Dictionary

tessera en · NOUN

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin tessera (“a cube, a die with numbers on all six sides”), from Ancient Greek τέσσαρες (téssares, “four”).

Meanings

1. A small square piece of stone, wood, ivory or glass used for making a mosaic.
   • The map was laid using tesserae, small cube-shaped tiles of limestone, marble, or colored stone. 2014, Jerry Brotton, Great Maps, DK, page 35:
2. A complex-ridged surface feature seen on plateau highlands of Venus and perhaps on Triton.
3. (rare) An ancient Roman die.
   • During the reign of Augustus, Rome imported marble from Egypt and Africa, and games of tali and tessera were played. 1971, Gwen White, Antique Toys And Their Background, page 110:

Forms

Deriveds

contesseration · tessellate · tesseract · tesseral

Translations (3)

es tésera (small square piece of stone) · cmn 紙皮石 /纸皮石 (small square piece of stone) · pl tessera (small square piece of stone)