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Tilt

//tɪlt// name, noun, verb, slang

Definitions

Proper Noun

1
A river in Perth and Kinross council area, Scotland, that joins the River Garry at Blair Atholl.

Noun

1
A slope or inclination. countable, uncountable
2
A canvas covering for carts, boats, etc.
"The tilt hooding the spring-cart was insecure - even the jolt from the down-and-up curving river bend near the house had brought it down twice."
3
pitching dangerously to one side wordnet
4
The inclination of part of the body, such as backbone, pelvis, head, etc. countable, uncountable
5
Any covering overhead; especially, a tent.
"But the rain made an ass Of tilt and canvas"

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6
the property possessed by a line or surface that departs from the vertical wordnet
7
The controlled vertical movement of a camera, or a device to achieve this. countable, uncountable
8
a slight but noticeable partiality wordnet
9
A jousting contest. (countable) countable, uncountable
"Justs and tilts were held here weekly, while the great tourneys that occurred less often were given upon a field outside the castle wall upon the floor of the valley."
10
a contentious speech act; a dispute where there is strong disagreement wordnet
11
An attempt at something, such as a tilt at public office. countable, uncountable
"City will now make the Premier League an even bigger priority, while regrouping and planning again for what they hope will be another tilt at the Champions League next season."
12
a combat between two mounted knights tilting against each other with blunted lances wordnet
13
A thrust, as with a lance. countable, uncountable
"His Majesty[…]entertain'd him with the Slaughter of two or three of his Liege Subjects, whom he very dexterously put to Death with the Tilt of his Lance."
14
A tilt hammer. countable, uncountable
15
A state of frustration and worsened performance resulting from a series of losses. slang, uncountable
"to go on tilt"

Verb

1
To slope or incline (something); to slant. transitive
"Tilt the barrel to pour out its contents."
2
To cover with a tilt, or awning. transitive
3
charge with a tilt wordnet
4
To be at an angle. intransitive
"For as the Trunk of the Body, is kept from tilting forvvard by the Muſcules of the Back: So, from falling backvvard, by theſe of the Belly."
5
heel over wordnet

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6
To charge (at someone) with a lance. intransitive
"Auster and Aquilon with winged Steeds / All ſweating, tilt about the watery heauens, / With ſhiuering ſpeares enforcing thunderclaps, / And from their ſhields ſtrike flames of lightening"
7
move sideways or in an unsteady way wordnet
8
To point or thrust a weapon at. transitive
"And he should tilt her?"
9
to incline or bend from a vertical position wordnet
10
To point or thrust (a weapon). transitive
"Sons against fathers tilt the fatal lance."
11
To forge (something) with a tilt hammer.
"to tilt steel in order to render it more ductile"
12
To intentionally let the ball fall down to the drain by disabling flippers and most targets, done as a punishment to the player when the machine is nudged too violently or frequently.
13
To enter a state of frustration and worsened performance resulting from a series of losses. slang
"The D.F.S. industry is still inextricably tied up in those poker roots. Players talk about "tilting" because of "variance," especially when a "fish" puts in a "donkey" lineup that ends up going crazy. (In regular American English, this translates roughly to "I am really mad because some idiot punched in some random lineup that ended up catching every conceivable break and beating me.")"
14
To modify one's approach. figuratively
"While self-checkout machines are often used alongside cashiers, labor unions say that tilting toward fully cashierless operations threatens the French way of life by encouraging American-style consumerism and automation, putting thousands of jobs at risk."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English tilte, from Old English *tyltan, *tieltan (“to be unsteady”), related to the adjective tealt (“unsteady”), from Proto-West Germanic *talt, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *del-, *dul- (“to shake, hesitate”), see also Dutch touteren (“to tremble”), North Frisian talt, tolt (“unstable, shaky”). Cognate with Icelandic tölt (“an ambling pace”). The nominal sense of "a joust" appears around 1510, presumably derived from the barrier which separated the combatants, which suggests connection with tilt "covering". The modern transitive meaning is from 1590; the intransitive use appears 1620. The sense of gaming frustration is said to originate with pinball.

Etymology 2

Etymology 3

From Middle English telte, tield, teld, from Old English teld (“tent”), from Proto-West Germanic *teld, from Proto-Germanic *teldą (“tent”). Perhaps influenced by Middle Low German telt, or Danish telt. Cognates include German Zelt (“tent”), Old Norse tjald (“tent”) (whence also archaic Danish tjæld (“tent”)). More at teld.

Etymology 4

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