tessera
[ tes-er-uh ]
/ ˈtɛs ər ə /
noun, plural tes·ser·ae [tes-uh-ree]. /ˈtɛs əˌri/.
one of the small pieces used in mosaic work.
a small square of bone, wood, or the like, used in ancient times as a token, tally, ticket, etc.
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Origin of tessera
1640–50; <Latin <Greek (Ionic) tésseresfour
Words nearby tessera
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Example sentences from the Web for tessera
British Dictionary definitions for tessera
tessera
/ (ˈtɛsərə) /
noun plural -serae (-səˌriː)
a small square tile of stone, glass, etc, used in mosaics
a die, tally, etc, used in classical times, made of bone or wood
Derived forms of tessera
tesseral, adjectiveWord Origin for tessera
C17: from Latin, from Ionic Greek tesseres four
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