View source for Dovetail

{{also|dove-tail}}
==English==
{{was wotd|2023|May|1}}

===Etymology===
{{multiple images
|direction = vertical
|image1 = Streptopelia tranquebarica, male, Taiwan (17383796482).jpg
|caption1 = A [[red turtle dove]] (''[[Streptopelia tranquebarica]]'') in [[flight#Noun|flight]], [[display#Verb|displaying]] the [[characteristic#Adjective|characteristic]] [[shape#Noun|shape]] of its [[tail#Noun|tail]].
|image2 = Finished dovetail.jpg
|caption2 = A dovetail or dovetail joint ''(noun sense 2.1)''. Each of the [[tenon#Noun|tenons]] which is [[shaped#Adjective|shaped]] like a [[dove#Noun|dove]]’s [[tail#Noun|tail]] is also known as a “dovetail” ''(noun sense 2.2)''.
|image3 = Complete Guide to Heraldry Fig105.png
|caption3 = A [[drawing#Noun|drawing]] of a [[heraldic]] {{l|en|escutcheon|t=[[shield#Noun|shield]]}} [[feature#Verb|featuring]] a {{l|en|fess|t=[[horizontal#Adjective|horizontal]] [[central#Adjective|central]] [[band#Noun|band]]}} [[outline#Verb|outlined]] with dovetails ''(noun sense 3)''.
}}

The {{glossary|noun}} is derived from {{compound|en|dove|tail}}.<ref>{{R:OED Online|pos=n|id=57163|date=March 2022|nodot=1}}; {{R:Lexico|pos=n}}</ref> The {{glossary|verb}} is derived from the noun.<ref>{{R:OED Online|pos=v|id=57164|date=September 2022|nodot=1}}; {{R:Lexico|pos=v}}</ref>

===Pronunciation===
* {{IPA|en|/ˈdʌvteɪl/|a=RP}}
* {{audio|en|LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-dovetail.wav|a=Southern England}}
* {{IPA|en|/ˈdʌvˌteɪl/|a=GA}}
* {{hyphenation|en|dove|tail}}

