tack1
• noun 1 a small, sharp broad-headed nail. 2 N. Amer. a drawing pin. 3 a long stitch used to fasten fabrics together temporarily. 4 a course of action. 5 Sailing an act of tacking. 6 a boat’s course relative to the direction of the wind: the ketch swung to the opposite tack. • verb 1 fasten or fix with tacks. 2 (tack on) add (something) to something already existing. 3 change course by turning a boat’s head into and through the wind. 4 make a series of such changes of course while sailing. — ORIGIN probably related to Old French tache ‘clasp, large nail’.
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