teach

Pronunciation

• IPA: /tiːtʃ/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English techen,^[2][3] inherited from Old English tǣċan (“to show, point out, declare; to give instruction”) (past tense tǣhte),^[2][4] from Proto-Germanic *taikijan (“to show”),^[2] the source also of Old High German zīhan and German zeihen “to accuse” and Gothic ga-teihan “to announce”,^[2] from Proto-Indo-European *deik- (“to show, point out”),^[2] the root also of Greek deiknynai “to show”.^[5] It is related to Old English tācen “sign, mark”, the source of token.^[2][4][6] The past tense tǣhte became early Middle English tahte, taghte, and so the current taught.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Old English tǣcan is recorded before 899, in Alfred's translation of Boethius;^[4] the OED's forms begin about 888.^[7]

Semantic evolution

The usual sense of Old English tǣcan was “to show, declare, warn, persuade”, as with German zeigen “to show” from the same root,^[2][8] while the common word for “to teach, instruct, guide” was lǣran, the source of learn and lore.^[2] The notion is “to show how to do something by way of information”.^[2] By the mid-14th century it meant to spread a system of belief,^[2] and by the 1560s it was used in threats, “to make known to someone at a cost”, as in I'll teach you to.^[2] The proverb don't teach your grandmother to suck eggs has been in use since the 18th century.^[8] Johnson noted that the past form teached was then obsolete.^[9] The noun, a colloquial shortening of teacher, is from 1958.^[7]

Timeline

• c. 888 – to show, teach.^[7]
• mid-14th century – to spread a belief.^[2]
• 1560s – in threats.^[2]
• 18th century – teach your grandmother to suck eggs.^[8]
• 1958 – noun, a teacher.^[7]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To give knowledge or skill to; to instruct.
2. To give instruction in a subject: teaches French.
3. To cause to learn by example or experience: that will teach you.
4. To advocate or preach.
5. To give instruction, especially as an occupation.

Word family

• coteach
• misteach
• overteach
• underteach
• unteach
• nonteaching
• teach-in
• teacher

Related words

• token
• taught
• learn
• lore
• indicate
• digit

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b c Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.