===Noun===
{{en-noun}}

# The [[tail#Noun|tail]] of a [[dove#Noun|dove]] ([[family]] {{taxfmt|Columbidae|family}}); also, something [[have#Verb|having]] the [[shape#Noun|shape]] of a dove's tail.
#* {{quote-book|en|author=w:John Narborough; Jasmen Tasman [''i.e.'', {{w|Abel Tasman}}]; John Wood; Frederick Marten [''i.e.'', {{w|Friedrich Martens}}]|chapter=[The Voyage into Spitzbergen and Greenland] Of the Crustaceous Fish that I Observed|editor=[probably {{w|Tancred Robinson}}]|title=An Account of Several Late Voyages & Discoveries to the South and North.{{nb...|Towards the Streights of Magellan, the South Seas, the Vast Tracts of Land beyond Hollandia Nova, &c. Also towards Nova Zembla, Greenland or Spitsberg, Groynland or Engrondland, &c.}}|location=London|publisher={{...|Printed for}} Sam[uel] Smith and Benj[amin] Walford, printers to the {{w|Royal Society}},{{nb...|at the Prince’s Arms in S. Paul’s Churchyard}}|year=1694|section=4th part, section V (Of the Star-fish)|pages=118–119|pageurl=https://books.google.com/books?id=6wEmrBQS_a0C&pg=RA1-PA119|oclc=1354934889|passage=Beſides this, another fine ''Starfiſh'' came to my Hands, {{...}} Its body hath ten corners, and it hath a Star above vvith as many Rays; each of theſe one may compare unto a Sail of the VVindmills that the Children run againſt the VVind vvithal, or to a piece of ſuch Croſſes that are broad before, and narrovv vvhere they meet together; that is to ſay, of the ſhape of a '''Dove-tail''': {{...}}}}
# {{lb|en|chiefly|woodworking|often|attributively}}
## ''In full'' '''dovetail joint''': a [[type#Noun|type]] of [[joint#Noun|joint]] where [[adjoining#Adjective|adjoining]] [[component#Noun|components]] are [[fasten]]ed by [[multiple#Adjective|multiple]] [[tenon#Noun|tenons]] [[cut#Verb|cut]] into [[wedge#Noun|wedge]] shapes [[resemble|resembling]] a dove's tail, which [[interlock#Verb|interlock]] with [[mortise#Noun|mortises]] having [[corresponding#Adjective|corresponding]] shapes.
##: {{synonyms|en|culvertail|fantail|swallowtail}}
##* {{RQ:Miller Gardeners Dictionary|volume=I|entry=WINE-PRESS|page=857|column=1|passage=[T]heſe muſt be joined at Bottom to the Piles by a ſtrong '''Dove-tail''', and the Piles joined vvith Braces; {{...}}}}
##* {{quote-book|en|entry=Brazing Keys|editor=[[w:Paul Nooncree Hasluck|Paul N[ooncree] Hasluck]]|title=Cassell’s Cyclopædia of Mechanics{{nb...|Containing Receipts, Processes and Memoranda for Workshop Use: Based on Personal Experience and Expert Knowledge: With 1,200 Illustrations and an Index of 8,500 Items}}|series=First Series|location=London; Paris|publisher=[[w:Cassell (publisher)|Cassell and Company]],{{nb...|Limited, London, Paris, New York & Melbourne}}|year=1900|page=311|pageurl=https://archive.org/details/cassellscyclopae00hasl/page/311/mode/1up|column=1|oclc=560335910|passage=With a warding file cut a '''dovetail''' on each of the ends to be joined, as shown by Fig. 1.}}
##* {{quote-book|en|author=[William Fairham]|chapter=The Dovetail Joint|title=Woodwork Joints: How They are Set Out, How Made and Where Used;{{nb...|with Four Hundred and Thirty Illustrations and a Complete Index of Eleven Hundred References}}|location=Philadelphia, Pa.; London|publisher=[[w:J. B. Lippincott & Co.|J[oshua] B[allinger] Lippincott Company]]|year=[1921]|page=123|pageurl=https://archive.org/details/woodworkjointsho00fair/page/123/mode/1up|oclc=1195740333|passage=After marking out the pins on the drawer sides, we proceed with the next operation, that is, sawing the '''dovetails''' ready for chopping out the waste material.}}
