tessera

[ tes-er-uh ]

/ ˈtɛs ər ə /

one of the small pieces used in mosaic work.

a small square of bone, wood, or the like, used in ancient times as a token, tally, ticket, etc.

Origin of tessera

1640–50; < Latin < Greek (Ionic) tésseres four

But woe to the person who gives his tessera to a careless concierge!

Vistas in Sicily |Arthur Stanley Riggs
Ludus sit talis, tessera, saccho (ut nostra appellatione utur), carthis variis imaginibus pictis.

Facts and Speculations on the Origin and History of Playing Cards |William Andrew Chatto
And, hark thee, tell the tribune that he look well to the tessera, and have the right count from the inspectors.

Traditions of Lancashire, Volume 2 (of 2) |John Roby
When one person was received kindly by another, or a contract of friendship was entered into, the tessera was given.

The World's Great Sermons, Volume 6: H. W. Beecher to Punshon |Various

The very earth within those walls had a reddish cast owing to the innumerable fragments of red tile and tessera mixed with it.

Afoot in England |W.H. Hudson

tessera

/ (ˈtɛsərə) /

a small square tile of stone, glass, etc, used in mosaics

a die, tally, etc, used in classical times, made of bone or wood

tesseral, adjective

C17: from Latin, from Ionic Greek tesseres four