tessera1656
check1812
price ticket1830
etiquette1831
sticker1862
tag1864
price tag1880
tab1883
tally1909
mailing label1959
swing-ticket1962
swing label1968
1883 T. D. Price MS. Diary 27 Jan. Sent in 130 tabs [of sheep] to register in W. S. Merino Register.
1904 Eng. Dial. Dict. Tab 3, a label affixed to goods for sale; a luggage label. Warwick.
6. An ear. dialect and slang.
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the world > life > the body > external parts of body > head > face > ear > [noun]
earOE
listc1380
sousea1658
concha1683
auricula1691
wattle1699
listener1821
conch1831
earhole1843
tab1866
auricle1874
1866 J. E. Brogden Provinc. Words Lincs. 202 Tab, a piece of leather in the front of a boot, a latchet, the ear.
1959 New Statesman 26 Dec. 904/2 Dad was sitting by the fire, behind his paper with one tab lifted.
1977 R. Scollins & J. Titford Ey up, mi Duck! III. 15 Ah gorra bile be'int me tab.
II. Extended uses: an account; a cigarette or tablet.
7.
a. colloquial (originally U.S.). A table, an account [compare tablet n. 1a] ; a check; esp. in to keep tabs (or a tab) on; also figurative (cf. tab v. 2). Also, a bill or charge (chiefly North American): see also to pick up the tab at pick v.1 Phrasal verbs 1.
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the mind > attention and judgement > enquiry > investigation, inspection > secret observation, spying > spy on [verb (transitive)]
waitc1200
spya1325
espyc1420
prog1566
tout1699
bespy1837
keyhole1871
to keep tabs (or a tab) on1889
tec1900
society > authority > subjection > restraint or restraining > [noun] > means of restraint or restraining force
bridleeOE
bridea1425
restraint1523
aweband1531
bit1546
retentive1580
control1594
curb1613
hank1613
constriction1650
retinue1651
check1661
spigot1780
brake1875
way-chain1884
tab1889
inhibitor1902
check-cord1908
iron maiden1912
inhibition1932
society > trade and finance > management of money > keeping accounts > account or statement of > [noun]
accountc1300
counta1350
scorea1400
audit?1550
tally1580
state1582
memorandum1583
ticket1632
tick1681
a/c1736
financial statement1789
balance sheet1838
tab1889
society > trade and finance > management of money > keeping accounts > account or statement of > [noun] > an account or reckoning
accountc1300
taila1325
laya1400
tale1401
reckoningc1405
tailye1497
accounterc1503
lawing1535
note1587
post1604
chalking1613
tally1614
computus1631
tick1681
tab1889
slate1909
1889 Washington Post 11 Feb. Every man keeps a mean little tab in his head on his fellows.
1890 Voice (N.Y.) 31 July A generous mother in..Michigan has been keeping tab in her family [on the baking for a year].
1890 B. Hall Turnover Club 19 They knocked off and filed out into the deserted streets, while the Purveyor figured up the ‘tabs’.
1897 H. Porter Campaigning with Grant x. 159 You can't get away because he [sc. the captain] is always keeping tab on you.
1904 Buffalo Commerc. 26 May 11 The health authorities have been keeping tabs on events of this character.
1907 Daily News 26 Aug. 7 Being subsequently shown the work tabs with the Salvation Army prices.
1907 W. James Pragmatism v. 172 To use this as a tally by which we ‘keep tab’ on the impressions that present themselves.
1916 H. L. Wilson Somewhere in Red Gap iii. 111 I..lay on the big lounge by an open window where..I could keep tabs on the little ones at their sports.
1924 G. C. Henderson Keys to Crookdom 420 Tab, to name. To keep tabs on, to keep in touch with.
1929 ‘E. Queen’ Roman Hat Myst. iii. 37 We got to keep pretty close tabs on the time, and I know it was ten minutes because..it was just the part on the stage when [etc.].
1932 D. L. Sayers Have his Carcase xxvi. 348 The one person..likely to have kept tabs on Mr Perkins..was old Gaffer Gander.
1946 J. O'Hara in New Yorker 23 Mar. 25/1 You signed a small tab, sir.
1953 S. Kauffmann Philanderer iii. 52 So all those old ideas are finished and God is dying. There's nobody in Heaven keeping tabs. And there's just going to be less for people to hang on to?
