quword 趣词
Word Origins Dictionary
- tacit (adj.)[tacit 词源字典]
- c. 1600, "silent, unspoken," from French tacite and directly from Latin tacitus "that is passed over in silence, done without words, assumed as a matter of course, silent," past participle of tacere "be silent, not speak," from suffixed form of PIE root *tak- "to be silent" (cognates: Gothic þahan, Old Norse þegja "to be silent," Old Norse þagna "to grow dumb," Old Saxon thagian, Old High German dagen "to be silent"). The musical instruction tacet is the 3rd person present singular of the Latin verb. Related: Tacitly.[tacit etymology, tacit origin, 英语词源]
- taciturn (adj.)
- "habitually silent," 1771, back-formation from taciturnity, or from French taciturne (15c.), from Latin taciturnus "not talkative, noiseless."
- taciturnity (n.)
- mid-15c., from Middle French taciturnité, from Latin taciturnitatem (nominative taciturnitas) "a being or keeping silent," from taciturnus "disposed to be silent," from tacitus "silent" (see tacit).
- tack (n.1)
- "clasp, hook, fastener," also "a nail" of some kind, c. 1400, from Old North French taque "nail, pin, peg" (Old French tache, 12c., "nail, spike, tack; pin brooch"), probably from a Germanic source (compare Middle Dutch tacke "twig, spike," Frisian tak "a tine, prong, twig, branch," Low German takk "tine, pointed thing," German Zacken "sharp point, tooth, prong"), from Proto-Germanic *tag-. Meaning "small, sharp nail with a flat head" is attested from mid-15c. The meaning "rope to hold the corner of a sail in place" is first recorded late 15c.
- tack (v.1)
- late 14c., "to attach" with a nail, etc., from tack (n.1). Meaning "to attach as a supplement" (with suggestion of hasty or arbitrary proceeding) is from 1680s. Related: Tacked; tacking.
- tack (n.2)
- "horse's harness, etc.," 1924, shortening of tackle (n.) in sense of "equipment." Tack in a non-equestrian sense as a shortening of tackle is recorded in dialect from 1777.
- tack (n.3)
- "food" in general, but in dialect especially "bad food," and especially among sailors "food of a bread kind," 1833, perhaps a shortening and special use of tackle (n.) in the sense of "gear." But compare tack "taste" (c. 1600), perhaps a variant of tact.
- tack (v.2)
- "turn a ship's course toward the wind at an angle," 1550s, from tack (n.1) in the ship-rigging sense (the ropes were used to move the vessel temporarily to one side or another of its general line of course, to take advantage of a side-wind); hence tack (n.) "course of conduct or mode of action suited to some purpose" (1670s), from figurative use of the verb (1630s). Related: Tacked; tacking.
- tack-hammer (n.)
- 1848, from tack (n.1) + hammer (n.).
- tackle (n.)
- mid-13c., "apparatus, gear," especially the rigging of a ship, from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German takel "the rigging of a ship," perhaps related to Middle Dutch taken "grasp, seize" (see take (v.)), or perhaps from root of tack (n.1), which, if not the origin, has influenced the sense. Meaning "apparatus for fishing" is recorded from late 14c. Meaning "device for grasping and shifting or moving" is from 1530s. Meaning "act of tackling" in the sporting sense is recorded from 1876 (see tackle (v.)); as the name of a position in North American football, it is recorded from 1884. Welsh tacl is fro English.
- tackle (v.)
- mid-14c., "entangle, involve," from tackle (n.). Sense of "to furnish (a ship) with tackles" is from c. 1400; meaning "to harness a horse" is recorded from 1714. The meaning "lay hold of, come to grips with, attack" is attested from 1828, described by Webster that year as "a common popular use of the word in New England, though not elegant;" figurative sense of "try to deal with" (a task or problem) is from 1840. The verb in the sporting sense first recorded 1867, "to seize and stop." Related: Tackled; tackling.
- tacky (adj.1)
- "sticky," 1788, from tack (n.1) in the sense of "an act of attaching temporarily" + -y (2). Related: Tackiness "stickiness."
- tacky (adj.2)
- "in poor taste," 1888, from earlier sense of "shabby, seedy" (1862), adjectival use of tackey (n.) "ill-fed or neglected horse" (1800), later extended to persons in like condition, "hillbilly, cracker" (1888), of uncertain origin. Related: Tackiness.
The word "tacky" is a Southern colloquialism. It was coined by a wealthier or more refined and educated class for general application to those who were not sheltered by the branches of a family tree, who were "tainted." Those who were wealthy and yet had no great-grandfathers were "tackies." The word was used both in contempt and in derision. It is now nearly obsolete in both senses. There are no aristocrats in the South now, and therefore no "tackies." No man who has the instincts of a gentleman is spoken of as a "tacky," whether he can remember the name of his grandfather's uncle or not. But it has its uses. It is employed in describing persons of low ideas and vulgar manners, whether rich or poor. It may mean an absence of style. In dress, anything that is tawdry is "tacky." A ribbon on the shopkeeper's counter, a curtain in the bolt, a shawl or bonnet, a bolt of cloth fresh from the loom may be "tacky," because it is cheap and yet pretentious. In Louisiana the inferior grade of Creole ponies are known as "tackies." [Horace Ingraham, Charleston, S.C., in "American Notes and Queries," Feb. 15, 1890]
- taco (n.)
- tortilla filled with spiced meat, etc., 1949, from Mexican Spanish, "light lunch," literally "plug, wadding."
- Tacoma
- city in Washington State, U.S., from Lushootseed (Salishan) /tequbed/ "snow-covered mountain," in reference to nearby Mount Rainier.
- Taconic
- mountain range in New England, perhaps from Mahican (Algonquian) */ta:hkenek/ "in the woods;" compare Unami Delaware (Algonquian) /tekenink/ "in the woods."
- tact (n.)
- 1650s, "sense of touch or feeling" (with an isolated instance, tacþe from c. 1200), from Latin tactus "a touch, handling, sense of touch," from root of tangere "to touch" (see tangent (adj.)). Meaning "sense of discernment in action or conduct, diplomacy, fine intuitive mental perception" first recorded 1804, from development in French cognate tact. The Latin figurative sense was "influence, effect."
- tactful (adj.)
- 1844, from tact + -ful. Related: Tactfully; tactfulness.
- tactic (n.)
- 1766, from Modern Latin tactica, from Greek taktike (tekhne) "(art of) arrangement," from fem. of taktikos "pertaining to arrangement" (see tactics). Earlier it meant "a tactician" (1630s), and was in use as an adjective meaning "tactical" (c. 1600).
- tactical (adj.)
- 1560s, "pertaining to tactics," from Modern Latin tactica (see tactics) + -al (1). Meaning "characterized by adroit management" is from 1883. In reference to nuclear weapons ("for limited use in military operations," opposed to strategic) it is recorded from 1957. Related: Tactically.