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tessera

American  
[tes-er-uh] / ˈtɛs ər ə /

noun

plural

tesserae

  1. one of the small pieces used in mosaic work.

  2. a small square of bone, wood, or the like, used in ancient times as a token, tally, ticket, etc.

tessera British  
/ ˈtɛsərə /

noun

  1. a small square tile of stone, glass, etc, used in mosaics

  2. a die, tally, etc, used in classical times, made of bone or wood

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • tesseral adjective

Etymology

Origin of tessera

1640–50; < Latin < Greek (Ionic) tésseres four

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.