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What is the difference between harness and tack?

harness | tack |

As nouns the difference between harness and tack

is that harness is (countable) a restraint or support, especially one consisting of a loop or network of rope or straps while tack is a small nail with a flat head.

As verbs the difference between harness and tack

is that harness is to place a harness on something; to tie up or restrain while tack is to nail with a tack (small nail with a flat head).

harness

English

Noun

(es)
  • (countable) A restraint or support, especially one consisting of a loop or network of rope or straps.
  • (countable) A collection of wires or cables bundled and routed according to their function.
  • (dated) The complete dress, especially in a military sense, of a man or a horse; armour in general.
  • * 1606 William Shakespeare, Macbeth , act V, scene V
    • Ring the alarum-bell! Blow, wind! come, wrack!
    At least we'll die with harness on our back.
  • The part of a loom comprising the heddles, with their means of support and motion, by which the threads of the warp are alternately raised and depressed for the passage of the shuttle.

    • Derived terms

    * harnessed antelope * harnessed moth * test harness

    Verb

    (es)
  • To place a harness on something; to tie up or restrain.
  • * {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=July-August, author=(Henry Petroski)
    • , title= Geothermal Energy , volume=101, issue=4, magazine=(American Scientist) , passage=Ancient nomads, wishing to ward off the evening chill and enjoy a meal around a campfire, had to collect wood and then spend time and effort coaxing the heat of friction out from between sticks to kindle a flame. With more settled people, animals were harnessed to capstans or caged in treadmills to turn grist into meal.}}
  • To capture, control or put to use.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-08-16, author= John Vidal
    • , volume=189, issue=10, page=8, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= Dams endanger ecology of Himalayas , passage=Most of the Himalayan rivers have been relatively untouched by dams near their sources. Now the two great Asian powers, India and China, are rushing to harness them as they cut through some of the world's deepest valleys.}}

    See also

    * (wikipedia "harness") *

    tack

    English

    Etymology 1

    From , probably from a (etyl) source.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A small nail with a flat head.
  • * 2012 , July 15. Richard Williams in Guardian Unlimited, Tour de France 2012: Carpet tacks cannot force Bradley Wiggins off track
    • A tough test for even the strongest climber, it was new to the Tour de France this year, but its debut will be remembered for the wrong reasons after one of those spectators scattered carpet tacks on the road and induced around 30 punctures among the group of riders including Bradley Wiggins, the Tour's overall leader, and his chief rivals.
  • A thumbtack.
  • (sewing) A loose seam used to temporarily fasten pieces of cloth.
  • (nautical) The lower corner on the leading edge of a sail relative to the direction of the wind.
  • (nautical) A course or heading that enables a sailing vessel to head upwind. See also reach, gybe.
  • A direction or course of action, especially a new one.
  • * 1994 , Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom , Abacus 2010, p. 637:
    • I thought that my refusing Barnard would alienate Botha, and decided that such a tack was too risky.
  • (nautical) The maneuver by which a sailing vessel turns its bow through the wind so that the wind changes from one side to the other.
  • (nautical) The distance a sailing vessel runs between these maneuvers when working to windward; a board.
  • (nautical) A rope used to hold in place the foremost lower corners of the courses when the vessel is close-hauled; also, a rope employed to pull the lower corner of a studding sail to the boom.
  • Any of the various equipment and accessories worn by horses in the course of their use as domesticated animals. Saddles, stirrups, bridles, halters, reins, bits, harnesses, martingales, and breastplates are all forms of horse tack .
  • (manufacturing, construction, chemistry) The stickiness of a compound, related to its cohesive and adhesive properties.
    • The laminate adhesive has very aggressive tack and is hard to move once in place.
  • Hardtack.
  • * 1913 , D. H. Lawrence, "Sons and Lovers":
    • "But if a woman's got nothing but her fair fame to feed on, why, it's thin tack , and a donkey would die of it!"
  • That which is attached; a supplement; an appendix.
  • * Bishop Burnet
    • Some tacks had been made to money bills in King Charles's time.
    (Macaulay)
  • (legal, Scotland) A contract by which the use of a thing is set, or let, for hire; a lease.
    • (Burrill)
  • (obsolete) Confidence; reliance.
    • (Halliwell)
    Synonyms
    * (nautical maneuver) coming about
    Hyponyms
    * (nail-like object for affixing thin things) thumbtack
    Derived terms
    * Blu-Tack * hardtack * thumbtack

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To nail with a tack (small nail with a flat head).
  • To sew/stich with a tack (loose seam used to temporarily fasten pieces of cloth).
  • (nautical) To maneuver a sailing vessel so that its bow turns through the wind, i.e. the wind changes from one side of the vessel to the other.
  • To add something as an extra item.
    • to tack (something) onto (something)
  • Often paired with "up", to place the tack on a horse.
    • Synonyms
    * to change tack
    Antonyms
    * to wear

    Related terms

    * tacky

    See also

    * * Blu-Tack

    Etymology 2

    From an old or dialectal form of (etyl) tache. See techy.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A stain; a tache.
  • (obsolete) A peculiar flavour or taint.
    • (Drayton)
    ----