tackle

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈtækəl/^[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English takel, borrowed from Middle Dutch takel (“the rigging of a ship”) or Middle Low German takel,^[2][3][4][5] perhaps related to Middle Dutch taken, to grasp, seize (see take);^[3][2][6] Etymonline compares tack, which, if not the origin, influenced the sense.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Apparatus, gear, equipment: about 1250, in Genesis and Exodus, earlier as a surname (1179).^[2][3][7]

Semantic evolution

The rigging of a ship is from before 1300,^[7] and fishing gear from the late 14th century.^[3] Weapons, especially arrows, are an obsolete sense of about 1375.^[7] A rope and pulley-block for lifting, the block and tackle, is from the 1530s (1539–40).^[3][7] The verb first meant to entangle (mid-14th century); to equip a ship is from about 1400 and to harness a horse from 1714.^[3] To grapple with or attack was described by Webster in 1828 as a common popular use in New England, though not elegant;^[3] to try to deal with a task is attested by 1840.^[3] In sport, to seize and stop a player is by 1867, and the noun from 1876; as a position in American football from 1884.^[3]

Timeline

• c. 1250 – gear.^[2]
• before 1300 – a ship's rigging.^[7]
• 1539 – block and tackle.^[7]
• 1828 – to grapple with (verb).^[3]
• 1840 – to deal with a problem.^[3]
• 1867 – in sport.^[3]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To make determined efforts to deal with a problem or task.
2. (sport) To try to take the ball from an opponent, or to stop a player carrying it.
3. To confront someone about something.

Noun

1. The equipment for a sport or activity, especially fishing.
2. A system of ropes and pulleys for lifting heavy objects.
3. (sport) An act of tackling an opponent.
4. (American football) A player positioned between the guard and the end.

Word family

• tackler
• retackle
• double tackle
• ground tackle
• luff tackle
• shoestring tackle
• nose tackle

Related words

• take
• tack
• tackling

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press