Online Etymology Dictionary

'tis: abbreviation of it is, first recorded mid-15c.
-teen: combining form meaning "ten more than," from O.E. -tene, -tiene, from P.Gmc. *tekhuniz (cf. O.S. -tein, Du. -tien, O.H.G. -zehan, Ger. -zehn, Goth. -taihun), an inflected form of the root of ten; cognate with L. -decim (cf. It. -dici, Sp. -ce, Fr. -ze). The combining form of ordinal numbers, -teenth, developed from O.E. -teoða, -teoðe (W.Saxon), teogoða (Anglian) "tenth."
-th: suffix forming nouns from verbs (depth, strength, truth, etc.), from O.E. -ðu, -ð, from PIE *-ita (cf. Skt. -tati-, Gk. -tet-, L. -tati-). The suffix forming ordinal numbers (fourth, tenth, etc.) is O.E. -ða, from PIE *-tos (cf. Skt. thah, Gk. -tos, L. -tus).
-tion: suffix forming nouns from verbs, from L. -tionem, accusative of noun suffix -tio (gen. -tionis) forming nouns of condition and action (the -t- is the Latin pp. stem).
-tomy: comb. form meaning "a cutting," from Gk. -tomia "a cutting of," from tome "a cutting, section" (see tome).
-trix: fem. agential suffix, from L., corresponding to masc. -tor.
-tron: as a suffix in new compounds formed in physics, 1939, abstracted from electron (Gk. -tron was an instrumentive suffix).
-trope: comb. form meaning "that which turns," from Gk. tropos (see trope).
-trophy: comb. form meaning "food, nourishment," from Gk. trophe "food, nourishment," related to trephein "to make solid, congeal, thicken."
-tude: Latinate suffix forming abstract nouns from adjectives and participles (corresponding to native -ness), from Fr. -tude, from L. -tudo (gen. -tudinis). As a word in its own right, teenager slang shortening of attitude, it dates from 1970s.
-ty (1): suffix representing "ten" in cardinal numbers (sixty, seventy, etc.), from O.E. -tig, from a Gmc. root (cf. Du. -tig, O.Fris. -tich, O.N. -tigr, O.H.G. -zig, -zug, Ger. -zig) that existed as a distinct word in Gothic tigjus, O.N. tigir "tens, decades." English, like many other Germanic languages, retains traces of a base-12 number system. The most obvious instance is eleven and twelve which ought to be the first two numbers of the "teens" series. Their Old English forms, enleofan and twel(eo)f(an), are more transparent: "leave one" and "leave two." Old English also had hund endleofantig for "110" and hund twelftig for "120." One hundred was hund teantig. The -tig formation ran through 12 cycles, and could have bequeathed us numbers *eleventy ("110") and *twelfty ("120") had it endured, but already during the O.E. period it was being obscured. O.N. used hundrað for "120" and þusend for "1,200." Tvauhundrað was "240" and þriuhundrað was "360." Older Germanic legal texts distinguished a "common hundred" (100) from a "great hundred" (120). This duodecimal system, according to one authority, is "perhaps due to contact with Babylonia."
-ty (2): suffix used in forming abstract nouns from adjectives (safety, surety, etc.), M.E. -te, from O.Fr. -te, from L. -tatem (-tas, gen. -tatis), cognate with Gk. -tes, Skt. -tati-.
T: to cross one's T's (and dot one's i's) "to be exact" is attested from 1849. Phrase to a T "exactly" is recorded from 1693, though the exact signification is uncertain, despite much speculation. The measuring tool called a T-square is recorded by that name from 1785.
T and A: 1972, short for tits and ass (a phrase attributed to Lenny Bruce), in ref. to U.S. mass media; earlier it was medical shorthand for "tonsils and adenoids" (1942).
T-bone: type of steak, 1916, so called from the T-shaped bone that runs through it. The verb meaning "to strike (another car, bus, etc.) from the side" is attested from 1980s.