1954 E. B. White Let. 9 July (1976) 395 I did a little haying yesterday..and..I am spending today indoors paying the tab.
1963 T. Parker Unknown Citizen v. 138 He's antagonistic to anything or anybody who represents authority... He thinks that our main purpose is to keep tabs on him while he's out.
1976 M. Machlin Pipeline xii. 144 He started to reach into the pocket of his Arctic down pants for his wallet, but Nick had already paid the tab.
1978 M. Puzo Fools Die ii. 18 Jordan knew that Merlyn the Kid kept tabs on everything he did.
b. to throw up a tab: to run up an account, to obtain credit.
ΚΠ
1926 E. Ferber Show Boat xiii. 268 Lacking even the modest sum required for this sustenance, he [sc. a gambler] knew that there he would be allowed to ‘throw up a tab’ until luck should turn.
8. A cigarette. northern dialect and slang.
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the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > tobacco > smoking > articles or materials used in smoking > [noun] > thing which may be smoked > cigarette
cigarito1832
paper cigar1833
cigarette1842
papelito1845
coffin-nailc1865
fag1885
butt1893
pill1901
scag1915
nail1925
quirly1932
tab1934
burn1941
draw1946
tube1946
snout1950
cancer stick1958
straight1959
ciggy1962
square1970
bifter1989
lung dart1990
dart2000
1934 P. Allingham Cheapjack iii. 24 ‘'Ave you got a tab on yer?’ The only tabs I knew were connected with the theatre, but I discovered later that ‘tab’ is a common name in the north for a cigarette.
1948 A. Baron From City, from Plough i. 10 ‘Gie us a tab, Lanky.’ He passed his cigarettes round the carriage.
1968 B. Hines Kestrel for Knave 71 From various pockets Gryce collected two ten-packets, which rattled when he shook them, a handful of tabs, three lighters and a box of matches.
1980 C. Ross Case for Compensation xiv. 68 ‘Tab?’ Duncan looked blank. ‘Cigarette?’ he said. Duncan accepted.
1983 New Society 2 June 333/1 £13.65 a week to pay for..clothes, ‘snake bites’ (cider and lager), ‘tabs’ (cigarettes).
9. A tablet or pill, spec. one containing LSD or another illicit drug. slang.
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the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > an intoxicating drug > [noun] > hallucinogenic drug > LSD > capsule or tablet
tab1961
mike1967
sugar1967
ticket1969
microdot1971
1961 Webster's 3rd New Internat. Dict. Eng. Lang.
1968 Current Slang (Univ. S. Dakota) 3 ii. 47 Tab, a tablet of sugar or saccharine impregnated with LSD. (Drug users' jargon.)
1971 Daily Tel. 18 Sept. 12 Whenever anybody had any money it nearly always went on drugs, with LSD at £1 a ‘tab’ (tablet).
1973 J. Marks Mick Jagger (1974) 137 He presses his palm to his mouth and swallows the tab.
1978 M. Walker Infiltrator xii. 136 An order for two tabs of acid.
Compounds
tab collar n. (a) a shirt collar whose points are held down by buttons or other fastenings (cf. button-down adj. 2a); (b) (see quot. 1957).
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the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > neck-wear > [noun] > collar > types of > other
rabat1578
falling band1581
rebato1589
fall1598
piccadill1607
golilla1673
collarettea1685
banda1700
turn-over1716
Vandyke1755
falling-down collar1758
falling collar1770
fall-down?1796
yoke collar1817
rabatine1821
dicky1830
dog collar1852
Piccadilly collar1853
all-rounder1854
all round1855
turnover collara1861
Quaker collar1869
Eton collar1875
Toby collar1885
Eton1887
sailor collar1895
roll-neck1898
Shakespeare collar1907
polo collar1909
white-collar1910
tab collar1928
Peter Pan collar1948
tie-neck1968
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > clothing for body or trunk (and limbs) > [noun] > shirt > part of > collar > types of
wing-poke1905
wing collar1911
tab collar1928
1928 Men's Wear 21 Nov. ii. 5/1 The tab collar is being worn by quite a few of the best dressed eastern university students. It should prove to be an important feature.
1942 B. G. Chambers Color & Design in Apparel xv. 498 Tab collar. The fronts have loops on the under side with button-holes which fasten on buttons or small rigid stays, that help keep the tie in place at the top of the collar.
