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
- (used with a plural verb) Actions carefully planned to achieve a particular end.
- (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
- ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
- ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
- ^ 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