Meaning
An armor plate hanging down from the breastplate or fauld to cover the thigh, either below or as part of a tasse. (Possibly ahistorical, see etymology.)
Etymology
Origin: Middle English
From Middle English toile, from Anglo-Norman toille, tuille, taken to be variants of Old French tieulle (modern French tuile, from Latin tēgula, and thus a doublet of tile and tuile. The French term occurs in only one medieval work and the English term in only two (one a translation of the French work), where the interpretation of the term as referring to an armor plate is uncertain (words for cloth and weapons are spelled the same way and could have been meant instead). It has been suggested that the interpretation of the term as referring to an element of armor is an error by 1800s antiquarians.
NYT Puzzle Appearances
No published puzzle dates on file for this word yet. It is part of the official NYT Spelling Bee word list for 2021, 2024, 2025, 2026.