1957 M. B. Picken Fashion Dict. 75/2 Tab c [ollar] , collar cut in tabs, often with two at front.
1979 Time Out 4 May 65 The Mod revival hits London in force: each day offers a gig at which parkas, tab collars and fox-tailed Lambrettas would be acceptable.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1910; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
tabn.2
/tab/, U.S. /tæb/ slang.
a. An elderly woman.
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the world > people > person > old person > old woman > [noun]
old wifeeOE
old womanOE
trota1375
carlinec1375
cronec1386
vecke1390
monea1393
hagc1400
ribibec1405
aunt?a1425
crate14..
witchc1475
mauda1500
mackabroine1546
grandam?1550
grannam1565
old lady1575
beldam1580
lucky1629
granny1634
patriarchess1639
runta1652
harridan1699
grimalkin1798
mama1810
tante1815
wifie1823
maw1826
old dear1836
tante1845
Mother Bunch1847
douairière1869
dowager1870
veteraness1880
old trout1897
tab1909
bag1924
crow1925
ma1932
Skinny Liz1940
old bag1947
old boot1958
tannie1958
LOL1960
1909 J. R. Ware Passing Eng. Victorian Era 239/1 Tabs (Theatrical), ageing women.
1971 R. Rendell One Across v. 45 We've got some old tab coming here... Pal of my ma-in-law's.
b. Australian. A young woman or girl.
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > person > young person > young woman > [noun]
daughterOE
maidenOE
young womanOE
mayc1175
burdc1225
maidc1275
wenchc1290
file1303
virginc1330
girla1375
damselc1380
young ladya1393
jilla1425
juvenclec1430
young person1438
domicellea1464
quean1488
trull1525
pulleta1533
Tib1533
kittyc1560
dell1567
gillian1573
nymph1584
winklota1586
frotion1587
yuffrouw1589
pigeon1592
tit1599
nannicock1600
muggle1608
gixy1611
infanta1611
dilla1627
tittiea1628
whimsy1631
ladykin1632
stammel1639
moggie1648
zitellaa1660
baggagea1668
miss1668
baby1684
burdie1718
demoiselle1720
queanie?1800
intombi1809
muchacha1811
jilt1816
titter1819
ragazza1827
gouge1828
craft1829
meisie1838
sheila1839
sixteenc1840
chica1843
femme1846
muffin1854
gel1857
quail1859
kitten1870
bud1880
fräulein1883
sub-debutante1887
sweet-and-twenty1887
flapper1888
jelly1889
queen1894
chick1899
pusher1902
bit of fluff1903
chicklet1905
twist and twirl1905
twist1906
head1913
sub-deb1916
tabby1916
mouse1917
tittie1918
chickie1919
wren1920
bim1922
nifty1923
quiff1923
wimp1923
bride1924
job1927
junior miss1927
hag1932
tab1932
sort1933
palone1934
brush1941
knitting1943
teenybopper1966
weeny-bopper1972
Valley Girl1982
1932 H. Simpson Boomerang x. 276 We don't need to go mackin' round with Chinks and wimmen's earnings. We pay our tabs..when we want 'em, and tell 'em to get to hell out of it when we don't.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1986; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
Tabn.3
/tab/, U.S. /tæb/ University slang.
A member of the University of Cambridge.
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society > education > member of university > [noun] > (former) specific university or college
mountainer?a1425
Cantabrigianc1540
Oxonianc1540
Sorbonist1560
Oxford man1590
Oxfordian1645
Johnian1655
hog1690
Harvardian1702
squil1721
Cantab1751
king's man1751
Wadhamite1760
Princetonian1807
Brunonian1829
merchant tailor1829
Trinitarian1852
houseman1868
polytechnician1871
Mertonian1883
Cheltonian1887
Girtonian1887
Girtonite1894
Newnhamite1896
woman1896
normalien1904
Somervillian1904
Orangeman1908
Tab1914
Ivy Leaguer1943
Oxbridgean1959
plate-glasser1968
Yalie1969
1914 C. Mackenzie Sinister St. II. iii. iii. 555 He will get his blue next term and show the Tabs that he's a jolly good fellow.
1930 A. Alington Slowbags & Arethusa i. 4 Then the morning's play is discussed, the loathly Tabs reviled—for the Slows are Oxford to a man.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1933; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
tabn.4
/tab/, U.S. /tæb/ Theatrical slang.
= tableau curtain n. at tableau n. Compounds.