T-shirt: 1920, in allusion to the shape it makes when laid out flat.
ta: 1772, "natural infantile sound of gratitude" [Weekley].
tab (1): "small flap," c.1600, possibly a dialectal word, of uncertain origin. Often interchangeable with tag (1). The verb meaning "to designate, label" is 1924, perhaps an alteration of tag (1).
tab (2): "account, bill, check," 1889, Amer.Eng. colloquial, probably a shortened form of tabulation or of tablet in the sense of "a sheet for writing on." Fig. phrase to keep a tab on is recorded from 1890.
tab (3): 1961, shortened form of tablet (esp. one of sugar containing LSD). As an abbreviation of tabloid (newspaper) it is 1990s slang. As a short form of tabulator key of a typewriter (later computer) it is recorded from 1916.
tabagie: 1819, from Fr., from tabac "tobacco" (see tobacco). A group of smokers who meet in club fashion; a "tobacco-parliament."
tabard: mid-13c., from early Sp. tabardo and O.Fr. tabart (12c.), of unknown origin. Originally a coarse, sleeveless upper garment worn by peasants, later a knight's surcoat (hence the name of the tavern in "Canterbury Tales").
Tabasco: proprietary name of a type of hot sauce, 1876, (the sauce so called from 1652, originally Tavasco), named for state in Mexico, perhaps because the pepper sauce was first encountered there by U.S. and European travelers. The trademark (by Edward Avery McIlhenny) claims use from c.1870.
tabbouli: Middle Eastern vegetable salad, 1955, from Arabic tabbula.
tabby: 1638, "striped silk taffeta," from Fr. tabis "a rich, watered silk (originally striped)," from M.Fr. atabis (14c.), from Arabic 'attabiya, from 'Attabiy, a neighborhood of Baghdad where such cloth was first made, named for prince 'Attab of the Omayyad dynasty. Tabby cat, one with a striped coat, is attested from 1695; shortened form tabby first attested 1774. Sense of "female cat" (1826) may be infl. by the fem. proper name Tabby, a pet form of Tabitha, which was used in late 18c. as slang for "difficult old woman."
tabernacle: mid-13c., "portable sanctuary carried by the Israelites in the wilderness," from O.Fr. tabernacle (12c.), from L. tabernaculum "tent," especially "a tent of an augur" (for taking observations), dim. of taberna "hut, cabin, booth" (see tavern). Transferred late 14c. to the Temple in Jerusalem (which continued its function). Sense of "house of worship" first recorded 1690s. The Jewish Feast of Tabernacles (mid-October) was observed as a thanksgiving for harvest.
Tabitha: fem. proper name, from L.L., from Gk. Tabitha, from Aramaic tabhyetha, emphatic of tabhya "gazelle," which is related to Heb. tzebhi (fem. tzebhiyyah), Arabic zaby.
tabla: pair of drums used in northern Indian music, 1865, from Hindi, from Arabic tabl "a drum played with the hand."
tablature: type of musical notation for lute or stringed instrument, 1574, from Fr. tablature (1553), from L. tabula "table" (see table); infl. by It. tavolatura, from tavolare "to board, plank, enclose with boards."
table (n.): late 12c., "board, slab, plate," from O.Fr. table "board, plank, writing table, picture" (11c.), and late O.E. tabele, from W.Gmc. *tabal (cf. O.H.G. zabel, Ger. Tafel), both from L. tabula "a board, plank, table," originally "small flat slab or piece" usually for inscriptions or for games, of uncertain origin, related to Umbrian tafle "on the board." The sense of "piece of furniture with the flat top and legs" first recorded c.1300 (the usual L. word for this was mensa; O.E. writers used bord). The meaning "arrangement of numbers or other figures for convenience" is recorded from late 14c. (e.g. table of contents, mid-15c.). Figurative phrase turn the tables (1630s) is from backgammon (in O.E. and M.E. the game was called tables). Table talk is attested from 1560s, translating L. colloquia mensalis. To table-hop is first recorded 1956. The adj. phrase under-the-table "hidden from view" is recorded from 1949; under the table "passed out from excess drinking" is recorded from 1921. Table tennis is recorded from 1887.
table (v.): in parliamentary sense, 1718, originally "to lay on the (speaker's) table for discussion," from table (n.). But in U.S. political jargon it has the sense of "to postpone indefinitely" (1866).
table-d'hôte: "common table for guests at a hotel," from Fr., lit. "table of the host."
tableau: 1699, "a picturesque or graphic description or picture," from Fr. tableau "picture, painting," from O.Fr. table "slab, writing tablet" (see table) + dim. suffix -eau, from L. -ellus. Hence tableau-vivant (1817) "person or persons silent and motionless, enacting a well-known scene, incident, painting, etc.," popular 19c. parlor game, lit. "living picture."
