Etymology dictionary

Tironian — toll (v.)

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).

tisane (n.)

medicinal tea, 1931, from French tisane; earlier ptisan (14c.), from Latin ptisana, from Greek ptisane "crushed barley," related to ptissein "to winnow, crush, peel" (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 "to weave, to make," from PIE root *teks- "to weave," also "to fabricate." The biological sense is first recorded 1831, from French, introduced c. 1800 by French anatomist Marie-François-Xavier Bichal (1771-1802). Meaning "piece of absorbent paper used as a handkerchief" is from 1929. Tissue-paper is from 1777, supposedly so called because it was made to be placed between tissues to protect them.

tit (n.1)

"breast," Old English titt "teat, nipple, breast" (a variant of teat). But the modern slang tits (plural), attested from 1928, seems to be a recent reinvention, used without awareness of the original form, from teat or from dialectal and nursery diminutive variant titties (pl.).

tit (n.2)

1540s, a word used for 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 (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" (1590s), often in deprecatory sense of "a hussy, minx."

titanic (adj.)

"gigantic, colossal," 1709, from titan + -ic. The British passenger liner R.M.S. Titanic sank April 15, 1912, and the name became symbolic of the destruction of supposedly indestructible.

titan (n.)

early 15c., from Latin titan, from Greek titan, "a member of a mythological race of giants" (originally six sons and six daughters of Gaia and Uranus) who were overthrown by Zeus and the other gods. The war was a popular theme for Greek artists and writers. The name is perhaps from titō "sun, day," which probably is a loan-word from a language of Asia Minor. The sense of "person or thing of enormous size or ability" is by 1828.

Titan was given as a name to planet Saturn's largest satellite in 1831 (Greek Kronos, equivalent of Roman Saturn, was leader of the titans). It was discovered 1655 by Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens, who named it Saturni Luna "moon of Saturn," but others soon were found and thereafter they generally were known by number only. But as new ones were being found orbiting between the known moons, the numbering kept changing. William Herschel proposed giving the multiplying moons of Saturn and Jupiter suitable proper names out of mythology, a proposal readily accepted by the other astronomers. Related: Titaness; titanian.

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 previously had named uranium. A pure specimen was not isolated until 1887.

tit for tat

1550s, possibly an alteration of tip for tap "blow for blow," from tip (v.3) "tap" + tap "touch lightly." Perhaps influenced by tit (n.2).

tithe (n.)

a tenth part (originally of produce) due as support of the clergy, c. 1200, from Old English teogoþa (Anglian), teoþa (West Saxon) "tenth," from Proto-Germanic *tegunthan, from PIE *dekmto-, from PIE root *dekm- "ten." Retained in ecclesiastical sense while the form was replaced in ordinal use by tenth.

tithe (v.)

Old English teoþian "to pay one-tenth," from the root of tithe (n.). As "to impose a payment of a tenth," late 14c. Related: Tithed; tithing.

tither (n.)

late 14c., "one who pays a tithe," agent noun from tithe (v.). As "one who exacts a tithe," 1590s.

titi (n.)

type of small South American monkey, 1832, from native name in Tupi, probably imitative.

Titian (n.)

1824, "a painting by Venetian painter Tiziano Vecellio" (c. 1490-1576), from Englished form of his name. Often also in reference to the tint of bright auburn hair favored by him in his work.

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," a word imitative of giggling.

titivate (v.)

1805, perhaps from tidy, "with a quasi-Latin ending" [OED] as in cultivate.

title (v.)

"to furnish with a title," early 14c., from title (n.). Related: Titled; titling.

title (n.)

c. 1300, "inscription, heading," from Old French title "title or chapter of a book; position; legal permit" (12c., Modern French titre, by dissimilation), and in part from Old English titul, both from Latin titulus "inscription, label, ticket, placard, heading; honorable appellation, title of honor," of unknown origin. Meaning "name of a book, play, etc." first recorded mid-14c. The sense of "name showing a person's rank" in English is first attested 1580s. Sports championship sense attested from 1913 (originally in lawn tennis), hence titlist (1913). A title role in theater is one which gives its name to the play.

titmouse (n.)

small, active bird, early 14c., titmose, from tit (n.2), expressing something small, + Old English mase "titmouse," from Proto-Germanic *maison (source also of Dutch mees, German meise), from adj. *maisa- "little, tiny." Spelling influenced 16c. by unrelated mouse, "when mose had long been obsolete as an independent word" [OED]. The proper plural is titmouses.

titrate (v.)

