Tile
A tile is a manufactured piece of hard-wearing material such as ceramic, stone, metal, or even glass. Tiles are generally used for covering roofs, floors, walls, showers, or other objects such as tabletops. Alternatively, tile can sometimes refer to similar units made from lightweight materials such as perlite, wood, and mineral wool, typically used for wall and ceiling applications. In another sense, a tile is a construction tile or similar object, such as rectangular counters used in playing games (see tile-based game). The word is derived from the French word tuile, which is, in turn, from the Latin word tegula, meaning a roof tile composed of fired clay. Tiles are often used to form wall and floor coverings, and can range from simple square tiles to complex mosaics. Tiles are most often made from porcelain, fired clay or ceramic with a hard glaze, but other materials are also commonly used, such as glass, metal, cork, and stone. Tiling stone is typically marble, onyx, granite or slate. Thinner tiles can be used on walls than on floors, which require thicker, more durable surfaces.
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Famous quotes containing the word tile:
“Man you ought to see his plans for allsteel buildins. Hes got an idea the skyscraper of the futurell be built of steel and glass. Weve been experimenting with vitrous tile recently... crist-amighty some of his plans would knock you out... Hes got a great sayin about some Roman emperor who found Rome of brick and left it of marble. Well he says hes found New York of brick an that hes goin to leave it of steel... steel an glass.”
—John Dos Passos (18961970)
“through the Sumner Tunnel,
trunk by trunk through its sulphurous walls,
tile by tile like a mens urinal,
slipping through
like somebody elses package.”
—Anne Sexton (19281974)