"T" Word Origins

Telford

Origin

Named after the Scottish civil engineer Thomas Telford, who pioneered this method of road building.

telic

Origin

From the Ancient Greek τελῐκός (telĭkós, “final”), from τέλος (télos, “end”).

tell

Old English

From Old English tellan, "to count, tell," from a Germanic root meaning "to count, enumerate" — the same root that gives us "tale" and "talk."

teller

Middle English

From Middle English tellere, "one who counts or recounts" — tell plus the agent ending -er.

tellin

Ancient Greek

From the New Latin genus name Tellina, itself from an Ancient Greek word for a small bivalve shellfish.

telling

Origin

The -ing form of the verb tell.

telltale

Origin

From tell plus tale, likely reshaped from an earlier form of "tale-teller."

tellurian

Origin

From Latin tellūs (“earth, ground; the globe, planet Earth; country, land”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *telh₂- (“ground, bottom”), + -ian (suffix meaning "from, related to, or like" when forming an adjective, or "one from, belonging to, relating to, or like" when forming a noun).

telluric

Origin

A borrowing of French tellurique, from Latin tellus (“earth; earthy”) and Tellus (“Earth, Gaia”) and -ique (forming adjectives). Subsequently also from tellurium, originally in telluric oxide from German Telluroxyd.

telly

Origin

A shortening of tele(vision) with the informal -y ending.

telos

Origin

Borrowed from Ancient Greek τέλος (télos).

Telugu

Origin

Borrowed directly from the Telugu word for itself, తెలుగు.

temaki

Origin

Borrowed from Japanese 手巻き (temaki).

temerity

Origin

From Middle English temerite, temeryte, from Old French temerité, from Latin temeritās (“chance, accident, rashness”), from temere (“by chance, casually, rashly”). By surface analysis, temer(arious) + -ity.

temp

Origin

A clipping of "temporary" (for the job sense) and of "temperature" (for the measurement sense).

temper

Latin

From Old English temprian, borrowed from Latin temperō, "to mix in due proportion, moderate." Related to "temperature" and "temporal."

temperament

Latin

From Middle French tempérament, from Latin temperāmentum, related to the same root as "temper."

temperamental

Origin

Formed from temperament plus the adjective ending -al.

temperance

Latin

From Latin temperantia, "moderation, self-control," from temperare, "to moderate" — the same root as "temper."

temperate

Latin

From Latin temperātus, past participle of temperāre, "to moderate" — related to "temper" and "temperance."

temperature

Latin

From Latin temperātūra, from the same root as "temper" — originally referring to a proper mixture or proportion.

tempered

Origin

The past participle of temper.

tempest

Latin

From Old French tempeste, from Latin tempestas, "storm, season, weather" — from tempus, "time."

tempestuous

Origin

From Late Middle English tempestious, tempestous, tempestuous (“stormy, turbulent, tempestuous”), from Anglo-Norman tempestous, and Old French tempesteus, tempestos, tempestous, tempestuose (modern French tempétueux), and directly from its etymon Latin tempestuōsus (“stormy, turbulent, tempestuous; impetuous”), from tempestās, tempestūs (“point or period of time; season; weather, specifically bad weather; storm, tempest”) (from tempus (“period of time; (rare) weather”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *temh₁- (“to cut”) or *ten- (“to extend, stretch”)) + -ōsus (suffix meaning ‘full of; overly; prone to’ forming adjectives from nouns). The English word is equivalent to tempest + -uous (a variant of -ous (suffix forming adjectives from nouns, denoting the presence of a quality, typically in abundance)).

templar

Latin

From Old French templier, ultimately from Latin templum, "temple" — the order took its name from its headquarters near the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem.

template

French

An altered form of "templet," probably from French templet, related to "temple" (a weaver's stretching device); the ending changed by analogy with the word "plate."

temple

Latin

From Old English templ, borrowed from Latin templum, "shrine, sacred enclosure." The head-anatomy sense developed separately in Middle English, possibly linked to the pulse felt there.

tempo

Latin

Borrowed from Italian tempo, "time," from Latin tempus.

temporal

Latin

From Latin temporālis, "relating to time," from tempus, "time" — related to "temper" and "temperature."

temporality

Origin

From temporal + -ity, from Latin temporalitas.

temporarily

Origin

From temporary + the adverb-forming suffix -ly.

temporary

Latin

From Latin temporarius, from tempus ("time").

tempt

Latin

From Old French tempter, from Latin temptare ("to test, try, handle"), a frequentative form of tendere ("to stretch").

temptation

Latin

From Old French temptacion, from Latin temptatio, built on tempt + the noun-forming suffix -ation.

temptingness

Origin

From tempting + -ness.

temptress

Origin

From tempter + the feminine suffix -ess.

tempura

Portuguese

Borrowed from Japanese tenpura, itself from Portuguese — most likely from tempero/temperar ("to season"), brought to Japan by Portuguese missionaries who fried fish and vegetables during Catholic fasting periods known as Ember days.

Temujin

Origin

Borrowed from Middle Mongol ᠲᠡᠮᠦᠵᠢᠨ (temüǰin). Possibly from Proto-Turkic *temürči(n) (“blacksmith”).

temulentive

Origin

From temulent (“intoxicated, drunk”) + -ive (“relating to, tending to”).

ten

Old English

From Old English tien, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dekm, the ancient root behind "ten" in many related languages.

tenable

French

From French tenable, from tenir 'to hold', from Latin tenere 'to hold'.

tenacious

Latin

From Latin tenax ("holding fast, clinging"), from tenere ("to hold").

tenacity

Latin

From tenacious + -ity, ultimately from Latin tenacitas.

tenancy

Origin

From tenant + -cy.

tenant

Latin

From Old French tenant, present participle of tenir ("to hold"), from Latin tenere ("to hold, keep").

tend

Latin

From Old French tendre ("to stretch out, offer"), from Latin tendere ("to stretch, extend").

tendency

Medieval Latin

From Medieval Latin tendentia, from tendens, the present participle of the Latin verb tendere ("to stretch, tend toward").

tender

Latin

The "soft, gentle" sense comes from Latin tener ("soft, delicate") via Old French tendre. The "offer, bid" sense is a separate word from Old French tendre ("to stretch out, offer"), from Latin tendere.