tag

Tag, a label or small hanging piece, and tag, the children's chasing game, are different words.^[1][2][3]

Pronunciation

• IPA: /tæɡ/^[4]

tag¹ label

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English tagge, of uncertain origin,^[5][2] perhaps of Scandinavian origin; compare Norwegian and Swedish tagg “point, barb, prickle”.^[1][3][5] Middle Low German tagge “twig, spike” may be related.^[5][3] Watkins derives it from Proto-Indo-European *dek-, a root for fringes and locks of hair, so that it may be related to tail.^[5] Word Origins suggests a link with Middle English dag, of similar meaning.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

A narrow hanging strip of a garment, slashed for decoration: 1402 in the OED, before 1400 in Barnhart, about 1400 in Etymonline.^[7][1][5][6] It is found as a surname from 1195.^[1]

Semantic evolution

The metal point at the end of a lace is from 1501–2,^[7] an ornamental pendant from 1570,^[7] and the tip of an animal's tail from 1681.^[7] Something added to a piece of writing, a brief quotation, is from the 18th century.^[2] A label with directions on a package is by 1835,^[5] a vehicle licence plate from 1935, originally American underworld slang,^[5] and an epithet or nickname from 1961, hence the slang verb “to write graffiti”, from 1990.^[5] The verb, to furnish with a tag, is from the early 15th century,^[5][3] to mark with a tag from the 1620s,^[5] and to follow closely from the 1670s, with tag along by 1900.^[5]

Timeline

• 1195 – as a surname.^[1]
• 1402 – a hanging strip of cloth.^[7]
• 1501–2 – the point of a lace.^[7]
• 1835 – a label.^[5]
• 1935 – a licence plate.^[5]
• 1990 – to write graffiti.^[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A small piece of paper, cloth or plastic attached to something, giving information about it; a label.
2. An electronic device fixed to someone or something so that it can be tracked.
3. A word or phrase used to describe someone.
4. The metal or plastic tip at the end of a shoelace.
5. A signature or name sprayed as graffiti.

Verb

1. To attach a tag or label to something.
2. tag along: to go somewhere with someone, often uninvited.
3. To add something at the end.

tag² game

Etymology

It is of unknown origin,^[2][3] perhaps a variant of Scottish tig “touch, tap” (1721), probably an alteration of Middle English tek, tik “touch, tap”.^[5][1] It is not an acronym.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The children's game in which one player chases and tries to touch the others: 1738.^[5][1][3]

Semantic evolution

The verb, to touch with the hand, is American English from 1878,^[1][3] and in baseball, to put out a runner by touching him with the ball, it is by 1912.^[5]

Timeline

• 1738 – the game.^[5][1]
• 1878 – verb, to touch.^[1]
• 1912 – in baseball.^[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A children's game in which one player chases the others and tries to touch them.

Verb

1. To touch a player in the game of tag, or a runner in baseball.

Related words

• tig
• tick
• tail

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
2. ^ a b c d Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University 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