1854, with -ate (2) + French titrer, from titre "standard, title," also "fineness of alloyed gold" (see title (n.)).

titration (n.)

in chemistry, "the establishment of a standard strength or degree of concentration of a solution," 1864, noun of action from titrate (v.).

titter (v.)

1610s, "giggle in a suppressed or nervous way," probably of imitative origin. Related: Tittered; tittering. The noun is attested by 1728.

titties (n.)

1746, tetties (plural), a nursery or dialect diminutive variant of teats (see teat).

tittle (n.)

"small stroke or point in writing," late 14c. (Wycliffe, in Matthew v.18), translating Latin apex in Late Latin sense of "accent mark over a vowel," which itself translates Greek keraia (literally "a little horn"), used by the Greek grammarians of the accents and diacritical points, in this case a Biblical translation of Hebrew qots, literally "thorn, prick," used of the little lines and projections by which the Hebrew letters of similar form differ from one another.

Wycliffe's word is borrowed from a specialized sense of Latin titulus (see title (n.)), which was used in Medieval Latin (and in Middle English and Old French) to indicate "a stroke over an abridged word to indicate letters missing" (and compare Provençal titule "the dot over -i-").

Compare tilde, which is the Spanish form of the same word.

titular (adj.)

1590s, from or based on French titulaire (16c.), from Latin titulus (see title) + -ar. Related: Titulary.

tix (n.)

short for tickets, by 1944 in Billboard magazine headlines.

tizzy (n.)

1922, American English colloquial, of uncertain origin, perhaps related to slang tizzy "sixpence piece" (1804), a corruption of tester, a name for the coin (see tester (n.2)).

*tkei-

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to settle, dwell, be home."

It forms all or part of: Amphictyonic; hamlet; hangar; haunt; home; site; situate; situation; situs.

It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Sanskrit kseti "abides, dwells;" Armenian shen "inhabited;" Greek kome, Lithuanian kaimas "village;" Old Church Slavonic semija "domestic servants;" Old English ham "dwelling place, house, abode," German heim "home," Gothic haims "village."

TLC (n.)

by 1953 as an abbreviation of tender loving care.

Tlingit (n.)

Indian group in southwestern Alaska and adjacent parts of Canada, 1865, the people's word for themselves, literally "human beings."

tmesis (n.)

1580s, from Greek tmesis "a cutting," related to temnein "to cut," tome "a cutting" (from PIE root *tem- "to cut"). The separation of the elements of a compound word by the interposition of another word or words (such as a whole nother).

TNT

1915, abbreviation of trinitrotoluene (1908), from trinitro- indicating three nitro- groups in place of three hydrogen atoms in a compound, + toluene.

to (prep.)

Old English to "in the direction of, for the purpose of, furthermore," from West Germanic *to (source also of Old Saxon and Old Frisian to, Dutch toe, Old High German zuo, German zu "to"), from PIE pronominal base *do- "to, toward, upward" (source also of Latin donec "as long as," Old Church Slavonic do "as far as, to," Greek suffix -de "to, toward," Old Irish do, Lithuanian da-), from demonstrative *de-. Not found in Scandinavian, where the equivalent of till (prep.) is used.

The nearly universal use of to with infinitives (to sleep, to dream, etc.) arose in Middle English out of the Old English dative use of to, and it helped drive out the Old English inflectional endings (though in this use to itself is a mere sign, without meaning).

Commonly used as a prefix in Middle English (to-hear "listen to," etc.), but few of these survive (to-do, together, and time references such as today, tonight, tomorrow — Chaucer also has to-yeere). To and fro "side to side" is attested from mid-14c. Phrase what's it to you "how does that concern you?" (1819) is a modern form of an old question:

to-

particle expressing separation, putting asunder, from West Germanic *ti- (source also of Old Frisian ti-, Old High German zi-, German zer-), from Proto-Germanic *tiz-, cognate with Latin-derived dis-. According to OED, some 125 compound verbs with this element are recorded in Old English; their number declined rapidly in Middle English and disappeared by c. 1500 except as conscious archaisms (such as to-shiver "break to pieces;" all to-brast).

toad (n.)

c. 1300, from late Old English tadige, tadie, of unknown origin and according to OED with no known cognates outside English. Applied to loathsome persons from 1560s. Toad-strangler "heavy rain" is from 1919, U.S. Southern dialectal.

toady (n.)

