Online Etymology Dictionary

Tibert: name of the cat in "Reynard the Fox" (1481), hence used as a proper name for any cat, from Flem. and Du. Tybert, O.Fr. Tibert. Identified by Shakespeare with Tibalt, which is from O.Fr. Thibauld, from Gmc. *Theobald (see Theobald).
tibia: lower leg bone, 1726, from L. tibia "shinbone," also "pipe, flute," in which sense it originally came into English (1540s). Of unknown origin. The Latin plural is tibiæ.
tic: twitching of a facial muscle, 1822, often a shortening of tic douloureux "severe facial neuralgia," lit. "painful twitch" (1800), from Fr. tic "a twitching disease of horses" (1611), of unknown origin. Klein suggests an imitative origin; Fr. etymologists compare it to It. ticchio "whim, caprice."
tick (1): "parasitic animal," O.E. ticia, from W.Gmc. *tik- (cf. M.Du. teke, Du. teek, O.H.G. zecho, Ger. Zecke "tick"), of unknown origin. Fr. tique (1464), It. zecca are Gmc. loan-words.
tick (2): 1440, "light touch or tap," probably cognate with Du. tik, M.H.G. zic, and perhaps echoic. Meaning "sound made by a clock" is probably first recorded 1549; tick-tock is recorded from 1848. To tick (someone) off is recorded from 1915, originally "to reprimand, scold;" meaning "to annoy" is recorded from 1975.
tick (3): "credit," 1642, shortening of ticket (q.v.).
tick-tack-toe: 1884, probably an extension of tick-tack (1588), a form of backgammon, possibly from M.Fr. trictrac, perhaps imitative of the sound of tiles on the board.
ticker: 1821, "something that ticks," from tick (2); slang meaning "heart" first recorded 1930. Ticker tape (1902) is from ticker "telegraphic device for recording stock market quotations, etc." (1883).
ticket: 1528, "short note or document," from an aphetic form of M.Fr. etiquet "label, note," from O.Fr. estiquette "a little note" (1387), especially one affixed to a gate or wall as a public notice, from estiquer "to affix, stick," from Frank. *stikkan, cognate with O.E. stician "to pierce" (see stick (v.)). Meaning "card or piece of paper that gives its holder a right or privilege" is first recorded 1673, probably developing from the sense of "certificate, license, permit." The political sense of "list of candidates put forward by a faction" has been used in Amer.Eng. since 1711. The verb is first recorded 1611. Meaning "official notification of offense" is from 1930; parking ticket first attested 1947. Big ticket item is from 1970. Slang the ticket "just the thing, what is expected" is recorded from 1838, perhaps with notion of a winning lottery ticket.
ticking: "cloth covering for mattresses or pillows," 1649, from tyke (modern tick) with the same meaning (1342), probably from M.Du. tike, a W.Gmc. borrowing of L. theca "case," from Gk. theke "a case, box, cover, sheath" (see theco-).
tickle: early 14c. (intrans.) "to be thrilled or tingling," of uncertain origin, possibly a frequentative form of tick (2) in its older sense of "to touch." The OE form was tinclian. Some suggest a metathesis of kittle (M.E. kytyllen), from Du. kietelen, from a common North Sea Gmc. word for "to tickle" (cf. O.N. kitla, O.H.G. kizzilon, Ger. kitzeln). Meaning "to excite agreeably" (late 14c.) is a translation of L. titillare. Meaning "to touch lightly so as to cause a peculiar and uneasy sensation" is recorded from late 14c.; that of "to poke or touch so as to excite laughter" is from early 15c.; figurative sense of "to excite, amuse" is attested from 1680s. The noun is recorded from 1801. Ticklish in the lit. sense of "easily tickled" is recorded from 1598, later than the fig. sense (1580s); an earlier word for this was tickly (1520s). Tickled "pleased, happy" is from 1580s.
ticky tacky: "inferior, cheap material," 1962 (in song "Little Boxes"), reduplication of tacky.
tidal: 1807, a hybrid formation from tide (q.v.) + Latin-derived suffix -al. A tidal wave (1830) is properly high water caused by movements of the tides; erroneous use for "tsunami, great ocean wave caused by an earthquake, etc." is recorded from 1878.
tidbit: c.1640, probably from dialectal tid "fond, solicitous, tender" + bit "morsel."
tiddlywinks: children's tile-flipping game, 1857, probably an arbitrary formation from baby talk, but perhaps from slang tiddly-wink "unlicensed drink shop" (1844), from slang tiddly "a drink, drunk."
