tare

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   the weight of an empty container or vehicle, deducted from gross weight to find the weight of its contents

   The clerk subtracted the crate's tare from the gross weight of the shipment.

2. 2
   verb

   to set a scale to zero with an empty container in place, or to allow for its weight

   Tare the balance before adding the sample.

3. 3
   noun

   any of several weedy vetches or similar plants found among crops

   The farmer pulled tare from the wheat before it could set seed.

The weighing sense came through French tare and Italian tara from Arabic tarha, 'that which is thrown away,' from taraha, 'to cast aside.' The plant name is a separate, much older English homograph, found in Middle English and familiar from biblical references to weeds among grain.

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