Etymologically
Log in

tie

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 00:11. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English teie, tie, inherited from Old English tēag (“cord, band, thong, fetter”),[2][3] from Proto-Germanic *taugō,[2][4] also the source of Old Norse taug “rope”,[2][3][5] from Proto-Indo-European *deuk- (“to lead”),[2] the root of Old English tēon “to pull, draw”.[2][3][5] The verb is from Old English tīegan, tīgan, from the same source,[2][4] related to Old Norse teygja “to draw, stretch”.[3][5] It is related to tow, tug and team.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

That with which something is tied, a cord or band: before 800 in the OED, about 750 in Barnhart, in Cynewulf's Christ.[6][3] The verb, to fasten or bind, is about 1000, in Ælfric's Grammar.[3][6]

Semantic evolution

Confinement or restraint is from about 1300,[2] and the figurative bond or connection from the 1550s.[2][4] The verb meant to fasten so as to prevent escape by the mid-13th century, and to tie shoelaces by the late 14th century.[2] A tie in music, linking two notes, is from the 1650s.[2] A tie, equality between competitors, is from 1680 in Barnhart and the 1670s in Etymonline, from the notion of a connecting link,[3][2] and the verb in this sense from 1888.[2] The necktie or cravat is from 1761,[3][2][6] and necktie itself from 1838.[3] The railway tie, a sleeper, is from 1857, American English.[2] Tie the knot, to marry, is from 1707,[2] and tie one on, to get drunk, from 1944.[2] The old school tie is from 1938.[2]

Timeline

  • a. 800 – a cord or band.[6]
  • c. 1000 – verb, to fasten.[3]
  • 1550s – a bond, figuratively.[2]
  • 1650s – a tie in music.[2]
  • 1680 – equal scores.[3]
  • 1707 – tie the knot.[2]
  • 1761 – a necktie.[3][2]
  • 1857 – a railway sleeper.[2]
  • 1938 – tie-breaker and old school tie.[2]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. To fasten or attach with string, rope or similar material.
  2. To make a knot or bow in.
  3. To limit or restrict: tied to a contract.
  4. To have the same score as another competitor.

Noun

  1. A long narrow piece of cloth worn round the neck under a shirt collar and knotted at the front; a necktie.
  2. A string, cord or other thing used to fasten things.
  3. A connection or bond: family ties.
  4. A result in which two competitors have the same score; a draw.
  5. (US) A wooden beam on which railway lines rest; a sleeper.
  6. (music) A curved line joining two notes of the same pitch, which are played as one.

Word family

  • tieless
  • black-tie
  • tiebreaker
  • tiepin
  • tie-up
  • white-tie
  • intertie
  • undertie
  • tow
  • tug
  • team
  • necktie
  • untie

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 n o p q r s t u v w Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press