tide: O.E. tid "point or portion of time, due time," from P.Gmc. *tidiz "division of time" (cf. O.S. tid, Du. tijd, O.H.G. zit, Ger. Zeit "time"), from PIE *di-ti- "division, division of time," suffixed form of base *da- "to divide, cut up" (cf. Skt. dati "cuts, divides;" Gk. demos "people, land," perhaps lit. "division of society;" daiesthai "to divide;" O.Ir. dam "troop, company"). Meaning "rise and fall of the sea" (1340) is probably via notion of "fixed time," specifically "time of high water;" either a native evolution or from M.L.G. getide (cf. also Du. tij, Ger. Gezeiten "flood tide"). O.E. had no specific word for this, using flod and ebba to refer to the rise and fall. The verb meaning "to carry (as the tide does)" is recorded from 1626, usually with over.
tidings: "announcement of an event," 1069, from O.E. tidung "event, occurrence, piece of news," perhaps in part a verbal noun from O.E. tidan "to happen," in part from O.N. tiðendi (pl.) "events, news," from tiðr (adj.) "occurring," from PIE *di-ti- (see tide). Cf. Norw. tidende "tidings, news," Du. tijding, Ger. Zeitung "newspaper").
tidy: c.1250, probably originally "in season, timely, opportune, excellent," from tide in the sense of "season, time" (see tide). Cf. O.H.G. zitig, Ger. zeitig, Du. tijdig, Dan. tidig "timely." Meaning "neat and in order" first recorded 1706. The verb in this sense is from 1821.
tie (n.): "that with which anything is tied," O.E. teag, from P.Gmc. *taugo (cf. O.N. taug "tie," tygill "string"), from PIE *deuk- "to pull, to lead" (cf. O.E. teon "to draw, pull, drag;" see duke). Fig. sense is recorded from 1555. Meaning "equality between competitors" is first found 1680, from notion of a connecting link (tie-breaker is recorded from 1961). Sense of "necktie, cravat" first recorded 1761. The railway sense of "transverse sleeper" is from 1857, Amer.Eng. The verb is from O.E. tigan, tiegan. In the noun sense of "connection," tie-in dates from 1934. Tie-dye first attested 1904. Tie one on "get drunk" is recorded from 1951.
tier: "row, rank, range," 1569, from M.Fr. tire, from O.Fr. tire "rank, sequence, order" (c.1210), probably from tirer "to draw, draw out" (see tirade). Some suggests the O.Fr. noun is from a Gmc. source akin to O.H.G. ziari, Ger. Zier "adornment," O.E. tir "glory, honor."
tierce: "old unit of measure equal to one-third of a pipe (42 gallons)," 1530s, from O.Fr., from L. tertia, fem. of tertius "a third," from base of tres "three." Also used in Eng. for "a third part" (1490s), and "the third hour of the canonical day" (ending at 9 a.m.), late 14c.
tiff: 1727, "outburst of temper," later "small quarrel" (1754), of uncertain origin; OED suggests onomatopoeic, "from the sound of a slight puff of air or gas."
tiffany: "type of thin, transparent fabric," c.1600; earlier a common name for the festival of the Epiphany (early 14c.; in Anglo-Fr. from late 13c.), from O.Fr. Tifinie, Tiphanie (c.1200), from L.L. Theophania "Theophany," another name for the Epiphany, from Gk. theophania "the manifestation of a god." Also popular in O.Fr. and M.E. as a name given to girls born on Epiphany Day. The fabric sense is found only in English and is of obscure origin and uncertain relation to the other meanings, unless as a fanciful allusion to "manifestation:"
"The invention of that fine silke, Tiffanie, Sarcenet, and Cypres, which instead of apparell to cover and hide, shew women naked through them." [Holland's "Pliny," 1601]
The fashionable N.Y. jewelry firm Tiffany & Co. (1895) is named for its founder, goldsmith Charles L. Tiffany (1812-1902) and his son, Louis C. Tiffany (1848-1933), who was the Art Nouveau decorator noted for his glassware. The surname is attested in Eng. from 1206.
tiger: O.E. tigras (pl.), also in part from O.Fr. tigre (c.1150), both from L. tigris "tiger," from Gk. tigris, possibly from an Iranian source. The meaning "shriek or howl at the end of a cheer" is recorded from 1845, Amer.Eng. Tigress first recorded 1611. Tiger's-eye "yellowish-brown quartz" is recorded from 1891.
