teetotum

Definitions


[tiːˈtəʊtəm], (Noun)

Definitions:
- a small spinning top spun with the fingers, especially one with four sides lettered to determine whether the spinner has won or lost


Phrases:

Origin:
early 18th century (as T totum): from T (representing totum, inscribed on the side of the toy) + Latin totum ‘the whole’ (stake). The letters on the sides (representing Latin words) were T (= totum), A (= auferre ‘take away’), D (= deponere ‘put down’), and N (= nihil ‘nothing’)




definition by Oxford Dictionaries