tablecloth: mid-15c., from table (n.) + cloth.
tablespoon: 1763, from table (n.) + spoon (n.).
tablet: early 14c., "slab or flat surface for an inscription" (especially the two Mosaic tables of stone), from O.Fr. tablete (13c.), dim. of table "slab" (see table). The meaning "lozenge, pill" is first recorded 1580s; that of "pad of writing paper" in 1880.
tableware: 1852, from table (n.) + ware.
tabloid: 1884, "small tablet of medicine," trademark name (by Burroughs, Wellcome and Co.) for compressed or concentrated chemicals and drugs, formed from tablet + Gk.-derived suffix -oid, from oeides "like." By 1898, it was being used figuratively to mean a compressed form or dose of anything, hence tabloid journalism (1901), and newspapers that typified it (1918), so called for having short, condensed news articles and/or for being small in size.
taboo: 1777 (in Cook's "A Voyage to the Pacific Ocean"), "consecrated, inviolable, forbidden, unclean or cursed," explained in some Englishsources as being from Tongan (Polynesian language of the island of Tonga) ta-bu "sacred," from ta "mark" + bu "especially." But this may be folk etymology, as linguists in the Pacific have reconstructed an irreducable Proto-Polynesian *tapu, from Proto-Oceanic *tabu "sacred, forbidden" (cf. Hawaiian kapu "taboo, prohibition, sacred, holy, consecrated;" Tahitian tapu "restriction, sacred;" Maori tapu "be under ritual restriction, prohibited"). The noun and verb are Eng. innovations first recorded in Cook's book.
tabor: "small drum resembling a tamborine," late 13c., from O.Fr. tabour, tabur "drum" (11c.), probably from Pers. tabir "drum," but evolution of sense and form are uncertain. Related to tambourine.
tabula rasa: 1535, "the mind in its primary state," from L., lit. "scraped tablet," from which writing has been erased, thus ready to be written on again, from tabula (see table) + rasa, fem. pp. of radere "to scrape away, erase" (see raze). A loan-translation of Aristotle's pinakis agraphos, lit. "unwritten tablet" ("De anima," 7.22).
tabular: "table-shaped," 1656, from L. tabularis "of a slab or tablet," from tabula "slab" (see table).
tabulate: 1734, "to put into form of a table," from L. tabula (see table). Tabulation is from 1837.
tachometer: 1810, from Gk. tachos "speed" + Eng. -meter, on model of barometer, etc.
tachyon: 1967, hypothetical faster-than-light particle, from Gk. tachys "swift."
tacit: 1604, from Fr. tacite, from L. tacitus "that is passed over in silence, done without words, assumed, silent," prop. pp. of tacere "to be silent," from PIE base *tak- "to be silent" (cf. Goth. þahan, O.N. þegja "to be silent," O.N. þagna "to grow dumb," O.S. thagian, O.H.G. dagen "to be silent"). The musical instruction tacet is the 3rd person present sing. of the L. verb.
taciturn: "habitually silent," 1771, back formation from taciturnity.
taciturnity: mid-15c., from M.Fr. taciturnité, from L. taciturnitatem (nom. taciturnitas) "a being or keeping silent," from taciturnus "disposed to be silent," from tacitus "silent" (see tacit).
tack (1): "clasp, hook, fastener," 1296, from O.N.Fr. taque "nail, pin, peg," probably from a Gmc. source (cf. M.Du. tacke "twig, spike," Low Ger. takk "tine, pointed thing," Ger. Zacken "sharp point, tooth, prong"); perhaps related to tail. Meaning "small, sharp nail with a flat head" is attested from 1463. Verb sense of "to attach as a supplement" (with suggestion of hasty or arbitrary proceeding) is attested from 1683. The meaning "rope to hold the corner of a sail in place" is first recorded 1481; hence the verb meaning "sail into the wind," first recorded 1557, which lead to the fig. sense of "course or line of conduct or action" (1675).
tack (2): "horse's harness, etc.," 1924, shortening of tackle in sense of "equipment." Tack in a non-equestrian sense as a shortening of tackle is recorded in dialect from 1777.