"servile parasite," 1826, apparently shortened from toad-eater "fawning flatterer" (1742), originally (1620s) "the assistant of a charlatan," who ate a toad (believed to be poisonous) to enable his master to display his skill in expelling the poison. The verb is recorded from 1827. Related: Toadied; toadying.

toadstone (n.)

"stone or stone-like object, supposedly magical (with healing or protective power) and found in the heads of certain toads," 1550s, from toad + stone (n.). Translating Greek batrakhites, Medieval Latin bufonites; compare also French crapaudine (13c.), German krötenstein.

toadstool (n.)

late 14c., apparently just what it looks like: a fanciful name from Middle English tadde "toad" (see toad) + stole "stool" (see stool). Toads themselves were regarded as highly poisonous, and this word is "popularly restricted to poisonous or inedible fungi, as distinct from edible "mushrooms" [OED]. Compare toad-cheese, a poisonous fungi; toad's meat (1886), a "rustic" term for toadstool.

toast (n.1)

"piece of bread browned by fire or dry heat," early 15c., from toast (v.1); originally as something added to wine, ale, etc. From 17c. in the modern sense as something eaten on its own with a spread. Slang meaning "a goner, person or thing already doomed or destroyed" is recorded by 1987, perhaps from notion of computer circuits being "fried," and with unconscious echoes of earlier figurative phrase to be had on toast (1886) "to be served up for eating." But other sources claim the extended sense and popularity is from the 1984 film "Ghostbusters."

toast (n.2)

"a call to drink to someone's health," 1690s (but said by Steele, 1709, to date to the reign of Charles II), originally referring to the beautiful or popular woman whose health is proposed and drunk to. The custom apparently has its origin in the use of spiced toast (n.1) to flavor drink; the lady being regarded as figuratively adding piquancy to the wine which was drunk to her health.

The custom itself is much older than this word for it, and the expectation of a bit of toast in a mug of ale at a tavern is well attested in many 17c. drinking songs, though none of them seems to give a reason for it.

Steele's story ["Tatler," No. 24] is that an (unnamed) beauty of the day was taking the cold waters at Bath, when a gentleman dipped his cup in the water and drank it to her health; another in his company wittily (or drunkenly) replied that, while he did not care for the drink, he would gladly enjoy the toast. The meaning "one whose health is proposed and drunk to" is from 1746. Toast-master attested from 1749.

toast (v.1)

"to brown with heat," late 14c., from Old French toster "to toast, to grill, roast, burn" (12c.), from Vulgar Latin *tostare (source of Italian tostare, Spanish tostar), frequentative of Latin torrere (past participle tostus) "to parch" (from PIE root *ters- "to dry"). Related: Toasted; toasting.

toast (v.2)

"to propose or drink a toast," 1700, from toast (n.2). This probably is the source of the Jamaican and African-American vernacular word meaning "extemporaneous narrative poem or rap" (1962). Related: Toasted; toasting.

toaster (n.)

1580s, agent noun from toast (v.1). Electrical type is from 1913. In reference to a person who proposes or pledges a drinking toast, from 1704 (from toast (v.2)). Toaster-oven attested from 1957.

toasty (adj.)

"warm and comfortable," 1882, from toast (n.1) + -y (2). Related: Toastiness.

tobacco (n.)

1580s, from Spanish tabaco, in part from an Arawakan language of the Caribbean (probably Taino), said to mean "a roll of tobacco leaves" (according to Las Casas, 1552) or "a kind of pipe for smoking tobacco" (according to Oviedo, 1535). Scholars of Caribbean languages lean toward Las Casas' explanation. The West Indian island of Tobago was said to have been named by Columbus in 1498 from Haitian tambaku "pipe," in reference to the native custom of smoking dried tobacco leaves [Room].