##* {{quote-journal|en|author=Edwin M. Love|title=Handmade Dovetails|editor=Charles McLendon|magazine=[[w:Popular Science|The Popular Science Monthly]]|location=New York, N.Y.|publisher=Popular Science Publishing Company|month=April|year=1944|volume=144|number=4|page=151|pageurl=https://books.google.com/books?id=2ykDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA151|column=1|issn=0032-4647|oclc=498719638|passage='''DOVETAIL''' joints, well known for their strength, have long been used in fine cabinet work. Nowadays they are frequently displaced by other types of joints that are easier to make with power tools, but where a self-locking joint is needed for use without glue, the '''dovetail''' is unsurpassed.}}
## A tenon cut into a wedge shape resembling a dove's tail so that it interlocks with a mortise having a corresponding shape in a dovetail joint.
# {{lb|en|heraldry}} A [[line#Noun|line]] resembling a dovetail joint ''(sense 2.1)''.
#* {{quote-book|en|author=w:Alexander Nisbet|chapter=Of the Points and Parts of the Shield; and Forms of Lines, which Divide the Shield into Several Parts|title=A System of Heraldry Speculative and Practical:{{nb...|With the True Art of Blazon, According to the Most Approved Heralds in Europe: Illustrated with Suitable Examples of Armorial Figures, and Achievements of the Most Considerable Sirnames and Families in Scotland, &c. Together with Historical and Genealogical Memorials Relative thereto.}}|location=Edinburgh|publisher={{...|Printed for}} J. MackEuen|year=1722|page=23|pageurl=https://books.google.com/books?id=TGUuY_-VlZ4C&pg=PA24-IA3|oclc=316346464|passage=I ſhall add other tvvo Forms of ''Lines'', {{...}} The firſt of theſe tvvo is termed ''Patee'', or '''''Dove-Tail''''', from a Form of ''Art'' uſed by Joiners, vvho make Joints one into the other by that Name: {{...}}}}
#* {{quote-book|en|author=John Harris|chapter=ASSEMBLEE|chapterurl=https://books.google.com/books?id=9h-fxRO7gzsC&pg=PP136|title=Lexicon Technicum: Or, An Universal English Dictionary of Arts and Sciences:{{nb...|Explaining Not Only the Terms of Art, but the Arts Themselves. In Two Volumes. [...] The Fifth Edition. Now Digested into One Alphabet: With Very Considerable Additions and Improvements from Later Discoveries in Mathematicks and Philosophy, &c. Illustrated with Several Additional Copper-plates, and Many New Diagrams.}}|edition=5th|location=London|publisher={{...|Printed for}} J. Walthoe,{{nb...|Mess. Knapton, D[aniel] Midwinter, A. Bettesworth and C. Hitch, E. Symon, T. Ward and E. Wicksteed, B. Motte and C. Bathurst, A. Ward, J. Clark, D. Brown, T. Wotton, T. Hatchett and E. Comins.}}|year=1736|volume=I|column=2|oclc=911718997|passage=ASSEMBLEE, [in ''Heraldry'',] a '''Dovetail''' or more to hold the tvvo Parts of the Eſcutcheon together, vvhere the Partition Line is, being countercharged, is ſome of the Metal and ſome of the Colour of the Eſcutcheon.}}
#* {{RQ:Porny Heraldry|article=1|articlename=Of Honourable Ordinaries|section=II (Of the Pale)|page=47|passage=The ninth is ''Quarterly per Pale '''dovetail''', Ruby and Topaz''; born by the Right Hon. [[w:Thomas Bromley, 2nd Baron Montfort|''Thomas'' Bromley, Lord {{smallcaps|Montfort}}]], &c.}}