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society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > a theatre > theatrical equipment or accessories > [noun] > curtain
curtain1598
drop1781
iron curtain1794
green curtain1805
greeny1821
tableau curtain1830
drop-curtain1832
rag1848
hipping1858
cloth1881
safety curtain1881
asbestos curtain1890
olio1923
tab1929
sail curtain1941
iron1951
swag1959
1929 J. B. Priestley Good Compan. ii. vii. 447 The girls here follow him round with their tongues hanging out, as usual—but away from the tabs he's the same as ever.
1936 N. Royde-Smith All Star Cast 44 The tab curtains fell together as the girl and the man stood at arm's length from one another.
1946 ‘C. Brahms’ & ‘S. J. Simon’ Trottie True vii. 164 Down came the crimson tabs. Up went the shouting and the cooing. Out tottered Marie [Lloyd] to the public that idolized her.
1957 P. Frankau Bridge 59 The dark stage-hand..came through the tabs.
1983 Listener 22/ 29 Dec. 28/1 When she did the last song, she used to do it in front of the tabs.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1986; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
tabn.5
/tab/, U.S. /tæb/ Typewriting and Computing.
A tabulator (key); a tabular stop, used to preset the movement of the carriage, cursor, etc., under the direction of the tabulator.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > printing > typing > typewriter > [noun] > spacer, mechanism controlling carriage movement
escapement1881
tab1916
tabulator1917
society > computing and information technology > hardware > peripherals > [noun] > keyboard > individual keys
space bar1887
function key1930
delete key1963
esc1963
Alt mode1964
carriage return1965
return1965
return key1965
enter1966
Alt key1968
home key1968
arrow key1969
tab1969
control1976
delete1977
control key1978
cursor key1979
Alt1981
delete button1981
escape key1982
hot key1983
1916 H. Etheridge Bar-lock Typewriter Man. 45 The Tab. key acts exactly in the same manner as the carriage release lever.
1916 H. Etheridge Bar-lock Typewriter Man. 45 On releasing the Tab. key the carriage remains at the number on the scale where the first stop has been fixed.
1969 Sears, Roebuck Catal. Spring–Summer 1195/2 Automatic key-set tabs, clear key.
1982 Harris & Chauhan So You want to Buy a Word Processor? v. 65/1 Not only do tabs have to be set up at appropriate positions, but the facility needs to be reactivated when any of the text involved is subsequently edited.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1986; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
tabn.6
/tab/, U.S. /tæb/ colloquial.
1. U.S. Theatre. A short play or sketch, typically a condensed version of a longer work. Cf. tabloid n. 2. Now historical.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > a play > [noun] > other types of play
king play1469
king game1504
historya1509
chronicle history1600
monology1608
horseplaya1627
piscatory1631
stock play1708
petite pièce1712
mimic1724
ballad opera1730
ballad farce1735
benefit-play1740
potboiler1783
monodrama1793
extravaganza1797
theo-drama1801
monodrame1803
proverb1803
stock piece1804
bespeak1807
ticket-night1812
dramaticle1813
monopolylogue1819
pièce d'occasion1830
interlude1831
mimea1834
costume piece1834
mummers' play1849
history play1850
gag-piece1860
music drama1874
well-made1881
playlet1884
two-decker1884
slum1885
kinderspiel1886
thrill1886
knockabout1887
two-hander1888
front-piece1889
thriller1889
shadow-play1890
mime play1894
problem play1894
one-acter1895
sex play1899
chronicle drama1902
thesis-play1902
star vehicle1904
folk-play1905
radio play1908
tab1915
spy play1919
one-act1920
pièce à thèse1923
dance-drama1924
a mess of plottage1926
turkey1927
weepie1928
musical1930
cliffhanger1931
mime drama1931
triangle drama1931
weeper1934
spine-chiller1940
starrer1941
scorcher1942
teleplay1947
straw-hatter1949
pièce noire1951
pièce rose1951
tab show1951
conversation piece1952
psychodrama1956
whydunit1968
mystery play1975
State of the Nation1980
1915 B. Page Writing for Vaudeville 629 Tab, the contraction of ‘tabloid’, as ‘burlesque tab’, ‘musical comedy tab’.
1928 Washington Post 25 Sept. 13/2 Get more dancing experience with an orchestra under you. Go into a vaudeville tab or night club.