Cultivation in France began 1556 with an importation of seed by Andre Thevet; introduced in Spain 1558 by Francisco Fernandes. Tobacco Road as a mythical place representative of rural Southern U.S. poverty is from the title of Erskine Caldwell's 1932 novel. Early German and Portuguese accounts of Brazil also record another name for tobacco, bittin or betum, evidently a native word in South America, which made its way into 17c. Spanish, French, and English as petun, petumin, etc., and which is preserved in petunia and butun, the Breton word for "tobacco."

tobacconist (n.)

"dealer in tobacco," 1650s, from tobacco + -ist + abnormal inserted consonant; earlier meaning was "person addicted to tobacco" (1590s).

Toby

familiar form of masc. proper name Tobias, in various colloquial usages, such as "jug" (1840), "drinking mug in the form of a stout old man;" as a type of collar (1882) it refers to that worn by the dog Toby in 19c. Punch and Judy shows. Also in Toby show (by 1942, American English) "comedy act based on the stock character of a boisterous, blundering yokel."

Tobias

masc. proper name, from Late Latin Tobias, from Greek Tobias, from Hebrew Tobhiyyah, literally "the Lord is my Good," from Hebrew tobh "good." Toby is a short form.

toboggan (n.)

"long, flat-bottomed sled," 1829, from Canadian French tabagane, from an Algonquian language, such as Maleseet /thapaken/. The verb is recorded from 1846. As American English colloquial for a type of long woolen cap, it is recorded from 1929 (earlier toboggan cap, 1928), presumably because one wore such a cap while tobogganing.

toccata (n.)

1724, from Italian toccata, from toccare "to touch," from Vulgar Latin *toccare (see touch (v.)). "A composition for a keyboard instrument, intended to exhibit the touch and technique of the performer, and having the air of an improvisation" [OED].

Tocharian

in reference to an extinct people and Indo-European language of Chinese Turkestan, 1927, from French tocharien, from Greek Tokharoi (Strabo), name of an Asiatic people who lived in the Oxus valley in ancient times. Earlier Tocharish (1910), from German tocharisch. The identification of this culture with the people named by Strabo was suggested in 1907 by F.W.K. Müller and "is obviously erroneous" (Klein).

tocsin (n.)

"alarm bell," 1580s, from French toquassen "an alarm bell, the ringing of an alarm bell" (late 14c.), from Old Provençal tocasenh, from tocar "to strike" (from Vulgar Latin *toccare "strike a bell;" see touch (v.)) + senh "bell, bell note," from Late Latin signum "bell, ringing of a bell," in Latin "identifying mark, sign" (see sign (n.)). The current English spelling is from 1794, adopted from modern French.

today (adv.)

Old English todæge, to dæge "on (this) day," from to "at, on" (see to) + dæge, dative of dæg "day" (see day). Meaning "in modern times" is from c. 1300. As a noun from 1530s. Generally written as two words until 16c., after which it usually was written to-day until early 20c.

Similar constructions exist in other Germanic languages, such as Dutch van daag "from-day," Danish and Swedish i dag "in day." German heute is from Old High German hiutu, from Proto-Germanic *hiu tagu "on (this) day," with first element from PIE pronominal stem *ki-, represented by Latin cis "on this side."

Todd

masc. proper name, also a surname (late 12c.), from Middle English todde "fox," a Northern English word of unknown origin.

toddy (n.)

1610s, alteration of taddy (1610s), tarrie (c. 1600) "beverage made from fermented palm sap," from Hindi tari "palm sap" (in which the -r- sounds close to an English -d-), from tar "palm tree," from Sanskrit tala-s, probably from a Dravidian language (compare Kannada tar, Telugu tadu). Meaning "beverage made of alcoholic liquor with hot water, sugar, and spices" first recorded 1786.

toddle (v.)

"to run or walk with short, unsteady steps," c. 1600, Scottish and northern British, of uncertain origin, possibly related to totter (1530s); an earlier sense of "to toy, play" is found c. 1500. Related: Toddled; toddling.

toddler (n.)

1793, agent noun from toddle. Toddlekins is from 1839.

to-do (n.)

1570s, from the verb phrase to do, from Old English to don "proper or necessary to be done" (see to + do). Meaning "disturbance, fuss" is first recorded 1827. Similar formation in French affaire, from à "to" + faire "do."

toe (n.)

