Tidde
(Tid"de) obs. imp. of Tide, v. i. Chaucer.
Tidder
(Tid"der Tid"dle) v. t. [Cf. AS. tyderian to grow tender. See Tid.] To use with tenderness; to
fondle. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.]
Tide
(Tide) n. [AS. tid time; akin to OS. & OFries. tid, D. tijd, G. zeit, OHG. zit, Icel. ti, Sw. & Dan.
tid, and probably to Skr. aditi unlimited, endless, where a- is a negative prefix. &radic58. Cf. Tidings,
Tidy, Till, prep., Time.]
1. Time; period; season. [Obsoles.] "This lusty summer's tide." Chaucer.
And rest their weary limbs a tide.
Spenser.
Which, at the appointed tide,
Each one did make his bride.
Spenser.
At the tide of Christ his birth.
Fuller. 2. The alternate rising and falling of the waters of the ocean, and of bays, rivers, etc., connected therewith.
The tide ebbs and flows twice in each lunar day, or the space of a little more than twenty-four hours. It
is occasioned by the attraction of the sun and moon acting unequally on the waters in different parts of
the earth, thus disturbing their equilibrium. A high tide upon one side of the earth is accompanied by a
high tide upon the opposite side. Hence, when the sun and moon are in conjunction or opposition, as
at new moon and full moon, their action is such as to produce a greater than the usual tide, called the
spring tide, as represented in the cut. When the moon is in the first or third quarter, the sun's attraction
in part counteracts the effect of the moon's attraction, thus producing under the moon a smaller tide
than usual, called the neap tide.
The flow or rising of the water is called flood tide, and the reflux, ebb tide.
3. A stream; current; flood; as, a tide of blood. "Let in the tide of knaves once more; my cook and I'll
provide." Shak.
4. Tendency or direction of causes, influences, or events; course; current.
There is a tide in the affairs of men,
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune.
Shak. 5. Violent confluence. [Obs.] Bacon.
6. (Mining) The period of twelve hours.
Atmospheric tides, tidal movements of the atmosphere similar to those of the ocean, and produced in
the same manner by the attractive forces of the sun and moon. — Inferior tide. See under Inferior,
a. — To work double tides. See under Work, v. t. — Tide day, the interval between the occurrences
of two consecutive maxima of the resultant wave at the same place. Its length varies as the components
of sun and moon waves approach to, or recede from, one another. A retardation from this cause is called
the lagging of the tide, while the acceleration of the recurrence of high water is termed the priming of
the tide. See Lag of the tide, under 2d Lag. — Tide dial, a dial to exhibit the state of the tides at
any time. — Tide gate. (a) An opening through which water may flow freely when the tide sets in one
direction, but which closes automatically and prevents the water from flowing in the other direction. (b)
(Naut.) A place where the tide runs with great velocity, as through a gate. — Tide gauge, a gauge for
showing the height of the tide; especially, a contrivance for registering the state of the tide continuously
at every instant of time. Brande & C. — Tide lock, a lock situated between an inclosed basin, or a
canal, and the tide water of a harbor or river, when they are on different levels, so that craft can pass
either way at all times of the tide; — called also guard lock. — Tide mill. (a) A mill operated by the
tidal currents. (b) A mill for clearing lands from tide water. — Tide rip, a body of water made rough
by the conflict of opposing tides or currents. — Tide table, a table giving the time of the rise and fall
