Yes, the usual assumption is that the word “teetotum” or other early forms “tetotum” & “T totum” derive from the letter T shown on one of the spinning die’s faces being put in front of “totum”. The T would originally have been for “totum” (the whole). A quote by Strutt in 1801 demonstrates that letters on the dice/spinners represented English…[Read more]

Okay, couldn’t stop myself from “digging” around a bit online. I’m trying to get a better undertanding of historical spinning dice (with pips/ numbers on its faces as well as dice with letters, for put & take).

Here’s an archaeological paper mentioning a spinning die (Kreiselwürfel) found in a cesspit in Höxter (North Rhine-Westphalia). The c…[Read more]