Old English ta "toe" (plural tan), contraction of *tahe (Mercian tahæ), from Proto-Germanic *taihwō(n) (source also of Old Norse ta, Old Frisian tane, Middle Dutch te, Dutch teen (perhaps originally a plural), Old High German zecha, German Zehe "toe"). Perhaps originally meaning "fingers" as well (many PIE languages still use one word to mean both fingers and toes), and thus [Watkins] from PIE root *deik- "to show."

The old plural survived regionally into Middle English as tan, ton. To be on (one's) toes "alert, eager" is recorded from 1921. To step on (someone's) toes in the figurative sense "give offense" is from late 14c. Toe-hold "support for the toe of a boot in climbing" is from 1880.

toe (v.)

"touch or reach with the toes," 1813, from toe (n.). First recorded in expression toe the mark, which seems to be nautical in origin.

Related: Toed; toeing.

toenail (n.)

also toe-nail, 1690s, from toe (n.) + nail (n.).

toff (n.)

lower-class London slang for "stylish dresser, man of the smart set," 1851, said by OED to be probably an alteration of tuft, formerly an Oxford University term for a nobleman or gentleman-commoner (1755), in reference to the gold ornamental tassel worn on the caps of undergraduates at Oxford and Cambridge whose fathers were peers with votes in the House of Lords.

toffee (n.)

1825, tuffy, toughy, southern British dialectal variant of taffy. Modern spelling recorded by 1843.

toft (n.)

"homestead, site of a house," late Old English, from Old Norse topt "homestead," from Proto-Germanic *tumfto, from PIE root *dem- "house, household."

tofu (n.)

soy bean curd, 1876, from Japanese tofu, from Chinese doufu, from dou "beans" + fu "rotten."

tog (n.)

1708, "outer garment," shortened from togman "cloak, loose coat" (1560s), thieves' cant word, formed from French togue "cloak," from Latin toga (see toga). Middle English toge "toga" (14c.) also was a cant word for "a coat."

togs (n.)

"clothes," 1779, plural of tog (q.v.).

toga (n.)

c. 1600, from Latin toga "cloak or mantle," from PIE *tog-a- "covering," suffixed form of root *(s)teg- "to cover." The outer garment of a Roman citizen in time of peace.

Breeches, like the word for them (Latin bracae) were alien to the Romans, being the dress of Persians, Germans, and Gauls, so that bracatus "wearing breeches" was a term in Roman geography meaning "north of the Alps." College fraternity toga party was re-popularized by movie "Animal House" (1978), but this is set in 1962 and the custom seems to date from at least the mid-1950s.

together (adv.)

Old English togædere "so as to be present in one place, in a group, in an accumulated mass," from to (see to) + gædere "together" (adv.), apparently a variant of the adverb geador "together," from Proto-Germanic *gaduri- "in a body," from PIE *ghedh- "to unite, join, fit" (see good, and compare gather).

In reference to single things, "so as to be unified or integrated," from c. 1300. Adjective meaning "self-assured, free of emotional difficulties" is first recorded 1966. German cognate zusammen has as second element the Old High German verbal cognate of English same (Old English also had tosamne "together").

togetherness (n.)

1650s, "state of being together," from together + -ness. Sense of "fellowship, fellow-feeling," is from 1930.

toggery (n.)

"clothes collectively," 1812, from tog + -ery.

toggle (n.)

1769, "pin passed through the eye of a rope, strap, or bolt to hold it in place," a nautical word of uncertain origin, perhaps a frequentative form of tog "tug." As a kind of wall fastener it is recorded from 1934. Toggle bolt is from 1794; toggle switch, the up-and-down sort, first attested 1938. In computing by 1979, in reference to a key which alternates the function between on and off when struck.

toggle (v.)

1836, "make secure with a toggle," from toggle (n.). Meaning "alternate back and forth between opposite actions" is by 1982. Related: Toggled; toggling.

toy (n.)

c. 1300, "amorous playing, sport," later "piece of fun or entertainment" (c. 1500), "thing of little value, trifle" (1520s), and "thing for a child to play with" (1580s). Of uncertain origin, and there may be more than one word here. Compare Middle Dutch toy, Dutch tuig "tools, apparatus; stuff, trash," in speeltuig "play-toy, plaything;" German Zeug "stuff, matter, tools," Spielzeug "plaything, toy;" Danish tøj, Swedish tyg "stuff, gear." Applied as an adjective to things of diminutive size, especially dogs, from 1806. Toy-boy is from 1981.

toy (v.)

