▪ I. ‖ til1 East Ind.
(tɪl)
Also teel, teal.
[a. Hindi til:—Skr. tilá.]
The Indian name of the plant Sesamum indicum; chiefly attrib. or in comb., as til seed; til oil, til-seed oil, the oil obtained by bruising the seeds. black til = ramtil, Guizotia oleifera (formerly called Verbesina sativa).
| 1840 Penny Cycl. XVI. 417/1 India, whence..sesamum or til seed is..largely imported, as well as from Egypt. 1845 Stocqueler Handbk. Brit. India (1854) 514 It is..inferior..to the oil of til (sesamum). 1849 Balfour Man. Bot. §951 Teel seeds, the produce of Sesamum orientale, supply a bland oil. c 1865 Letheby in Circ. Sc. I. 101/2 Sessama, gingilie, or teal oil. a 1875 Table Customs-Duties British India (Yule), Oils, Jinjili or Til. 1905 Statesman 23 Aug. 5/4 The Sesamum (Til or Jinjili) crop of the season. |
▪ II. ‖ til2
[Native name in Madeira: perh. a local use of Pg. til, teil or linden.]
A lauraceous tree, Oreodaphne fetens, of the Canary Islands and Madeira; also its wood, which has a fetid smell. Chiefly attrib., as til-tree, til-wood.
| 1858 Hogg Veg. Kingd. 623 Til-wood, produced by G[œppertia] fœtens, a native of the Canaries, has a most disagreeable odour. 1884 Miller Plant-n., Oreodaphne (Laurus) fœtens, Fetid Laurel, or Til-tree. 1885 A. Brassey The Trades 30 The black Til..or native laurel. |
▪ III. til
obs. form of teil, tile, till.