Online Etymology Dictionary

tinhorn (adj.): "petty but flashy," 1857, from tin + horn; originally of low-class gamblers, from the tin cans they used for shaking dice.
tink: late 14c. (v.); c.1600 (n.), echoic.
tinker (n.): "mender of kettles, pots, pans, etc.," mid-13c. (as a surname), of uncertain origin. Some connect the word with the sound made by light hammering on metal. The verb meaning "to keep busy in a useless way" is first found 1650s. Tinker's damn "something slight and worthless" is from 1824, probably simply preserving tinkers' reputation for free and casual use of profanity; more elaborate derivations exist, but seem to be just-so stories without evidence.
tinkle (v.): "to make a gentle ringing sound," late 14c., possibly a frequentative form of tinken "to ring, jingle," perhaps of imitative origin. Meaning "to urinate" is recorded from 1960, from childish talk. Related: Tinkled; tinkling.
tinnitus (n.): 1843, from Latin tinnitus, from tinnire "to ring, tinkle" (see tintinnabulation).
tinny (adj.): 1550s, from tin + -y (2). Used figuratively (of sounds, etc.) since 1877.
tinsel (n.): mid-15c., "a kind of cloth made with interwoven gold or silver thread," from Middle French estincelle "spark, spangle" (see stencil). Meaning "very thin sheets or strips of shiny metal" is recorded from 1590s. Figurative sense of "anything showy with little real worth" is from 1650s, suggested from at least 1590s. First recorded use of Tinseltown for "Hollywood" is from 1972.
tint (n.): "color," 1717, alteration of tinct (c.1600), from Latin tinctus "a dyeing," from tingere "to dye" (see tincture); influenced by Italian tinta "tint, hue," from Latin tinctus.
tint (v.): 1756 (implied in tinted), from tint (n.). Related: Tinted; tinting.
tintinnabulation (n.): "the ringing of bells," 1831 (perhaps coined by Poe), from Latin tintinnabulum "bell," from tintinnare "to ring, jingle" (reduplicated form of tinnire "to ring," from an imitative base) + instrumental suffix -bulum. Earlier forms in English were tintinnabulary (1787), tintinnabulatory (1827), and tintinnabulum "small bell" (late 14c.).
tiny (adj.): c.1400, tyne "very small," perhaps from tine.
tip (v.1): "to slope, overturn," c.1300, possibly from Scandinavian, or a special use of tip (n.). Intransitive sense of "fall over" is recorded from 1520s. Related: Tipped; tipping. Tipping point attested by 1972.
tip (n.): "end, point, top," early 13c., from Middle Low German or Middle Dutch tip "utmost point, extremity, tip" (cf. German zipfel, a diminutive formation); perhaps cognate with Old English tæppa "stopper" (see tap (n.)), from Proto-Germanic *tupp- "upper extremity." Tip-top is from 1702.
tip (v.2): "give a small present of money to," c.1600, "to give, hand, pass," originally thieves' cant, perhaps from tip (v.3) "to tap." The meaning "give a gratuity to" is first attested 1706. The noun in this sense is from 1755; the meaning "piece of confidential information" is from 1845; the verb in this sense is from 1883; tipster first recorded 1862. For urban legendary origin as an acronym, see here.
tip (v.3): "light, sharp blow or tap," mid-15c., possibly from Low German tippen "to poke, touch lightly," related to Middle Low German tip "end, point," and thus connected to tip (n.); or else connected with tap (v.) "to strike lightly." The noun in this sense is attested from 1560s.
tippet (n.): c.1300, of unknown origin; perhaps from Old English tæppet "carpet, hanging."
tipple (v.): 1530s, "sell alcoholic liquor by retail," of unknown origin, possibly from a Scandinavian source (e.g. Norwegian dialectal tipla "to drink slowly or in small quantities"). Meaning "drink (alcoholic beverage) too much" is first attested 1550s. Related: Tippled; tippling.
tippler (n.): late 14c., "seller of alcoholic liquors," agent noun from tipple. In the sense of "habitual drinker" it dates from 1570s.
tipstaff (n.): 1540s, "tipped staff" (truncheon with a tip or cap of metal) carried as an emblem of office, from tip (n.) + staff (n.). As the name of an official who carries one (especially a sheriff's officer, bailiff, constable, court crier, etc.) it is recorded from 1560s.
tipsy (adj.): 1570s, from tip (v.1); later associated with tipple. Tipsy-cake (1806) was cake saturated with wine or liquor.
tiptoe (n.): mid-15c., from tip (n.) + toe. As a verb from 1630s. Related: Tiptoes (late 14c.).
tirade (n.): 1801, "a 'volley of words,' " from French tirade "speech, volley, shot, continuation, drawing out" (16c.), from tirer "draw out, endure, suffer," or the French word is perhaps from cognate Italian tirata "a volley," from past participle of tirare "to draw." The whole Romanic word group is of uncertain origin; some think it is a shortening of the source of Old French martirer "endure martyrdom" (see martyr).
tire (v.): "to weary," also "to become weary," Old English teorian (Kentish tiorian), of unknown origin, not found outside English. Related: Tired; tiring.
tire (n.): late 15c., "iron rim of a carriage wheel," probably from tire "equipment, dress, covering" (c.1300), a shortened form of attire. The notion is of the tire as the dressing of the wheel. The original spelling was tyre, which had shifted to tire in 17c.-18c., but since early 19c. tyre has been revived in Great Britain and become standard there. Rubber ones, for bicycles (later automobiles) are from 1870s.
tired (adj.): "exhausted, fatigued, weary," early 15c., past participle adjective from tire (v.).
tiredness (n.): 1550s, from tired + -ness.
tireless (adj.): 1590s, "indefatigable," from tire (v.) + -less. From 1862 in the sense "without a tire," from tire (n.). Related: Tirelessly.
tiresome (adj.): "tedious," c.1500, from tire (v.) + -some. Related: Tiresomely; tiresomeness.