"deal carelessly (with), trifle," 1520s, from toy (n.) in its older sense.

Related: Toyed; toying.

toil (n.1)

"hard work," c. 1300, originally "turmoil, contention, dispute," from Anglo-French toil (13c.), from toiler "agitate, stir up, entangle, writhe about," from Old French toeillier "drag about, make dirty" (12c.), usually said to be from Latin tudiculare "crush with a small hammer," from tudicula "mill for crushing olives, instrument for crushing," from Latin tudes "hammer," from PIE *tud-, variant of *(s)teu- "to push, stroke, knock, beat" (see obtuse). Sense of "hard work, labor" (1590s) is from the related verb (see toil (v.)).

toil (n.2)

"net, snare," 1520s, from French toile "hunting net, cloth, web" (compare toile d'araignée "cobweb"), from Old French toile "cloth" (11c.), from Latin tela "web, net, warp of a fabric," from PIE root *teks- "to weave," also "to fabricate." Now used largely in plural (as in caught in the toils of the law).

toil (v.)

early 14c., toilen, "pull at, tug," from Anglo-French toiller, Old French toellier "pull or drag about" (see toil (n.1)). Intransitive meaning "struggle, work hard, labor for considerable time" is from late 14c., perhaps by influence of till (v.). Related: Toiled; toiling.

toile (n.)

type of heavy, coarse cloth, c. 1400, from Old French toile "linen cloth, canvas" (see toil (n.2)). As a type of dress material, from 1794.

toilet (n.)

1530s, earliest in English in an obsolete sense "cover or bag for clothes," from French toilette "a cloth; a bag for clothes," diminutive of toile "cloth, net" (see toil (n.2)). Toilet acquired an association with upper class dressing by 18c., through the specific sense "a fine cloth cover on the dressing table for the articles spread upon it;" thence "the articles, collectively, used in dressing" (mirror, bottles, brushes, combs, etc.). Subsequent sense evolution in English (mostly following French uses) is to "act or process of dressing," especially the dressing and powdering of the hair (1680s); then "a dressing room" (1819), especially one with a lavatory attached; then "lavatory or porcelain plumbing fixture" (1895), an American euphemistic use.

Toilet paper is attested from 1884 (the Middle English equivalent was arse-wisp). Toilet training is recorded from 1940.

toiletries (n.)

"odds and ends used in grooming," 1924, from toiletry (1892); see toilet + -ry.

toilsome (adj.)

1580s, from toil (v.) + -some (1). An earlier word was toilous (early 15c.). The opposite, toilless (c. 1600) is much less common.

tokay (n.)

1710, rich sweet wine from the region of Tokay (Hungarian Tokaj) a town in Hungary. The name is perhaps Slavic, from tok "current," or Hungarian, from a Turkic personal name.

toke (n.)

"inhalation of a marijuana cigarette or pipe smoke," 1968, U.S. slang, from earlier verb meaning "to smoke a marijuana cigarette" (1952), perhaps from Spanish tocar in sense of "touch, tap, hit" or "get a share or part." In 19c. the same word in British slang meant "small piece of poor-quality bread," but probably this is not related.

tokenism (n.)

1962, from token (adj.) in the integration sense + -ism.

token (adj.)

"nominal," 1915, from token (n.). In integration sense, attested by 1960.

token (n.)

Old English tacen "sign, symbol, evidence, portent" (related to verb tæcan "show, explain, teach"), from Proto-Germanic *taikna- (source also of Old Saxon tekan, Old Norse teikn "zodiac sign, omen, token," Old Frisian tekan, Middle Dutch teken, Dutch teken, Old High German zeihhan, German zeichen, Gothic taikn "sign, token"), which is from from PIE root *deik- "to show," also "pronounce solemnly." Compare, from the same root, German zeigen "to show," Old English teon "to accuse,"

The meaning "coin-like piece of stamped metal" is recorded from 1590s. The older sense of "evidence" is retained in by the same token (mid-15c.), originally "introducing a corroborating circumstance" [OED, 1989].