tight: c.1435, "dense, close, compact," from M.E. thight, from O.N. þettr "watertight, close in texture, solid," from P.Gmc. *thenkhtuz (cf. second element in O.E. meteþiht "stout from eating;" M.H.G. dihte "dense, thick," Ger. dicht "dense, tight," O.H.G. gidigan, Ger. gediegen "genuine, solid, worthy"), from PIE base *tenk- "to become firm, curdle, thicken" (cf. Ir. techt "curdled, coagulated," Lith. tankus "close, tight," Pers. tang "tight," Skt. tanakti "draws together, contracts"). Sense of "drawn, stretched" is from 1576; meaning "fitting closely" (as of garments) is from 1779; that of "evenly matched" (of a contest, bargain, etc.) is from 1828, Amer.Eng.; that of "drunk" is from 1830; that of "close, sympathetic" is from 1956. Tightrope is recorded from 1801. Tight-assed "unwilling to relax" is attested from 1903. Tight-laced is recorded from 1741 in both the lit. and fig. senses. Tight-lipped is first attested 1876.
tighten (v.): "to make tight," 1727; the earlier verb was simply tight, from O.E. tyhtan, from the root of tight.
tights: 1827, "tight-fitting breeches," from tight. Meaning "skin-tights worn by dancers, acrobats, etc." is attested from 1836.
tightwad: "parsimonious person," 1900, from tight in the sense of "close-fisted" (1805) + wad. The notions of stringency and avarice also combine in Mod.Gk. sphiktos "greedy," lit. "tight."
Tijuana: from the name of a Diegueño (Yuman) village, written Tiajuan in 1829; deformed by folk-etymology association with Sp. Tia Juana "Aunt Jane."
Tiki: "large wooden image of the creator-ancestor of Maoris and Polynesians," 1777, from Eastern Polynesian tiki "image." Tiki torch is first recorded 1973.
tilde: 1864, from Sp., metathesis of Catalan title, from L. titulus "inscription, heading" (see title).
tile (n.): O.E. tigele "roofing shingle," from W.Gmc. *tegala (cf. O.H.G. ziagal, Ger. ziegel, Du. tegel, O.N. tigl), a borrowing from L. tegula "tile" (cf. It. tegola, Fr. tuile), from tegere "roof, to cover" (see stegosaurus). Also used in O.E. and early M.E. for "brick," before that word came into use. The verb meaning "to cover with tiles" is recorded from late 14c.
till (prep.): "until," O.E. til (Northumbrian), from O.N. til "to, until," from P.Gmc. *tilan (cf. Dan. til, O.Fris. til "to, till," Goth. tils "convenient," Ger. Ziel "limit, end, goal"). A common preposition in Scand., probably originally the accusative case of a noun now lost except for Icelandic tili "scope," the noun used to express aim, direction, purpose (e.g. aldrtili "death," lit. "end of life"). Also cf. Ger. Ziel "end, limit, point aimed at, goal," and compare till (v.).
till (v.): "cultivate (land)" (early 13c.), "plow" (late 14c.), from O.E. tilian "tend, work at, get by labor," originally "strive after," related to till "fixed point, goal," and til "good, suitable," from P.Gmc. *tilojanan (cf. O.Fris. tilia "to get, cultivate," O.S. tilian "to obtain," M.Du., Du. telen "to breed, raise, cultivate, cause," O.H.G. zilon "to strive," Ger. zielen "to aim, strive"), from source of till (prep.).
till (n.): "cashbox," 1452, from Anglo-Fr. tylle "compartment," O.Fr. tille "compartment, shelter on a ship," probably from O.N. þilja "plank, floorboard," from P.Gmc. *theljon. The other theory is that the word is from M.E. tillen "to draw," from O.E. -tyllan (see toll (v.)), with a sense evolution as in drawer (see draw).
tiller: mid-14c., "stock of a crossbow," from O.Fr. telier "stock of a crossbow" (c.1200), originally "weaver's beam," from M.L. telarium, from L. tela "web, loom," from PIE *teks-la-, from base *teks- "to weave" (see texture). Meaning "bar to turn the rudder of a boat" first recorded 1620s.
tilt (v.): O.E. *tyltan "to be unsteady," from tealt "unsteady," from P.Gmc. *taltaz (cf. O.N. tyllast "to trip," Swed. tulta "to waddle," Norw. tylta "to walk on tip-toe," M.Du. touteren "to swing"). Meaning "to cause to lean, tip, slope" (1594) is from sense of "push or fall over." Intrans. sense first recorded 1626. Meaning "condition of being tilted" is recorded from 1837.
tilt (n.): "a joust, a combat," 1511, perhaps from tilt (v.) on the notion of "to lean" into an attack, but the word originally seems to have been the name of the barrier which separated the combatants, which suggests connection with tilt in an earlier meaning "covering of coarse cloth, an awning" (c.1440), which is probably from tilt (v.), but perhaps related to or influenced by tent, or it may be from a Gmc. source akin to O.E. beteldan "to cover." The verb is recorded from 1595. Hence, also full tilt (c.1600).
