a square tablet on which the watchword was written

tessĕra, ae, f., = tesseres, a (lon. for tessares, a, four), a square, square piece of stone, wood, etc., for various purposes.

Most freq., a die for playing, numbered on all the six sides (while the tali, prop. pastern-bones, were marked only on four sides; v. talus;

syn. alea): ludere tesseris,

Ter. Ad. 4, 7, 21:

ut homines ad pilam se aut ad talos aut ad tesseras conferunt,

Cic. de Or. 3, 15, 58:

tesseras jacere,

id. Div. 2, 41, 85; id. Sen. 16, 58:

in tesserarum prospero jactu,

Liv. 4, 17, 3; Mart. 14, 15, 1; 4, 66, 15; 14, 17, 1:

mittere,

Ov. A. A. 3, 354; id. Tr. 2, 475; Plin. 37, 2, 6, § 13 al.; cf. Becker, Gallus, 3, p. 257 sq. (2d ed.).—

In milit. lang., a square tablet on which the watchword was written, a watchword, parole, countersign:

tessera per castra a Livio consule data erat, ut, etc.,

Liv. 26, 46, 1; 7, 35, 1; 7, 36, 7; 9, 32, 4; Auct. B. Hisp. 36, 5; Suet. Galb. 6: it bello tessera signum, Verg. A. 7, 637; Sil. 15, 475: Stat. Th. 10, 17:

missam ad se tesseram finxit redeundi,

a private token, Amm. 30, 10, 3. — Hence,

Transf., the watchword, signal:

militem levi tesserā colligi posse,

Amm. 25, 7, 2 al. —

Tessera hospitalis, a tally, token, which was divided between two friends, in order that, by means of it, they or their descendants might always recognize each other (the Greek sumbola): Ag. Ego sum ipsus, quem tu quaeris... Ha. Si ita est, tesseram conferre si vis hospitalem, Plaut. Poen. 5, 2, 87; 5, 1, 25; 5, 2, 92:

TESSERAM HOSPITALEM CVM EQ FECERVNT,

have entered into a bond of friendship, Inscr. Orell. 1079; cf. Becker, Gallus, 2, p. 133 (2d ed.);

hence: hic apud nos jam confregisti tesseram,

i.e. have broken our friendship, Plaut. Cist. 2, 1, 27.—

A square tablet or block, a checker for the construction of pavements, ornamenting garments, etc., Plin. 36, 25, 62, § 187 (al. tessella); Pall. 1, 9, 5; Mart. 10, 33; Plin. 35, 9, 36, § 62.—

A token, ticket, billet for the distribution of corn or money:

frumentariae,

Suet. Ner. 11; cf.

frumenti,

Juv. 7, 174; Mart. 8, 78, 10; and absol., Suet. Aug. 40:

nummariae,

id. ib. 41.