====Alternative forms====
* {{alter|en|dove-tail}}
* {{alter|en|dufftail}} {{qualifier|obsolete}}

====Derived terms====
*{{l|en|dovetail joint}}

====Translations====
{{trans-top|tail of a dove; something having the shape of a dove’s tail}}
* Finnish: {{t|fi|[[kyyhky]]n [[pyrstö]]}}, {{t|fi|[[kyyhkynen|kyyhkysen]] [[pyrstö]]}}
* Macedonian: {{t|mk|[[о́пашка]] [[од]] [[ласто́вица]]|f}}
* Welsh: {{t|cy|cynffon colomen|f}}
{{trans-bottom}}

{{trans-top|type of joint where adjoining components are fastened by multiple tenons cut into wedge shapes resembling a dove’s tail, which interlock with mortises having corresponding shapes}}
* Arabic: {{t|ar|تَعْشِيقَة|f}}
* Catalan: {{t|ca|cua d'oreneta|f}}, {{t|ca|cudornella|f}}
* Chinese:
*: Mandarin: {{t+|cmn|燕尾榫|tr=yànwěisǔn}}
* Czech: {{t|cs|čepování|n}}, {{t|cs|rybina|f}}
* Dutch: {{t+|nl|zwaluwstaart|m}}
* Estonian: {{t|et|kalasabatapp}}
* Finnish: {{t|fi|lohenpyrstö}}, {{t+|fi|lohenpyrstöliitos}}, {{t|fi|sinkkaus}}
* French: {{t+|fr|queue-d'aronde|f}}
* Georgian: {{t|ka|მაკრატელა}}
* German: {{t+|de|Schwalbenschwanz|m}}, {{t+|de|Schwalbenschwanzverbindung|f}}, {{t|de|Verzahnung|f}}
* Greek:
*: Ancient Greek: {{t|grc|πελεκῖνος|m}}
* Hebrew: {{t|he|זְנַבְיוֹן|m|tr=zanvion}}
* Irish: {{t|ga|déad|m|f}}, {{t|ga|déadalt|m}}
* Italian: {{t+|it|caletta|f}}
* Japanese: {{t|ja|蟻継ぎ|tr=ありつぎ, aritsugi}}
* Korean: {{t|ko|사개}}
* Latvian: {{t|lv|bezdelīgas astes savienojums}}
* Lithuanian: {{t|lt|letenėlė|f}}
* Macedonian: {{t|mk|ласто́вечка о́пашка|f}}
* Norwegian:
*: Bokmål: {{t|nb|svalehale|m}}, {{t|nb|svalehalesink|m}}, {{t|nb|svalehaleskjøt|m}}
* Occitan: {{t|oc|coa d'aronda|f}}
* Ottoman Turkish: {{t|ota|قورت آغزی|tr=kurt ağızı}}
* Persian: {{t|fa|اتصال دم‌چلچله‌ای}}
* Polish: {{t|pl|jaskółczy ogon|m}}, {{t|pl|rybi ogon|m}}, {{t|pl|złącze płetwowe|n}}
* Portuguese: {{t|pt|cauda de andorinha|f}}, {{t|pt|ensambladura em cauda de andorinha|f}}, {{t|pt|união em cauda de andorinha|f}}
* Russian: {{t|ru|ла́сточкин хво́ст|m}}
* Scottish Gaelic: {{t|gd|amaladh|m}}
* Spanish: {{t|es|cola de milano|f}}, {{t|es|cola de pato|f}}
* Swedish: {{t+|sv|laxstjärt|c}}, {{t|sv|laxknut|?}}
* Tagalog: {{t|tl|bakám}}
* Turkish: {{t+|tr|kurtağzı}}
* Ukrainian: {{t|uk|пастівчин хвіст|m-in}}
* Welsh: {{t|cy|uniad cynffonnog|m}}
{{trans-bottom}}

{{trans-top|tenon cut into a wedge shape resembling a dove's tail so that it interlocks with a mortise having a corresponding shape in a dovetail joint}}
* Finnish: {{t|fi|[[lohenpyrstö]][[vaarna]]}}
{{trans-bottom}}

{{trans-top|(''heraldry'') line resembling a dovetail joint}}
* Czech: {{t|cs|klínová stínka|f}}
* Finnish: {{t|fi|lohenpyrstö}}
* Swedish: {{t|sv|laxstjärtskura|c}}
{{trans-bottom}}

====See also====
* {{l|en|finger joint}}

===Verb===
{{en-verb}}

# {{lb|en|transitive}}
## {{lb|en|chiefly|woodworking}} To [[unite#Verb|unite]] ([[component#Noun|components]]) with a [[dovetail#Noun|dovetail]] ''(noun sense 2.1)'' or [[similar#Adjective|similar]] [[joint#Noun|joint]].
##* {{RQ:Miller Gardeners Dictionary|volume=I|entry=WINE-PRESS|page=852|column=2|passage=[T]heſe Piles ought to be placed contrary to the Stillings, vvhich ſurround or croſs them every three Feet, and '''Dove-tail'd''' into the ſquare Supporters; {{...}}}}
##* {{quote-book|en|author=[[w:Walter William Skeat (anthropologist)|Walter William Skeat]]|chapter=Man and His Place in the Universe|title=Malay Magic: Being an Introduction to the Folklore and Popular Religion of the Malay Peninsula|location=London|publisher=[[w:Macmillan Publishers|Macmillan and Co.]]; New York, N.Y.: [[w:Macmillan Inc.|The Macmillan Company]]|year=1900|section=footnote 1|page=33|pageurl=https://archive.org/details/malaymagicbeingi00skeauoft/page/33/mode/1up|oclc=504527278|passage=In house-building it is further forbidden [by Sultan Muhammed Shah] to '''dovetail''' or make the ends of the timbers (''e.g.'' of the roof) fit accurately together, and also to build two verandahs, one on each side of the house, with their floors on a level with the floor of the main building; if two verandahs are used, the floor of one must be lower than that of the main building (''kelek anak'').}}
## {{lb|en|figuratively}}
### To [[combine#Verb|combine]] or [[fit#Verb|fit]] ([[thing]]s) [[together]] well.
###: {{ux|en|The executive board '''dovetailed''' its decision neatly with the prior projects the company had taken up.}}
###: {{ux|en|Through my new project, I '''dovetail''' my interests in botany and programming.}}
###* {{quote-journal|en|author=John R. Hind|title=The British Railways at War|magazine=w:The Railway Magazine|location=Sutton, London|publisher=[[w:TI Media|IPC Transport Press]]|month=March–April|year=1943|page=95|issn=0033-8923|oclc=1065264231|passage=Close contacts are also maintained between the chief operating officers of the railways and the movement and transport officers of the Service departments to '''dovetail''' railway transport into the schemes of the fighting forces.}}
###* {{quote-book|en|author=Kenji Hakuta|chapter=Why Bilinguals?|editor=Frank S. Kessel|title=The Development of Language and Language Researchers: Essays in Honor of [[w:Roger Brown (psychologist)|Roger Brown]]|location=Hillsdale, N.J.; Hove, East Sussex|publisher=[[w:Taylor & Francis|Lawrence Erlbaum Associates]]|year=1988|page=299|pageurl=https://books.google.com/books?id=7VAwkIsF5nkC&pg=PA299|isbn=978-0-89859-906-0|passage=I felt that through the combined study of psychology and linguistics I would find out how children learned language, and that I would be able to '''dovetail''' this knowledge into my business career in Japan.}}
###* '''2024''', Diego Comin, Robert C. Johnson, Callum Jones, ''Supply Chain Constraints and Inflation'' [preprint], p. 2
###*: This “markup shock” interpretation of the role of binding [constraints] '''dovetails''' well with related work by Bernanke and Blanchard (2023), which uses an empirical model to argue that product market shocks (which raise prices given wages) explain a large share of recent US inflation.
### {{lb|en|computing}} To [[interweave]] (a [[number#Noun|number]] of [[algorithm]]s or [[subprogram]]s) so that they can be [[run#Verb|run]] [[more or less]] [[simultaneously]].
###* {{quote-book|en|author=Nader H. Bshouty; Jeffrey C. Jackson; Christino Tamon|chapter=Exploring Learnability between Exact and PAC|editors=Jyrki Kivinen; Robert H. Sloan|title=Computational Learning Theory: 15th Annual Conference on Computational Learning Theory, COLT 2002, Sydney, Australia, July 8–10, 2002: Proceedings|series={{w|Lecture Notes in Computer Science}} (LNAI)|seriesvolume=2375; Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence|location=Berlin; Heidelberg|publisher=[[w:Springer Science+Business Media|Springer-Verlag]]|year=2002|page=248|pageurl=https://books.google.com/books?id=A1dqomCv1-4C&pg=PA248|isbn=978-3-540-43836-6|issn=0302-9743|passage=However, we can construct a single master algorithm <math>M</math> that DPExact learns from unknown distribution <math>D</math> by simply '''dovetailing''' the algorithms <math>A</math>. The precise way in which we '''dovetail''' the algorithms depends on whether our goal is time or query efficiency.}}
### {{lb|en|music}} To seamlessly move a [[melody]] from one instrument to another.
# {{lb|en|intransitive|figuratively}} Of [[several#Adjective|several]] things: to combine or fit together well.
#: {{ux|en|The parts of your essay should '''dovetail''' so that it is cohesive and coherent.}}
#* {{quote-journal|en|author=Philip Sherratt|title=Midland Main Line Upgrade Presses On|magazine=w:Modern Railways|location=Shepperton, Surrey|publisher=w:Ian Allan Publishing|month=October|year=2019|page=60|issn=0026-8356|oclc=884584817|passage=The task now facing Mr Crook and his team in the multi-disciplinary programme is sequencing the works going forward, to ensure track, signalling, station works and overhead line installations '''dovetail''' together.}}
# {{lb|en|intransitive}} To adapt to something; to fit in.
#* {{quote-book|en|year=1851|year_published=1861|author=w:Henry Mayhew
|title=w:London Labour and the London Poor
|passage=If I have a row with any fellow, he’s always the first to taunt me with being what he and his friends have made me. I don’t feel it so much now. I used to at first. One '''dovetails''' into all that sort of thing in time, and the edge of your feelings, as I may say, wears off by degrees.}}

====Alternative forms====
* {{alter|en|dove-tail}}

====Derived terms====
* {{l|en|dovetailed|pos=adjective}}
* {{l|en|dovetailing|pos=adjective, noun}}
* {{l|en|dovetailer}}

