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Added 9 October 2026

tile

/taɪl/ noun

Categories: ThingsNatureUncommon Words

In Latin: tēgula Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about tile at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

  1. A flat thin rectangular slab (as of fired clay or rubber or linoleum) used to cover surfaces.
  2. A thin flat slab of fired clay used for roofing.
  3. Game equipment consisting of a flat thin piece marked with characters and used in board games like Mah-Jong, Scrabble, etc.

verb

  1. Cover with tiles.
    tile the wall and the floor of the bathroom

Origin

From Middle English tile, tyl, tigel, tiȝel, teȝele, from Old English tiġele, tieġle, tiġle (“tile, brick”), from Proto-West Germanic *tigulā (“tile, brick”), from Proto-Germanic *tigulǭ (“tile, brick”), from Latin tēgula, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)teg- (“to cover”). Doublet of tegula.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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