Tessera

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Tessera \Tes"se*ra\, n.; pl. {Tesserae}. [L., a square piece, a
     die. See {Tessellar}.]
     A small piece of marble, glass, earthenware, or the like,
     having a square, or nearly square, face, used by the ancients
     for mosaic, as for making pavements, for ornamenting walls,
     and like purposes; also, a similar piece of ivory, bone,


     wood, etc., used as a ticket of admission to theaters, or as
     a certificate for successful gladiators, and as a token for
     various other purposes. --Fairholt.
     [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  tessera
       n : a small square tile of stone or glass used in making mosaics
       [also: {tesserae} (pl)]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  47 Moby Thesaurus words for "tessera":
     ID card, badge, calligram, calling card, card, check, checker,
     checkerboard, checkerwork, chessboard, colors in patches,
     countermark, countersign, crazy-work, credentials, dog tag,
     harlequin, identification, identification badge,
     identification tag, initials, inlay, insert, insertion, inset,
     letter of introduction, marquetry, monogram, mosaic, open sesame,
     parquet, parquetry, password, patchwork, plaid, press card,
     secret grip, serial number, shibboleth, signature, tartan,
     tessellation, tesserae, token, variegated pattern, visiting card,
     watchword