====Translations====
{{trans-top|to unite (components) with a dovetail or similar joint}}
* Arabic: {{t+|ar|عَشَّقَ}}
* Finnish: {{t|fi|sinkata}}, {{t|fi|[[tehdä]] [[lohenpyrstöliitos]]}}
* French: {{t+|fr|assembler}}, {{t+|fr|imbriquer}}
* Galician: {{t+|gl|acantilar}}
* German: {{t|de|durch einen Schwalbenschwanz verbinden}}
* Japanese: {{t|ja|蟻継ぎ|alt=蟻継ぎする|tr=ありつぎする, aritsugi suru}}
* Occitan: {{t+|oc|ajustar}}, {{t+|oc|apariar}}, {{t|oc|embessonar}}, {{t+|oc|encastrar}}, {{t|oc|imbricar}}, {{t|oc|jonchar}}, {{t+|oc|juntar}}
* Spanish: {{t+|es|machihembrar}}
{{trans-bottom}}

{{trans-top|to combine or fit (things) together well}}
* Arabic: {{t|ar|اِنْسَجَمَ|tr=-}} {{t+|ar|مَعَ|tr=insajama maʕa}}, {{t+|ar|رَكَّبَ}}, {{t|ar|تَرَابَطَ|tr=-}} {{t+|ar|بَيْنَ|tr=tarābaṭa bayna}}, {{t|ar|تَوَافَقَ|tr=-}} {{t+|ar|مَعَ|tr=tawāfaqa maʕa}}, {{t|ar|تَوَاصَلَ|tr=-}} {{l|ar|مَعَ|tr=tawāṣala maʕa}}
* Finnish: {{t|fi|[[sovittaa]] ([[hyvin]] [[yhteen]])}}
* French: {{t+|fr|coïncider}}, {{t+|fr|concorder}}, {{t|fr|s'imbriquer}}
* German: {{t|de|[[aufeinander]] [[abstimmen|abgestimmt]] [[sein]]}}, {{t|de|[[aufeinander]] [[verzahnen|verzahnt]] [[sein]]}}, {{t+|de|einpassen}}, {{t|de|[[haargenau]] [[zu]] ([[etwas]]) [[passen]]}}, {{t|de|[[sich]] [[nahtlos]] [[zusammenfügen]]}}
* Latvian: {{t|lv|saskaņot}}
* Macedonian: {{t|mk|усо́гласи}}, {{t|mk|спо́и}}, {{t|mk|се со́впаѓа}}
* Occitan: {{t+|oc|coïncidir}}, {{t+|oc|concordar}}, {{t|oc|s'acordar}}, {{t|oc|s'apariar}}
* Russian: {{t+|ru|согласо́вываться|impf}}, {{t+|ru|соотве́тствовать|impf}}, {{t+|ru|пригоня́ть|impf}}, {{t+|ru|пригна́ть|pf}}
* Spanish: {{t+|es|encajar}}, {{t+|es|machihembrar}}
* Welsh: {{t|cy|cydblethu}}, {{t+|cy|plethu}}, {{t+|cy|asio}}
{{trans-bottom}}

{{trans-top|to interweave (a number of algorithms or subprograms) so that they can be run more or less simultaneously}}
* Finnish: {{t|fi|[[lomittaa]] [[ajo]]a}}, {{t|fi|[[limittää]] [[ajo]]a}}
* Welsh: {{t|cy|cydblethu}}
{{trans-bottom}}

{{trans-top|of several things: to combine or fit together well}}
* Chinese:
*: Mandarin: {{t|cmn|嚴絲合縫|tr=yánsīhéfèng}} {{qualifier|idiom}}
* Finnish: {{t|fi|[[sopia]] ([[hyvin]]) [[yhteen]]}}
* Welsh: {{t|cy|cydblethu}}, {{t|cy|ymblethu}}, {{t+|cy|ymdoddi}}
{{trans-bottom}}

====See also====
* [[Thesaurus:join]]

===References===
<references/>

===Further reading===
* {{pedia|dovetail joint}}
* {{pedia|dovetailing (computer science)}}
* {{pedia|dovetail (disambiguation)}}

===Anagrams===
* {{anagrams|en|a=adeilotv|violated}}