tactics

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈtæktɪks/^[1]

Etymology

It represents New Latin tactica,^[2][3][4] from Greek τακτική (taktikḗ (tékhnē), “the art of arrangement”), or tà taktiká, the neuter plural of τακτικός (taktikós, “of arrangement, of tactics in war”),^[3][2][5] from taktós, ordered, from τάσσω (tássein, “to arrange, put in order”).^[4][5] Barnhart suggests it is partly a back-formation from the earlier tactical.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The art of deploying military or naval forces in battle: 1626, in William Gouge's The Dignity of Chivalry.^[2][6]

Semantic evolution

Figurative and transferred uses, the planning of any action to achieve an end, are from 1763.^[6] Arrangement in general is a rare obsolete sense of 1650.^[6] In linguistics, C. F. Hockett's term for the study of how linguistic units are arranged is from 1947.^[6] Tactician is from the 18th century.^[4]

Timeline

• 1626 – military tactics.^[2][6]
• 1650 – arrangement (obsolete).^[6]
• 1763 – figurative use.^[6]
• 1947 – in linguistics.^[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. (used with a plural verb) Actions carefully planned to achieve a particular end.
2. (used with a singular verb) The art of directing military forces in battle, as distinct from strategy.

Word family

• phonotactics
• tactical

Related words

• tactic
• tactician
• syntax
• taxonomy

References

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