dove-tail

A form of dovetail — The tail of a dove (family Columbidae); also, something having the shape of a dove's tail.

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Meanings

noundove-tail (plural dove-tails)

plural dove-tails

  1. alternativeAlternative form of dovetail.

    [T]heſe muſt be joined at Bottom to the Piles by a ſtrong Dove-tail, and the Piles joined vvith Braces; […]

    1733, Philip Miller, “WINE-PRESS”, in The Gardeners Dictionary: […], 2nd edition, volume I, London: […] C[harles] Rivington, […], →OCLC, column 1
    2 more examples

    Beſides this, another fine Starfiſh came to my Hands, […] Its body hath ten corners, and it hath a Star above vvith as many Rays; each of theſe one may compare unto a Sail of the VVindmills that the Children run againſt the VVind vvithal, or to a piece of ſuch Croſſes that are broad before, and narrovv vvhere they meet together; that is to ſay, of the ſhape of a Dove-tail: […]

    1694, John Narborough; Jasmen Tasman [i.e., Abel Tasman]; John Wood; Frederick Marten [i.e., Friedrich Martens], “[The Voyage into Spitzbergen and Greenland] Of the Crustaceous Fish that I Observed”, in [probably Tancred Robinson], editor, An Account of Several Late Voyages & Discoveries to the South and North. […], London: […] Sam[uel] Smith and Benj[amin] Walford, printers to the Royal Society, […], →OCLC, 4th part, section V (Of the Star-fish), pages 118–119

    I ſhall add other tvvo Forms of Lines, […] The firſt of theſe tvvo is termed Patee, or Dove-Tail, from a Form of Art uſed by Joiners, vvho make Joints one into the other by that Name: […]

    1722, Alexander Nisbet, “Of the Points and Parts of the Shield; and Forms of Lines, which Divide the Shield into Several Parts”, in A System of Heraldry Speculative and Practical: […], Edinburgh: […] J. MackEuen, →OCLC, page 23
verbdove-tail (third-person singular simple present dove-tails, present participle dove-tailing, simple past and past participle dove-tailed)

present singular third person dove-tails · participle present dove-tailing · participle past dove-tailed · past dove-tailed

  1. alternativeAlternative form of dovetail.

    [T]heſe Piles ought to be placed contrary to the Stillings, vvhich ſurround or croſs them every three Feet, and Dove-tail'd into the ſquare Supporters; […]

    1733, Philip Miller, “WINE-PRESS”, in The Gardeners Dictionary: […], 2nd edition, volume I, London: […] C[harles] Rivington, […], →OCLC, column 2
Cite this entry
APA

dove-tail. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dove-tail

MLA

“dove-tail.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dove-tail. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “dove-tail,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dove-tail.

Source: dove-tail on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.