SZE-MA, or Sl7MA KWANG, one of the most eminent statesmen and writers of China, and as a historian second only to Sze-ma Ts'ien; born in 1009. He is renowned as the author of "The Compre hensive Mirror of History," in 294 books, the labor of 19 years. It covers a period from the beginning of the 4th century B. C. to A. D. 960. He died in 1086.
T, t, the 20th letter and the 16th con sonant of the English alphabet, is a sharp, mute, consonant, and closely al lied to d, both being dentals. It is formed by pressing the tip of the tongue closely against the root of the upper teeth, and differs from d only in being non-vocal, while d is uttered with the voice. T followed by h in the same syl lable has two distinct sounds; the one surd or breathed, as in think, thank, thought; the other sonant, or vocal, as in this, that, though. Ti before a vowel, and unaccented, usually passes into sh, as in nation, portion, partial, which are pronounced nashon, porshon, parshal. When s or x precedes ti, the t retains its proper sound, as in question, though be fore u it is often softened into eh (as in church), as also is such words as mix ture, posture, etc. In accordance with Grimm's law, t in English (as also in Dutch, Icelandic, Gothic, etc.) is repre sented in Latin, Greek and Sanskrit by d, and in German by s or z. Thus Eng lish tooth (for tonth)=Latin dens (gen itive dentin), Greek odous (genitive od ontos), Sanskrit dant, German zahn, Old High German zand; English heart=-Lat in car (genitive cordis), Greek kardia, Sanskrit kridaya, German herza; Eng lish eaLatin edo, Greek edo, Sanskrit ad, Old High German &an, German er sen. If the t is preceded by s, this rule
does not apply, as in English stand= Latin sto, Greek histemi, German stehen. Th in English, etc., is represented in Latin, Greek, and Sanskrit by t, and in German by d; thus, English thou=Latin tu, Greek tu, Sanskrit team, German du, English three=-Latin tres, Greek Treis, Sanskrit tri, Old High German dri, Ger man drei. In a few instances t in Eng lish represents an 1 in Latin, as in tear (s.)=Latin lacrima. T has crept in (1) after s, as in behest, amongst, against, amidst, whilst, betwixt; (2) in tyrant= Old French tiran, Latin tyrannus; parch ment=Old French parchemin; cor morant = French cormoran; ancient = French ancien; pheasant=Old French phaisan. Th represents an original d in hither, thither, whether, faith =Old French feid, Latin fides. T is often doubled in the middle of words, occasionally at the end, as in butt, mitt. T is often used to denote things of the shape of the capital letter; T-bandage, T-square, etc.
T, as a symbol, is used in numerals for 160, and with a stroke over it for 160,000.
Marked with a t; a thief, an expres sion equivalent to the trim literarum home of Plautus. The English phrase derives its force from the fact that thieves were formerly branded in the hand with the letter T.
To a t: Exactly; to a nicety; with the utmost exactness; as, that fits me to a t.