FromMiddle Englishtilte, fromOld English*tyltan,*tieltan(“to be unsteady”), related to the adjectivetealt(“unsteady”), fromProto-West Germanic*talt, ultimately fromProto-Indo-European*del-,*dul-(“to shake, hesitate”), see alsoDutchtouteren(“to tremble”),North Frisiantalt,tolt(“unstable, shaky”).[1] Cognate withIcelandictölt(“an ambling pace”).
The nominal sense of "a joust" appears around 1510, presumably derived from the barrier which separated the combatants, which suggests connection withtilt "covering". The modern transitive meaning is from 1590; the intransitive use appears 1620.
The sense of gaming frustration is said to originate withpinball.
tilt (third-person singular simple presenttilts,present participletilting,simple past and past participletilted)
- (transitive) Toslope orincline (something); toslant.[1590]
Tilt the barrel to pour out its contents.
- (intransitive) To be at anangle.[1620]
1701,Nehemiah Grew, “Of the Use of Organized Bodies”, inCosmologia Sacra: Or A Discourse of the Universe as It is the Creature and Kingdom of God. […], London: […] W[illiam] Rogers, S[amuel] Smith, and B[enjamin] Walford: […],→OCLC, 1st book, paragraph 18,page27:For as the Trunk of the Body, is kept fromtilting forvvard by the Muſcules of the Back: So, from falling backvvard, by theſe of the Belly.
2012 May 20, Nathan Rabin, “TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “Marge Gets A Job” (season 4, episode 7; originally aired 11/05/1992)”, inThe Onion AV Club[1]:“Marge Gets A Job” opens with the foundation of the Simpson housetilting perilously to one side, making the family homestead look like the suburban equivalent of the Leaning Tower Of Pisa.
- (intransitive, jousting) Tocharge (at someone) with alance.
c.1587–1588, [Christopher Marlowe],Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published1592,→OCLC; reprinted asTamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire, London: Scolar Press,1973,→ISBN,Act III, scene ii:Auster andAquilon with winged Steeds / All ſweating,tilt about the watery heauens, / With ſhiuering ſpeares enforcing thunderclaps, / And from their ſhields ſtrike flames of lightening
c.1591–1595 (date written),William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet”, inMr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, andEd[ward] Blount, published1623,→OCLC,[Act III, scene i]:Hetilts / With piercing steel at bold Mercutio's breast.
1944 May and June, “Notes and News: Moniaive Branch Locomotive Power”, inRailway Magazine, page182:Mr. Smith stronglytilts at Mr. McCarter's use of the adjective "unprepossessing" to describe the station buildings at Moniaive and elsewhere; [...].
1980,AA Book of British Villages, Drive Publications Ltd, page263:AtOffham, in Kent,tilting at the quintain provides a climax to the day's revels.
- (transitive) Topoint orthrust aweapon at.
c.1609–1622?,John Fletcher, “The Womans Prize: Or, The Tamer Tamed”, inComedies and Tragedies […], London: […] Humphrey Robinson, […], and forHumphrey Moseley […], published1647,→OCLC,(please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):And he shouldtilt her?
a.1822 (date written),John Keats, “[Tragedies.]Otho the Great: A Tragedy in Five Acts.”, in [Horace Elisha Scudder], editor,The Complete Poetical Works and Letters of John Keats, Cambridge edition, Boston, Mass., New York, N.Y.:Houghton, Mifflin and Company […], published1899,→OCLC, Act V, scene v,page189, column 1, lines53–55:I say I quarrel’d with you; / We did nottilt each other – that’s a blessing, – / Good gods! no innocent blood upon my head!
- (transitive) To point or thrust (a weapon).
1708,John Philips,Cyder:Sons against fatherstilt the fatal lance.
- Toforge (something) with atilt hammer.
totilt steel in order to render it more ductile
- (pinball, of a machine) To intentionally let theballfalldown to thedrain bydisablingflippers and mosttargets, done as apunishment to theplayer when the machine isnudged tooviolently orfrequently.
