different between tautly vs taut

English

Etymology

taut +? -ly

Adverb

tautly (comparative more tautly, superlative most tautly)

1. In a taut manner, tightly, tensely.

   The wire was held tautly, until it was so taut it broke; then there were two wires held slackly.

English

Etymology

The adjective is derived from Middle English taught [and other forms], Early Middle English tohte, towehte (“strained, stretched; distended; tight; firm”), probably from tough, touth, tou?th, to?t (“powerful, strong; fierce, violent; not tender, tough; hardy, resilient; steadfast, stout; difficult to do or endure”) and possibly influenced by togen, towen, past participle of ten (“to extend, stretch out; to drag, haul, pull, tow, tug”) (modern English tee (“(obsolete) to draw, lead; to draw away; to go, proceed”)), or directly from its etymon Old English t?on (“to drag, draw, pull”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dewk- (“to draw, pull”)) The word may be related to thight (“(dialectal) compact, dense; close-fitting, tight”) and tight; and is cognate with Scots tacht, taght (“taut”).

The verb is probably derived from the adjective.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: tôt, IPA^(key): /t??t/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /t?t/
• (cot–caught merger) enPR: tät, IPA^(key): /t?t/
• Rhymes: -??t
• Homophones: taught, tort (in non-rhotic accents), tot (with cot-caught merger)

Adjective

taut (comparative tauter, superlative tautest)

1. (also figuratively) Under tension, like a stretched bowstring, rope, or sail; tight.

   Synonyms: nonslack, stretched, tense, tensioned; see also Thesaurus:taut

   Antonyms: untaut; see also Thesaurus:loose
2. (of a body, muscles, etc.) Not flabby; firm, toned; (of a person) having a lean, strong body.
3. (of music, writing, etc.) Containing only relevant parts; brief and controlled.

   Synonyms: concise, crisp, terse, tight; see also Thesaurus:concise

   Antonyms: see Thesaurus:verbose
4. (figuratively) Experiencing anxiety or stress.

   Synonyms: nonrelaxed, strained, tense, unrelaxed
5. (nautical, of a sailor, a ship, etc.) Neat and well-disciplined; (by extension) efficient and in order.
6. (oenology) Strong; uncompromising.

Derived terms

Translations

See also

• tight ship

Verb

taut (third-person singular simple present tauts, present participle tauting, simple past and past participle tauted)

1. (transitive) To make taut; to tauten, to tighten.

References

Anagrams

• Ta Tu, Ta-tu, tatu

Finnish

Noun

taut

1. Nominative plural form of tau.

Anagrams

• -ttua, Tatu, tuta

German

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -a??t

Verb

taut

1. inflection of tauen:
   1. third-person singular present
   2. second-person plural present
   3. plural imperative

Hungarian

Etymology

tau +? -t

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [?t?ut]
• Hyphenation: ta?ut

Noun

taut

1. accusative singular of tau

Icelandic

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /t?øy?t/
• Rhymes: -øy?t

Noun

taut n (genitive singular tauts, no plural)

1. muttering, mumbling

   Synonyms: tuldur, muldur, uml

Declension

Related terms

• tauta (“to mutter”)

Norwegian Bokmål

Verb

taut

1. (non-standard since 2005) past tense of tyte

Norwegian Nynorsk

Verb

taut

1. past tense of tyta

Veps

Etymology

Related to Finnish taltta.

Noun

taut

1. chisel