tare

Etymology 1

From Middle English tare (“vetch”), from Old English *taru, from Proto-West Germanic *taru. table

noun

1. (rare) A vetch, or the seed of a vetch (genus Vicia, esp. Vicia sativa)
2. Any of the tufted grasses of genus Lolium; darnel.
3. (rare, figurative) A damaging weed growing in fields of grain.
   But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. Matthew 13:25 (KJV)
   I saw as I thought an uncle and guardian who has led a sober, industrious and Christian life and finds himself obliged to look on the tares of folly in his own close kin. 1985, John Fowles, A Maggot

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Middle French tare, from Italian tara, from Arabic طَرْحَة (ṭarḥa, “that which is thrown away”), a derivative of طَرَحَ (ṭaraḥa, “to throw (away)”). table

noun

1. The empty weight of a container; unladen weight.
   What is the neat weight of 4 hogsheads of tobacco, each weighing 10cwt. 3qrs. 10lb. gross; — tare 100lb. per hdd.? 1824, Stephen Pike, The Teachers' Assistant: Or a System of Practical Arithmetic, page 97

verb

1. (chiefly business and law) To take into account the weight of the container, wrapping etc. in weighting merchandise.
   he is […] to tare such number of bales as may be deemed necessary to settle the net weight for duty. 1886, Records of the History, Laws, Regulations, and Statistics of the Tobacco Trade of the United Kingdom, page 86
   Without question, I think, the exploit of "Jubilee" No. 45737 Atlas … was the finest …, for the train was made up to eleven bogies taring the maximum of 350 tons for an engine of this class, notwithstanding which 7 min. was gained on schedule. 1959 December, Cecil J. Allen, “Locomotive Running Past and Present”, in Trains Illustrated, page 610
2. (sciences) To set a zero value on an instrument (usually a balance) that discounts the starting point.
   2003, Dany Spencer Adams, Lab Math, CSHL Press, p. 63, Spectrometers, for example, must be zeroed before each reading; balances must be tared before each weighing.

Etymology 3

verb

1. (obsolete) simple past of tear

Etymology 4

Borrowed from Japanese 垂(た)れ (tare, “sauce, gravy”). table

noun

1. Any of various dipping sauces served with Japanese food, typically based on soy sauce.