- (originally poker, video games, chess, slang) To enter a state offrustration and worsenedperformance resulting from a series oflosses.
2016 January 6,Jay Caspian Kang, “How the Daily Fantasy Sports Industry Turns Fans Into Suckers”, inThe New York Times[2], New York, N.Y.:The New York Times Company,→ISSN,→OCLC, archived fromthe original on2023-05-28:The D.F.S. industry is still inextricably tied up in those poker roots. Players talk about "tilting" because of "variance," especially when a "fish" puts in a "donkey" lineup that ends up going crazy. (In regular American English, this translates roughly to "I am really mad because some idiot punched in some random lineup that ended up catching every conceivable break and beating me.")
2022 September 2, Gökhan Çakır, Harrison Thomas, “How to get better at VALORANT”, inDot Esports[3], archived fromthe original on2023-03-15:Even the best players cantilt which can cause their performance to drop significantly. Players oftentilt when they're on a losing spree or frustrated with the game.
2023 April 19, Ben Tippett, “Haymakers Are Flying At The World Chess Championship”, inDefector[4], archived fromthe original on2023-06-05:This was yet another surprising momentum swing, with Nepomniachtchi seemingly having addressed his tendency totilt after a loss, and with Ding crashing back down to Earth after having squared the ledger in the previous game. Is this a new Nepomniachtchi, capable of digging deep and avenging losses?
- (figurative) To modify one's approach.
2019 December 26, Liz Alderman, “Self-Checkout in France Sets Off Battle Over a Day of Rest”, inThe New York Times[5]:Whileself-checkout machines are often used alongside cashiers, labor unions say thattilting toward fully cashierless operations threatens the French way of life by encouraging American-style consumerism and automation, putting thousands of jobs at risk.
to slope or incline (something); to slant
- Afrikaans:kantel
- Azerbaijani:əymək (az)
- Bulgarian:навеждам (bg)(naveždam),накланям (bg)(naklanjam)
- Catalan:inclinar (ca)
- Dutch:kantelen (nl)
- Esperanto:klini (eo)
- Finnish:kallistaa (fi)
- Galician:inclinar (gl)
- German:neigen (de),kippen (de)
- Indonesian:memiringkan (id),miring (id)
- Italian:pendere (it),inclinare (it),piegare (it)
- Latin:inclīnō (la)
- Maori:honga,kotira,whakatītaha,matira(upwards),whakataiheke
- Occitan:inclinar (oc)
- Ottoman Turkish:اكمك(eğmek)
- Portuguese:inclinar (pt)
- Russian:наклоня́ть (ru)(naklonjátʹ)
- Sorbian:
- Lower Sorbian:chyliś impf
- Spanish:ladear (es),ladearse (es),inclinar (es)
- Swedish:luta (sv)
- Tagalog:humiwas
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To be at an angle, to be on a slope
tilt (countable anduncountable,pluraltilts)
- A slope orinclination.
- The inclination of part of the body, such as backbone, pelvis, head, etc.
- (photography) The controlled vertical movement of a camera, or a device to achieve this.
- Coordinate terms:pan,cant
- Ajousting contest.(countable)[1510]
1928, Edgar Rice Burroughs, chapter 11, inTarzan, Lord of the Jungle, page139:Justs andtilts were held here weekly, while the greattourneys that occurred less often were given upon a field outside thecastle wall upon the floor of the valley.
- An attempt at something, such as atilt at public office.
2011 December 7, Phil McNulty, “Man City 2 - 0 Bayern Munich”, inBBC Sport[6]:City will now make the Premier League an even bigger priority, while regrouping and planning again for what they hope will be anothertilt at the Champions League next season.
- A thrust, as with a lance.
1716 December 9 (Gregorian calendar), Joseph Addison, “The Free-holder: No. 10. Wednesday, November 28.[1716.]”, inThe Works of the Right Honourable Joseph Addison, Esq; […], volume IV, London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], published1721,→OCLC:His Majesty[…]entertain'd him with the Slaughter of two or three of his Liege Subjects, whom he very dexterously put to Death with theTilt of his Lance.
