[a. F. tare (15th c. in Hatz.-Darm.) waste or deterioration in goods, deficiency, imperfection, also as in Eng., = med.L., It., Pr., Sp., Pg. tara, OSp. atara (Littré), ad. Arab. ṭarḥah that which is thrown away, f. ṭaraḥa to reject.]
The weight of the wrapping, receptacle, or conveyance containing goods, which is deducted from the gross in order to ascertain the net weight; hence, a deduction made from the gross weight to allow for this; also, the weight of a motor vehicle without its fuel and other equipment.
1486. Naval Acc. Hen. VII. (1896), 13. ij barrelles Gonnepowdre conteyning in weight besides the tare D iij lbs. Ibid., 14. A barrell of gonnepoudre weying the tare abated cc lb.
1598. Florio, Tara, the tare, waste or garbish of any marchandise or ware.
1599. Hakluyt, Voy., II. 274. Note yt in Ormuz they abate tare of all sorts of commodities.
1617. Sir D. Carleton, in Buccleuch MSS. (Hist. MSS. Comm.), I. 190. The reducing the matter of Tare to the same terms as it was.
1670. Blount, Law Dict., Tare and Tret, the first is the weight of Box, Straw, Cloaths, &c. wherein Goods are packed. The other is [etc.].
1674. Jeake, Arith. (1696), 639. If 132 lb. abate 12 lb. for Tare, then 1 C. shall be but 120 lb.
1812. J. Smyth, Pract. of Customs (1821), 11. The Tares on several sorts of Goods were ascertained by the Farmers of his Majesty’s Customs, in the year 1667, a Table whereof was then published by their order.
1882. Mechanical World, 4 March, 137/1. The method of weighing is to ascertain the weight of load and truck combined, and then deduct the tare of the latter from the total.
1892. Labour Commission, Gloss., The tare of the tub is the weight of the empty tub or hutch used in conveying the coals.
1903. Motor. Ann., 64. A steam lorry, which will carry any weight up to seven tons, and has a tare of scarcely three tons.
attrib. 1900. Engineering Mag., XIX. 738. Dependent … upon the total useful load it is possible to carry on a vehicle of a given tare weight.
1901. Westm. Gaz., 16 Nov., 2/1. It is difficult to see why in the case of motors there should be a tare-limit of three tons.
b. Chem. The weight of a vessel in which a substance is weighed, or of another vessel equal to it, deducted in ascertaining the weight of the substance.
1888. Amer. Chem. Jrnl., X. 319. The difference between the weights of the crucibles plus the oxide and those of their tares was then determined.
c. fig. (Cf. F. tare defect, vice, blemish.)
1630. Lennard, trans. Charron’s Wisd., I. xiv. § 17. The Spirit hath its maladies, defects, tares or refuse.
1896. Vern. Lee, in Contemp. Rev., June, 822. Is there not in this case a tare—a diminution of aesthetic value to our detriment?
d. Tare and tret: the two ordinary deductions in calculating the net weight of goods to be sold by retail: see TRET; also, the rule in arithmetic by which these are calculated.
1670. [see above].
1692. Coles, Tare and tret, (allowance for) the weight of box, bag, &c. and waste on emptying, &c.
1709. Steele, Tatler, No. 46, ¶ 1. He gave diurnal Audiences concerning Commerce, Politicks, Tare and Tret, Usury.
1844. Dickens, Mart. Chuz., xix. We learnt Tare and Tret together, at school.
fig. c. 1838. De Quincey, Pope, Wks. 1863, XV. 121. The allowance for tare and tret as a discount in favour of Pope.
e. Comb. † tare-master = TARER. Obs.
1625. Laws Stannaries, xi. (1808), 21. The poiser, the tare-master and their deputies, ought to be sworn in the stannary-court.