1997 Village Voice (N.Y.) 16 Sept. 107/1 There were innumerable pirated adaptations of Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel... There were giant spectacles with real ice and real bloodhounds, tiny half-hour ‘tab’ versions, quick-change solo acts.
2. Originally U.S. = tabloid n. 3.
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society > communication > journalism > journal > newspaper > [noun] > popular
tabloid1901
tab1927
popular1949
1927 Night Jrnl. (Lincoln, Nebraska) 7 Oct. 28/2 The tabs all run cross-word puzzles so they'll look intelligent, but their readers think those are pictures of fly-screens.
1932 A. M. Lindbergh Let. 9 Mar. in Hour of Gold (1973) 233 With this lull the papers, especially the tabs, bring out wild stories every hour.
1986 P. Reading Essent. Reading 193 Sing in Your Bath if You Want to Seem Sexy and Blood-Bath in Jordan vie for front page in the tabs.
2007 Closer 17 Mar. 101/2 Bad 'un Luke steals some saucy snaps of the buxom blonde and sells them to the tabs.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
tabv.
/tab/, U.S. /tæb/ 1. transitive. To furnish or ornament with tabs: see tabbed adj.
2. To identify, name, or ‘dub’; to label or record. Also, to watch, ‘keep tabs on’ (formerly also with up). colloquial (chiefly U.S.).
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the mind > language > naming > give a name to [verb (transitive)] > call or give as name to > designate or style as
sayOE
calla1250
deemc1400
nevenc1425
qualify?1465
designa1500
expound1530
style1570
read1590
intenda1599
dub1607
instyle1607
phrase1607
enstyle1616
speaka1625
cognominate1632
determine1653
clapa1657
designate1669
intimate1799
nominate1799
bedub1884
tab1924
1924 G. C. Henderson Keys to Crookdom 420 Tab, to name. To keep tabs on, to keep in touch with.
1926 J. Black You can't Win xix. 283 You are a burglar; you have put in a week ‘tabbing up’ a residence.
1946 Sun (Baltimore) 18 Feb. 11/5 The Navy has tabbed entertainment with the high-sounding name liaison unit.
1954 ‘J. Christopher’ Twenty-second Cent. 86 The doctors have it all tabbed. It's what they call cumulative stress.
1969 Eugene (Oregon) Register-Guard 3 Dec. 1 d/2 Ken Wiedemann of Cal, tabbed as the best defensive back, was sidelined for a major part of the season with a bad knee.
1978 M. Puzo Fools Die ii. 33 He had Jordan tabbed as a degenerate gambler.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1986; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
> as lemmas
T.A.B.
T.A.B. n. Australian and New Zealand Totalizator Agency Board.
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society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > betting > [noun] > official organization
Totalizator Agency Board1950
T.A.B.1957
1957 Press (Christchurch, N.Z.) 19 Nov. 16/1 If people want things like the T.A.B., alcohol and cigarettes.
1969 Sydney Morning Herald 24 May 27/1 (heading) The Moorebank Handicap, second leg of the TAB double.
1977 Herald (Melbourne) 17 Jan. 6/8 A spokesman for the TAB head office.
T.A.B.
T.A.B. n. Medicine a vaccine against typhoid, paratyphoid A, and paratyphoid B; usually attributive.
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the world > health and disease > healing > medicines or physic > medicines for specific purpose > vaccine or antiserum > [adjective] > specific vaccine
T.A.B.1929
1929 Lancet 9 Feb. 288/1 These T.A.B. vaccine injections..caused remission in the course of general paralysis.
1970 Guardian 24 Jan. 17/3 The Department of Health advises all travellers abroad to take the precaution of a TAB vaccination.
1981 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 18 Apr. 1313/1 We all lined up, hand on hip, to receive the dreaded TAB.
tab
tab v.2 (intransitive) = yomp v. 1.
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society > armed hostility > military operations > manoeuvre > [verb (intransitive)] > move or march
move?a1400
marcha1450
remarch1620
countermarch1644
to get over ——1781
yomp1982
tab1985
1985 Observer 26 May 14/4 They have their own argot: they bimble, yomp, or tab across the peat.
tab
tab n.6 a forced march in this order.
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society > armed hostility > military operations > manoeuvre > [noun] > march
march1575
countermarch1598
tab1982
1982 Listener 8 July 3/1 That night he set out on a ‘tab’ for Goose Green.
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n.11607
n.21909n.31914n.41929n.51916n.61915
v.1924as lemmas