Tokyo

so named 1868, from Japanese to "east" + kyo "capital;" its earlier name was Edo, literally "estuary."

told

past tense and past participle of tell (v.), from Old English tealde, past tense of tellan.

tole (n.)

"ornamented and painted sheet iron," 1946, from French tôle "sheet iron," from dialectal taule "table," from Latin tabula "a flat board" (see table (n.)).

Toledo

city in Spain, famous from 16c. for its sword-blades of fine temper; the place name is Celtic, from tol "hill."

tolerable (adj.)

early 15c., "bearable," from Old French tolerable (14c.) and directly from Latin tolerabilis "that may be endured, supportable, passable," from tolerare "to tolerate" (see toleration). Meaning "moderate, middling, not bad" is recorded from 1540s. Related: Tolerably.

tolerant (adj.)

1784, "free from bigotry or severity in judging others," from French tolérant (16c.), and directly from Latin tolerantem (nominative tolerans), present participle of tolerare "to bear, endure, tolerate" (see toleration). Meaning "able to bear (something) without being affected" is from 1879. Related: Tolerantly.

tolerate (v.)

1530s, of authorities, "to allow without interference," from Latin toleratus, past participle of tolerare (see toleration). Related: Tolerated; tolerating.

tolerance (n.)

early 15c., "endurance, fortitude" (in the face of pain, hardship, etc.), from Old French tolerance (14c.), from Latin tolerantia "a bearing, supporting, endurance," from tolerans, present participle of tolerare "to bear, endure, tolerate" (see toleration). Of individuals, with the sense "tendency to be free from bigotry or severity in judging other," from 1765. Meaning "allowable amount of variation" dates from 1868; and physiological sense of "ability to take large doses" first recorded 1875.

toleration (n.)

1510s, "permission granted by authority, licence," from French tolération (15c.), from Latin tolerationem (nominative toleratio) "a bearing, supporting, enduring," noun of action from past-participle stem of tolerare "to endure, sustain, support, suffer," literally "to bear" (from PIE *tele- "to bear, carry;" see extol).

Meaning "forbearance, sufferance" is from 1580s. The specific religious sense is from 1609; as in Act of Toleration (1689), statute granting freedom of religious worship (with conditions) to dissenting Protestants in England. In this it means "recognition of the right of private judgment in matters of faith and worship; liberty granted by the government to preach and worship as one pleases; equality under the law without regard to religion."

*tolkw-

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to speak."

It forms all or part of: circumlocution; colloquium; colloquy; elocution; eloquence; grandiloquence; interlocution; interlocutor; locution; locutory; loquacious; loquacity; loquitur; magniloquence; magniloquent; obloquy; soliloquy; somniloquy; vaniloquence; ventriloquism; ventriloquy.

It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Latin loqui "to speak;" Old Irish ad-tluch- "to thank," to-tluch- "to ask;" Old Church Slavonic tloko "interpretation, explanation."

toll (n.)

"tax, fee," Old English toll "impost, tribute, passage-money, rent," variant of toln, cognate with Old Norse tollr, Old Frisian tolen, Old High German zol, German Zoll, probably an early Germanic borrowing from Late Latin tolonium "custom house," classical Latin telonium "tollhouse," from Greek teloneion "tollhouse," from telones "tax-collector," from telos "duty, tax, expense, cost" (from suffixed form of PIE root *tele- "to lift, support, weigh;" see extol) For sense, compare finance.

On another theory it is native Germanic and related to tell (v.) on the notion of "that which is counted." Originally in a general sense of "payment exacted by an authority;" meaning "charge for right of passage along a road" is from late 15c.

toll (v.)

"to sound with slow single strokes" (intransitive), mid-15c., probably a special use of tollen "to draw, lure," early 13c. variant of Old English -tyllan in betyllan "to lure, decoy," and fortyllan "draw away, seduce," of obscure origin. The notion is perhaps of "luring" people to church with the sound of the bells, or of "drawing" on the bell rope. Transitive sense from late 15c. Related: Tolled; tolling. The noun meaning "a stroke of a bell" is from mid-15c.