"T" Word Origins

Tolson

Middle English

From the Middle English personal name "Tolle" plus "-son," or alternatively from the place name Toulston in Yorkshire.

Tolstoy

Russian

From Russian Толсто́й (Tolstój), related to "то́лстый" (tólstyj), meaning "stout."

tom

Origin

A very old, common personal name; the male-cat sense is shortened from "tomcat."

toma

Italian

Borrowed from Italian "toma."

tomahawk

Origin

From an Eastern Algonquian word, likely Powhatan "tumahák," related to words for "axe" in several other Algonquian languages.

tomato

Spanish

From Spanish "tomate," from the Classical Nahuatl word "tomatl."

tomb

Latin

From Old French "tombe," from Latin "tumba," from Greek "τύμβος" (túmbos), meaning "burial mound" or "grave."

tomboy

Origin · 1500

From "tom" (short for Thomas) plus "boy." First recorded in the mid-1500s describing a boisterous girl, though early citations are ambiguous; the modern meaning was established by the late 1500s.

Tombs

Origin

From "Tom" plus the patronymic suffix "-s."

tombstone

Origin

From "tomb" plus "stone."

tomcat

Origin · 1760

From "Tom" plus "cat," popularized by the 1760 book "The Life and Adventures of a Cat," in which the male cat character was named Tom.

tome

Ancient Greek

From Middle French tome, from Latin tomus ("section of a larger work"), from Ancient Greek tomos ("a cutting, a roll of papyrus"), from temno, "to cut."

Tomek

Origin

Borrowed from Czech Tomek.

tomfool

Origin

From tom + fool.

tomfoolery

Origin

From "Tom" (used generically for an ordinary man) plus "foolery."

tomgirl

Origin

From tom + girl. The “girlish boy” sense was formed as an antonym of tomboy; the “boyish girl” sense is an alteration of tomboy to reinforce that the referent is a girl.

Tomiko

Japanese

Borrowed from Japanese とみこ (Tomiko).

tomkin

Origin

From Tom + -kin. From a medieval diminutive form of the given name Thomas.

tomkins

Origin

From Tom + -kin + -s. From the medieval diminutive Tomkin for Thomas and the patronymic suffix -s.

Tomlin

Origin

From a medieval diminutive form of the given name Thomas.

Tommy

Origin

From "Tommy," a shortened, affectionate form of the given name Thomas, historically used as a generic name for a British private soldier.

tomoe

Japanese

Borrowed from Japanese 巴 (tomoe).

Tomoko

Japanese

Borrowed from Japanese ともこ (Tomoko).

tomorrow

Old English

From Old English to morgne, literally "on/at (the) morning" — to ("at, on") plus morgen ("morning").

tompkin

Origin

From a medieval diminutive form of the given name Thomas.

Tompkins

Origin

Variant of Tomkins, from a diminutive of the given name Thomas + the patronymic suffix -s.

tompson

Origin

From Tom + -son. Literally, “son of Thomas”.

tomson

Origin

From Tom + -son. Literally, “son of Thomas”.

ton

Old French

A variant of "tun" (a large cask), influenced by Old French tonne.

tonal

Origin

From tone + -al.

tonality

Origin

From French tonalité.

tone

Ancient Greek

From Latin tonus ("sound, tone"), from Ancient Greek tonos ("tension, pitch"), related to teino, "to stretch." A doublet of "tune."

toneme

Origin

From tone + -eme.

toner

Origin

Formed from tone + -er.

tong

Old English

From Old English tange, related to German Zange — ultimately from a root meaning "to bite," since tongs grip like a pair of jaws. The unrelated "Chinese association" sense comes from a different, Cantonese-derived word.

Tonga

Origin

The country's name comes from a Polynesian word meaning "south." The carriage sense is unrelated, from a South Asian language.

tongs

Old English

From Old English tange, related to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to bite."

tongue

Latin

From Old English tunge, from a Proto-Germanic root related to Latin lingua — a doublet of "language" and "lingua."

tongueless

Origin

From Middle English tongeles, tunglees, equivalent to tongue + -less. Cognate with Old Norse tungulauss (“tongueless”).

tonic

Ancient Greek · 1700

From Ancient Greek tonikos, from tonos ("tension, pitch") — 18th-century doctors linked healthy muscle "tension" to overall vigor, giving us the medical sense.

tonicity

Origin

From tonic + -ity.

tonight

Old English

From Old English to niht, "at/on (this) night."

Tonkin

Origin

From a medieval diminutive form of the given name Thomas.

tonne

French

From French tonne; a doublet of "ton" and "tun."

tonsil

Origin

Borrowed from French tonsille or Latin tonsillae (“the tonsils in the throat”, plural). First attested in the late 16th century,

tonto

Spanish

Borrowed from Spanish tonto, meaning "stupid" or "foolish," and now used mainly as British slang rather than in American English.

tonus

Origin

Borrowed from Latin tonus (“strain, tension”). Doublet of tone, tune, and ton (fashion/style).

Tony

Origin

The award is named after Antoinette "Tony" Perry, a co-founder of the American Theatre Wing. The adjective sense is a separate use of the name Tony, from "high-toned."