tiger

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ˈtaɪ.ɡə/, US /ˈtaɪ.ɡɚ/^[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English tigre, partly inherited from Old English tigras (plural) and partly borrowed from Old French tigre,^[2][3][4] both from Latin tigris, from Ancient Greek τίγρις (tígris),^[2][5][3] probably of Iranian origin:^[4][2][3] compare Avestan tiɣri- (“arrow”) and tiɣra- (“pointed”) and Old Persian tigra- (“sharp”), perhaps for its spring on its prey.^[2][3][4] The OED, quoted by Etymonline, notes that neither word is known to be applied to the tiger, and Barnhart allows a foreign word adapted to an Iranian stem by folk etymology.^[3][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The large striped cat: Old English tigras, before 1000;^[2][6] Middle English tigre is probably before 1300, in Kyng Alisaunder.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Word Origins notes that tigers were formerly found in Turkey and the Middle East and were known to Europeans in classical times.^[7] The name was applied to other animals of the cat family, such as the jaguar, from 1604,^[6] and to non-feline beasts such as the Tasmanian tiger from 1829.^[6] A fierce, cruel or bloodthirsty person is from about 1500.^[3][6] In American English a shriek or howl at the end of a cheer is from 1845.^[3] The tiger lily (1824) is named for its orange and black flowers, and the tiger beetle (1826) for its predatory habits; tiger's eye is from 1886.^[3] To have a tiger by the tail, to be caught up in something hard to abandon, is from the early 20th century, and since the 1980s the fast-growing smaller economies of East Asia have been called tiger economies.^[7] Tigress is from the 17th century.^[5]

Timeline

• before 1000 – Old English tigras.^[2][6]
• c. 1500 – a fierce person.^[3][6]
• 1604 – the jaguar and other cats.^[6]
• 1824 – tiger lily.^[3]
• 1845 – the howl ending a cheer.^[3]
• 1980s – tiger economies.^[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A large carnivorous cat of Asia, Panthera tigris, with a tawny coat striped with black.
2. Any of various similar animals, such as the jaguar.
3. A fierce, aggressive or energetic person.
4. A country with a fast-growing economy, especially in East Asia.

Word family

• tigerish
• tigerishly
• tigerishness
• tigerlike

Related words

• tigress
• tiger lily

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 Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press