Other forms: tines
A tine is one of the sharp points of a fork or an antler. The tines of the fork, a bent tine, a stag of ten tines.
On a table fork the number is standard at four; on a garden fork it varies with the job. On an antler the tines are counted to describe the animal, and a stag with twelve is a royal, which is a real term used by stalkers.
1nountineOne of the sharp points of a fork or an antler.
“She speared a piece of potato on the tines of her fork.”
tine is a point.
Old English tind means a point or spike, from a Germanic root.
Middle English
tine
English, today
tine
From Middle English tine, alteration of Middle English tinde, tind, from Old English tind, from Proto-West Germanic tind, Proto-Germanic tindaz, from Proto-Indo-European h₃dénts (“tooth, peg”). Cognate with stq Tiende, Tiene (“prong, tine”), {{cog|de|
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA