Etymology — The origins of English words

tatty

Origin

From tatter + -y.

toneme

Origin

From tone + -eme.

tennent

Origin

Variant of Tennant.

titillation

Origin

Borrowed from Latin tītillātiō, tītillātiōnem.

tillow

Origin

From Middle English *tilwen, *telwien, *telȝen, from Old English telgian (“to put forth branches”), from Proto-West Germanic *telgōn, *tilgijan (“to branch, sprout, produce”).

tartarian

Origin

From Tartar + -ian.

technicolored

Origin

From the trademark Technicolor for a series of color film processes pioneered by Technicolor Motion Picture Corporation; + -ed.

therewhile

Origin

From there + while.

threeness

Origin

From three + -ness. Compare Middle English þrinnesse, þrimnesse, þremnesse, þrumnesse (“trinity”, literally “three-ness”), Old English þrīnes, þrīnness (“trinity”, literally “three-ness”).

torte

Origin

Borrowed from German Torte. Cognate to tart. Doublet of torta.

theedom

Origin

From Middle English thedom, thedome, thedam (“prosperity, success”); from thee (“to thrive, to prosper”) + -dom.

tartness

Origin

From Middle English *tartnesse, from Old English teartnes (“sharpness, severity, asperity”), equivalent to tart + -ness.

toadly

Origin

From toad + -ly.

telco

Origin

Diachronically, from tel + Co., from the collocation of Tel. Co. as seen, for example, in Bell Tel. Co. or the names of countless local telephone exchange companies (e.g., Savannah Valley Tel. Co., Mutual Tel. Co., Tarrytown Tel. Co.), by abbreviation in the late 19th through mid-20th centuries; synchronically also a clipped compound as tel(ephone) + co(mpany).

toadstool

Origin

From Middle English tode-stole, tadstol, taddestol, equivalent to toad + stool. Compare dialectal English frogstool (“toadstool”), Saterland Frisian Poagestoul (“mushroom”, literally “frog's stool”), Dutch paddenstoel.

theologist

Origin

Borrowed from Medieval Latin theologista.

toppingly

Origin

From topping + -ly.

tompkin

Origin

From a medieval diminutive form of the given name Thomas.

temporality

Origin

From temporal + -ity, from Latin temporalitas.

thorp

Origin

From Middle English thorp, throp, from Old English þorp, þrop (“farm, village”), from Proto-West Germanic *þorp, from Proto-Germanic *þurpą, *þrepą (“village, farmstead, troop”), from Proto-Indo-European *trab-, *treb- (“dwelling, room”). Doublet of dorf and dorp, and possibly also of troop and troupe.

tidder

Origin

From Middle English tidren, from Old English tīdrian, tȳdrian (“to become weak or infirm; be frail”), from Proto-Germanic *tūdrijaną (“to become brittle or weak; exhaust”), from Proto-Germanic *tūdrijaz (“brittle; weak; exhausted”), equivalent to Old English tid + -er. Related to Old English tiddre, tyddre, tēdre, tīdre, tȳdre (“weak; fragile”), West Frisian tear (“tender; gentle”), Dutch teder (“tender; fond; gentle; loving”), German Low German teder (“fine; delicate; sensitive; tender; weak”).

thalamus

Origin

From Latin thalamus, from Ancient Greek θάλαμος (thálamos, “an inner chamber, a bedroom, a bed”).

terp

Origin

Clipping of interpreter.

syntropy

Origin

By surface analysis, syn- + -tropy. First attested in 1871, in the anatomical sense.