"T" Word Origins

tenderfoot

Origin

From tender + foot. Refers to the delicate feet of newcomers to ranching or mining areas. First attested 1866.

tenderhearted

Origin

From tender + hearted.

tenderloin

Origin

Formed from tender + loin, describing the loin cut prized for its tenderness.

tenderly

Origin

From tender + the adverb-forming suffix -ly.

tenderness

Origin

From tender + the noun-forming suffix -ness.

tendon

Ancient Greek

From Medieval Latin tendo, from Ancient Greek tenon ("sinew"), later reshaped in spelling to resemble Latin tendere ("to stretch").

tendril

Origin

From Middle French tendrillon (“bud, shoot, cartilage”), perhaps a diminutive of tendron (“cartilage”), from Old French tendre (“soft”) (see tender (adjective)), or else from Latin tendere (“to stretch, extend”) (see tender (verb)).

tendrilous

Origin

From tendril + -ous.

tendu

Origin

From French tendu (“stretched”).

tenebrose

Origin

From Middle English tenebrose, from Old French tenebros, from Latin tenebrōsus (“dark, gloomy”).

tenebrous

Origin

] From Middle English tenebrose, from Anglo-Norman tenebrous (earlier tenebrus), from Latin tenebrōsus, itself from tenebrae (“darkness, shadows”).

tenement

Medieval Latin

From Old French tenement ("holding"), from Medieval Latin tenimentum, from Latin tenere ("to hold").

tenet

Latin

From Latin tenet 'he holds', from tenere 'to hold'.

tenfold

Old English

From Old English tienfeald, formed from ten + -fold.

tenfoot

Origin

From ten + foot.

Teng

Origin

Romanization of Hokkien 鄧／邓 (Tēng). Doublet of Dinh.

tengu

Japanese

Borrowed from Japanese tengu, written with characters meaning "heavenly dog."

Tennant

Origin

From tenant, an occupational surname.

tennent

Origin

Variant of Tennant.

tenner

Origin

Formed from ten + the informal suffix -er.

Tennessee

Origin

From Cherokee ᏔᎾᏏ (tanasi), believed to mean “winding river”.

tennis

Old French

From Old French tenez ("hold!" or "take this!"), reportedly called out by the server before hitting the ball in an earlier version of the game.

Tennyson

Origin

From a Middle English variant of Dennis + -son.

tenor

Latin

From Latin tenor ("course, continuance, holder"), from tenere ("to hold") — in music, named for the voice that "holds" the main melody.

tenpins

Origin

From ten + pins.

tense

Latin

From Old French tens (modern French temps), from Latin tempus ("time"). Doublet of tempo.

tension

Latin

From Latin tensio, from tendere ("to stretch"), borrowed into English via Middle French tension.

tent

Vulgar Latin

From Old French tente, from Vulgar Latin *tenta, related to Latin tendere ("to stretch").

tentacle

New Latin

From New Latin tentaculum, from Latin tentare ("to feel, try").

tentative

Medieval Latin

From Medieval Latin tentativus ("trying, testing"), from Latin tentare ("to try, test").

tenth

Old English

From Old English teoða, later reshaped in Middle English to match the cardinal number "ten" more closely.

tentigo

Origin

From Latin tentīgō (“lust”), from tendō (“stretch”).

tenuity

Origin

From tenu(ous) + -ity, from Latin tenuitas.

tenuous

Latin

From Latin tenuis ("thin, slight") + -ous.

tenure

Vulgar Latin

From Old French tenure, from Vulgar Latin *tenitura, related to Latin tenere ("to hold").

Tenzin

Origin

Borrowed from Tibetan བསྟན་འཛིན (bstan 'dzin).

Teo

Origin

Borrowed from Hokkien 張 /张 (Tiuⁿ, Tioⁿ) via Malaysia and/or Singapore. Doublet of Chang. Compare Tagalog Tiu / Tio.

tepal

Origin

From French tépale, from New Latin tēpalum, coined 1827 by transposition of French pétale (“petal”).

tepid

Latin

From Latin tepidus, "lukewarm," related to tepere, "to be warm."

tequila

Origin

Named after Tequila, the town in Jalisco, Mexico, where the spirit originates.

teras

Origin

Borrowed from Ancient Greek τέρας (téras).

teratical

Origin

From Ancient Greek τεράτικος (terátikos, “monstrous”), from τέρας (téras, “monster”).

terebic

Origin

From terebinth + -ic.

terebinth

Origin

From Middle English therebynte, from Old French terebinthe, from Latin terebinthus, from Ancient Greek τερέβινθος (terébinthos), from Pre-Greek. Related to turpentine and terpene.

Terence

Latin

From Latin Terentius, a Roman family name of obscure origin, borne by a Roman playwright and by early Christian saints. * In Ireland, it has been used to represent Turlough.

Teresa

Spanish · 300

First recorded as the name of a fourth-century Spanish saint. Of obscure origin; suggestions include Therasia or Thera, ancient name of the Greek island Thira.

TERF

English

An acronym of 'trans-exclusionary radical feminist', originating in online feminist debate in the late 2000s.

Teri

Origin

A spelling variant of Terry, from Teresa.