dovetail

noun

1. The tail of a dove (family Columbidae); also, something having the shape of a dove's tail.

   “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: […]”

2. (attributive, often)In full dovetail joint: a 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.

   “[T]heſe muſt be joined at Bottom to the Piles by a ſtrong Dove-tail, and the Piles joined vvith Braces; […]”

   “With a warding file cut a dovetail on each of the ends to be joined, as shown by Fig. 1.”

   “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.”

   “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.”

3. (attributive, often)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.
4. A line resembling a dovetail joint (sense 2.1).

   “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: […]”

   “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.”

   “The ninth is Quarterly per Pale dovetail, Ruby and Topaz; born by the Right Hon. Thomas Bromley, Lord Montfort, &c.”

verb

1. (transitive)To unite (components) with a dovetail (noun sense 2.1) or similar joint.

   “[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; […]”

   “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).”

2. (figuratively, transitive)To combine or fit (things) together well.

   “The executive board dovetailed its decision neatly with the prior projects the company had taken up.”

   “Through my new project, I dovetail my interests in botany and programming.”

   “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.”

   “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.”

   “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.”

3. (figuratively, transitive)To interweave (a number of algorithms or subprograms) so that they can be run more or less simultaneously.

   “However, we can construct a single master algorithm M that DPExact learns from unknown distribution D by simply dovetailing the algorithms A. The precise way in which we dovetail the algorithms depends on whether our goal is time or query efficiency.”

4. (figuratively, transitive)To seamlessly move a melody from one instrument to another.
5. (figuratively, intransitive)Of several things: to combine or fit together well.

   “The parts of your essay should dovetail so that it is cohesive and coherent.”

   “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.”

6. (intransitive)To adapt to something; to fit in.

   “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.”