- Atilt hammer.
- (uncountable, poker, video games, chess, slang) A state offrustration and worsenedperformance resulting from a series oflosses.
2014 September 10,Amit Varma, “Magnus Carlsen's weakness”, inThe Economic Times[7], Mumbai:Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd.,→ISSN,→OCLC, archived fromthe original on2014-09-19:In his landmark book, The Mental Game of Poker, sports psychologist Jared Tendler defines "tilt" as "anger + bad play". In short, you lose your mental equilibrium and start playing below your best, often making big mistakes.Tilt is caused by many different factors and Tendler defines seven types oftilt.
2016 February 26, Philip Kollar, “What is 'tilt' in League of Legends, and how can you avoid it?”, inPolygon[8], archived fromthe original on2023-04-01:In his follow-up video below, ScrapComputer goes into a long list of suggestions for stopping and avoidingtilt while you playLeague of Legends.
2019 October 15, Hawken Miller, “How to quickly climb the League of Legends ranked ladder”, inThe Washington Post[9], Washington, D.C.:The Washington Post Company,→ISSN,→OCLC, archived fromthe original on17 July 2023:Doing the same thing and expecting a different result can drive you insane, especially League of Legends. As you keep losing, you become tilted and get frustrated. No matter how mechanically gifted you are, it can't help amelioratetilt.
2022 March 16, “Online poker: from beginner to pro”, inTimes of Malta[10], archived fromthe original on2022-04-21:As long as you know that being consistent and sticking to a strategy in the long run, will win you money, you can avoidtilt and negative emotions.
inclination of part of the body
photography: the controlled vertical movement of a camera, or a device to achieve this
FromMiddle Englishtelte,tield,teld, fromOld Englishteld(“tent”), fromProto-West Germanic*teld, fromProto-Germanic*teldą(“tent”). Perhaps influenced byMiddle Low Germantelt,[1] orDanishtelt.[2] Cognates includeGermanZelt(“tent”),Old Norsetjald(“tent”) (whence also archaic Danishtjæld(“tent”)). More atteld.
tilt (pluraltilts)
- Acanvas covering for carts, boats, etc.[1450]
1907,Barbara Baynton, edited by Sally Krimmer and Alan Lawson,Human Toll (Portable Australian Authors: Barbara Baynton), St Lucia: University of Queensland Press, published1980, page253:Thetilt hooding the spring-cart was insecure - even the jolt from the down-and-up curving river bend near the house had brought it down twice.
- Any covering overhead; especially, atent.
a.1669,John Denham,To Sir John Mennis, being invited from Calais to Boulogne, to eat a Pig:But the rain made an ass
Oftilt and canvas
tilt (third-person singular simple presenttilts,present participletilting,simple past and past participletilted)
- (transitive) To cover with a tilt, or awning.
Borrowed fromEnglishtilt.
tilt m (pluraltilts)
- Only used inop tilt
See the etymology of the correspondinglemma form.
tilt
- inflection oftillen:
- second/third-personsingularpresentindicative
- (archaic)pluralimperative
(Thisetymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at theEtymology scriptorium.)
tilt
- (transitive) toforbid,prohibit(someone:-nak/-nek)
- tilt in Géza Bárczi,László Országh,et al., editors,A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára [The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (ÉrtSz.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962.Fifth ed., 1992:→ISBN.
Unadapted borrowing fromEnglishtilt. In the non-pinball senses, apseudo-anglicism.
tilt m (invariable)
- haywirestate;breakdown;crash;down;out of order
Il servizio è andato intilt tra le 12 e le 15.- The service wentdown between 12 pm and 3 pm.
Il computer è andato intilt.- The computer crashed.
- (literally, “went incrash”)
Martedì il sito del presidente è stato intilt per varie ore.- On Tuesday, the president's site wasdown for several hours.
- short-circuit(unintended current flow)
- tilt(pinball machine state)
- tilt in Treccani.it –Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana
tilt on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
