Middle English Dictionary

The Middle English Dictionary is online, and is of use for looking up Middle English names for tiles. For example:

til(le, tiel(e, tigel, tighel, ti3l, tieghel, teil(le, tel(e, teghle, teghel(e, te3ele, thil & (in names) tichel, tiwel, thiel, thigel; pl. tiles, etc. & tiellen & tile, til(le, tiel, tigel, tighl, til, tel(e & (error) teys.

[OE []tiegle, tighel; for -e- forms cp. MDu. tegel, tegele; ult. L te macrongula. For the surname form tiwel cp. AF tiwel, tiuuele, vars. of OF tiule.]

1.
(a) A brick; a masonry tile; -- also coll.; brenned ~; (b) in related cpds., combs., & phrases: ~ of flaundres, flaundres (flaundrish) ~, bricks or tile made in Flanders; ~ ston, q.v.; ~ wallere, a bricklayer; brike ~, bricks; herth ~, tile for making a fireplace; pendaunt ~, ?a tile used for the arch of a fireplace; sconchoun ~, chamfered tile; wal ~, a tile for a wall; -- also coll. [see also wal n.(1)]; (c) a fragment of a brick or tile; -- also coll.; ~ scarthe (sherd).


2.
(a) A roofing tile; a stone slate used as a roofing tile; -- also coll.; crestes of ~, tiled rooftops; (b) in related cpds. & combs.: ~ pin, a wooden pin used to attach a roofing tile to a lath; -- also coll.; ~ pinninge, the attaching of tiles to the lath of a roof with nails or pins; ~ prig, coll. nails used to attach roofing tiles; ~ thacchere, one who lays roofing tile; coin (corner) ~, ?a hip tile; ?a tile for an archway; goter ~, a tile for a gutter; hipe ~ [see hipe n. 2.(b)]; hole (holwe) ~, a concave roofing tile; plaine ~, ?a flat roofing tile; ?an undecorated roofing tile; rigge ~ [see also rigge n. 7.(c)]; rof ~ [see rof n. 6.(a)]; thache ~ [see thach(e n. (c)].

3.
(a) A paving tile; a painted paving tile; -- also coll.; (b) in related cpds. & combs.: ~ paving, paving tiles; holand ~; pavement ~, tiles used in paving; pavinge ~ [see also paving(e ger. (c)]; pen ~, tile manufactured at Penn and Tyler's Green in Buckinghamshire [the quotation under penne-til n. should be moved to pen n.]; wal ~, ?decorated wall tiles used for flooring.

4.
In misc. cpds. related to senses 1., 2., & 3.: ~ formere (makere), one who makes or shapes bricks or tiles; ~ hous, q.v.; ~ kilne (oste), a kiln for firing bricks or tiles; ~ kilnere; ~ makinge, the process of making bricks or tiles; ~ poudre, powder made from crushed bricks or tiles and used in mortar; ~ werk, bricklaying or paving; square ~, a square tile used for roofing or paving.

5.
A heated tile used to heat or melt something [in most cases it is impossible to determine if the reference is to a flat tile or to a brick]; also, a tile used to cover an earthenware pot; ~ ston, q.v.

6.
?The hardened material out of which bricks and tiles are made, burnt clay; also in prov. expressions; brenned ~ [occas. difficult to distinguish from sense 1.(a)].

7.
In phrase: tiles of ston, mistransl. of L macheras petrinas stone swords: ?error through misreading of machera as ML maceria; ?error for ME stile n.(2).

8.
In surnames and place names [see Smith PNElem.2.179].