Tironian: of or pertaining to Marcus Tullius Tiro, Cicero's scribe and namesake, 1828, especially in reference to the Tironian Notes (Latin notæ Tironianæ), a system of shorthand said to have been invented by him (see ampersand).
Although involving long training and considerable strain on the memory, this system seems to have practically answered all the purposes of modern stenography. It was still in familiar use as late as the ninth century. ["Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia," New York, 1902]
tisane (n.): 1931, from French tisane; earlier ptisan (14c.), from Latin ptisana, from Greek ptisane "crushed barley," related to ptissein "to winnow" (see pestle).
tissue (n.): mid-14c., "band or belt of rich material," from Old French tissu "a ribbon, headband, belt of woven material" (c.1200), noun use of tissu "woven, interlaced," past participle of tistre "to weave," from Latin texere "weave" (see texture). The biological sense is first recorded 1831, from French, introduced c.1800 by French anatomist Marie-François-Xavier Bichal (1771-1802). Tissue-paper is from 1777, supposedly so called because it was made to be placed between tissues to protect them. Meaning "piece of absorbent paper used as a handkerchief" is from 1929.
tit (n.1): "breast," Old English titt (a variant of teat). But the modern slang tits (plural), attested from 1928, seems to be a recent reinvention from teat, used without awareness that it is a throwback to the original form. Titty, however, is on record from 1746 as "a dial. and nursery diminutive of teat."
tit (n.2): 1540s, "any small animal or object" (as in compound forms such as titmouse, tomtit, etc.); also used of small horses. Similar words in related senses are found in Scandinavian (cf. Icelandic tittr, Norwegian tita "a little bird"), but the connection and origin are obscure; perhaps, as OED suggests, the word is merely suggestive of something small. Used figuratively of persons after 1734, but earlier for "a girl or young woman," usually in deprecatory sense of "a hussy, minx" (1590s).
tit for tat: 1550s, possibly an alteration of tip for tap "blow for blow," from tip (v.3) "tap" + tap "touch lightly." Perhaps infl. by tit (n.2).
titan (n.): early 15c., from Latin Titan, from Greek Titan, member of a mythological race of giants who attempted to scale heaven by piling Mount Pelion on Mount Ossa but were overthrown by Zeus and the gods. They descended from Titan, elder brother of Kronos. Perhaps from tito "sun, day," which is probably a loan-word from a language of Asia Minor. Sense of "person or thing of enormous size" first recorded 1828. Applied to planet Saturn's largest satellite in 1868; it was discovered 1655 by Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens, who named it Saturni Luna "moon of Saturn."
titanic (adj.): "gigantic, colossal," 1709, from titan + -ic.
titanium (n.): metallic element, 1796, Modern Latin, named in 1795 by German chemist and mineralogist Martin Heinrich Klaproth (1743-1817) from Latin Titan (see titan) as "sons of the earth." He had previously named uranium.
tithe (n.): Old English teogoþa (Anglian), teoþa (West Saxon) "tenth," from Proto-Germanic *tegunthon, *tekhunthon. Retained in ecclesiastical sense while the form was replaced in ordinal use by tenth (influenced by ten).
tithe (v.): Old English teoþian, from the root of tithe (n.). Related: Tithed; tithing.
tither (n.): late 14c., agent noun from tithe (v.).
titi: 1832, from native name in Tupi.
Titian: Venetian painter Tiziano Vecellio (c.1490-1576).
titillate (v.): 1610s, back-formation from titillation. Related: Titillated; titillating.
titillation (n.): early 15c., "pleasing excitement," from Latin titillationem (nominative titillatio) "a tickling," noun of action from past participle stem of titillare "to tickle," imitative of giggling.
titivate (v.): 1805, perhaps from tidy with a quasi-Latin ending.
title (n.): c.1300, "inscription, heading," from Old French title (12c.), and in part from Old English titul, both from Latin titulus "inscription, heading," of unknown origin. Meaning "name of a book, play, etc." first recorded mid-14c. The sense of "name showing a person's rank" is first attested 1580s.
title (v.): "to furnish with a title," late 14c., from title (n.). Related: Titled; titling.
titmouse (n.): "small, active bird," early 14c., titmose, from tit (n.2), expressing something small, + Old English mase "titmouse," from Proto-Germanic *maison (cf. Dutch mees, German meise), from adj. *maisa- "little, tiny." Spelling influenced 16c. by unrelated mouse.
titrate (v.): 1870, from French titrer, from titre "title, qualification" (see titration).
titration (n.): 1864, from French titrer, from titre "standard, title" (see title (n.)), also "fineness of alloyed gold;" in chemistry, the establishment of a standard strength or degree of concentration of a solution.