tilling

till ¹  (tl)

tr.v. tilled, till·ing, tills

To prepare (land) for the raising of crops, as by plowing and harrowing; cultivate.

---

[Middle English tilen, from Old English tilian.]

---

tilla·ble adj.

---

till ²  (tl)

prep.

Until.

conj.

Until.

---

[Middle English, from Old English til, from Old Norse.]

Usage Note: Till and until are generally interchangeable in both writing and speech, though as the first word in a sentence until is usually preferred: Until you get that paper written, don't even think about going to the movies. · Till is actually the older word, with until having been formed by the addition to it of the prefix un-, meaning "up to." In the 18th century the spelling 'till became fashionable, as if till were a shortened form of until. Although 'till is now nonstandard, 'til is sometimes used in this way and is considered acceptable, though it is etymologically incorrect.

---

till ³  (tl)

n.

1. A drawer, small chest, or compartment for money, as in a store.

2. A supply of money; a purse.

---

[Middle English tille.]

---

till ⁴  (tl)

n.

Glacial drift composed of an unconsolidated, heterogeneous mixture of clay, sand, pebbles, cobbles, and boulders.

---

[Origin unknown.]

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

tilling - cultivation of the land in order to raise crops cultivation - (agriculture) production of food by preparing the land to grow crops (especially on a large scale) farming, husbandry, agriculture - the practice of cultivating the land or raising stock ploughing, plowing - tilling the land with a plow; "he hired someone to do the plowing for him"