timber: O.E. timber "building, structure," later "building material, trees suitable for building," and "wood in general," from P.Gmc. *temran (cf. O.Fris. timber "wood, building," O.H.G. zimbar "timber, wooden dwelling, room," O.N. timbr "timber," Ger. Zimmer "room"), from PIE *demrom-, from base *dem-/*dom- "build" (source of Gk. domos, L. domus; see domestic). The O.E. verb timbran, timbrian was the chief word for "to build" (cf. Du. timmeren, Ger. zimmern). As a call of warning when a cut tree is about to fall, it is attested from 1912 in Canadian Eng. Timbers in the nautical slang sense (see shiver (n.)) is from the specialized meaning "pieces of wood composing the frames of a ship's hull" (1748).
timbre: "characteristic quality of a musical sound," 1849, from Fr. timbre "quality of a sound," earlier "sound of a bell," from O.Fr., "bell without a clapper," originally "drum," probably via Medieval Gk. *timbanon, from Gk. tympanon "kettledrum" (see tympanum). Timbre was used in O.Fr. (13c.) and M.E. (14c.) to render L. tympanum in Ps. 150.
timbrel: "percussive Middle Eastern instrument," c.1500, dim. of timbre (q.v.) in its older Fr. sense of "drum." Used in Bible translations, chiefly to render Heb. taph, cognate with Arabic duff "drum," of imitative origin.
Timbuktu: city on the southern edge of the Sahara desert, older spelling Timbuctoo, used allusively in Eng. for "most distant place imaginable" from at least 1863.
time (n.): O.E. tima "limited space of time," from P.Gmc. *timon "time" (cf. O.N. timi "time, proper time," Swed. timme "an hour"), from PIE *di-mon-, from base *da- "cut up, divide" (see tide). Abstract sense of "time as an indefinite continuous duration" is recorded from 1388. Personified since at least 1509 as an aged bald man (but with a forelock) carrying a scythe and an hour-glass. In English, a single word encompasses time as "extent" and "point" (Fr. temps/fois, Ger. zeit/mal) as well as "hour" (e.g. "what time is it?" cf. Fr. heure, Ger. Uhr). Extended senses such as "occasion," "the right time," "leisure," or times (v.) "multiplied by" developed in O.E. and M.E., probably as a natural outgrowth of phrases like, "He commends her a hundred times to God" (O.Fr. La comande a Deu cent foiz).
"to have a good time ( = a time of enjoyment) was common in Eng. from c 1520 to c 1688; it was app. retained in America, whence readopted in Britain in 19th c." [OED]
Time of day (now mainly preserved in negation, i.e. what someone won't give you if he doesn't like you) was a popular 17c. salutation (e.g. "Good time of day vnto your Royall Grace," "Richard III," I.iii.18). Times as the name of a newspaper dates from 1788. Time warp first attested 1954; time capsule first recorded 1938, in ref. to New York World's Fair; time-travelling in the science fiction sense first recorded 1895 in H.G. Wells' "The Time Machine." To do time "serve a prison sentence" is from 1865. Time-honored is from 1593; time-worn is first attested 1729; time-keeper is from 1686; timeless "eternal" is 1628, earlier it meant "ill-timed" (1560). Time-limit is from 1880; time out in football is recorded from 1896. About time, ironically for "long past due time," is recorded from 1920. First record of timetable is attested from 1838, originally of railway trains. Behind the times "old-fashioned" is recorded from 1846, first attested in Dickens.
time (v.): O.E. getimian "to happen, befall," from time (n.). Meaning "to appoint a time" (of an action, etc.) is attested from c.1300; sense of "to record the time of" (a race, event, etc.) is first attested 1670.
time-sharing: 1953, as a computing term, from time (n.) + share. In real estate, as an arrangement in property use, it is recorded from 1976.
timely: late O.E. (adv.), from time (n.). As an adj. meaning "occurring at a suitable time" it is attested from c.1200.
timid: 1549, from M.Fr. timide "easily frightened, shy," from L. timidus "fearful," from timere "to fear."
timocracy: 1586, from M.Fr. tymocracie, from M.L. timocratia (13c.), from Gk. timokratia, from time "honor, worth" (related to tiein "to place a value on, to honor") + -kratia "rule." In Plato's philosophy, a form of government in which ambition for power and glory motivates the rulers (as in Sparta). In Aristotle, a form of government in which political power is in direct proportion to property ownership.
Timon: "a misanthrope," from Timon, name of a misanthrope who lived in Athens during the Peloponnesian War (431-404 B.C.E.), hero of Shakespeare's "Timon of Athens."
timorous: c.1450, from O.Fr. temeros (14c.), from M.L. timorosus "fearful," from L. timor "fear," from timere "to fear." Some early sense confused by mistaken identification with M.E. temerous "rash" (see temerity).