tight

Pronunciation

• IPA: /taɪt/^[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English tyght, an alteration of thight,^[2][3][4] borrowed from Old Norse þéttr (“watertight, close in texture, solid”),^[2][5][3] and partly from Old English -þiht, as in meteþiht “stout from eating”,^[2][5] both from Proto-Germanic *þinhtaz,^[2] also the source of German dicht “dense, tight”.^[2][6] Watkins traces it to Proto-Indo-European *tenk- (“to become firm, thicken”),^[2][5] the source of Irish techt “curdled” and Lithuanian tankus “thick”.^[2][5] Barnhart notes that tight and thight developed the sense “watertight” independently and were used separately into the 1800s, so tight is not simply a variant of thight.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Thick-set, heavy: about 1300 in Etymonline;^[2] dense, close: probably before 1400 in Barnhart,^[5] about 1435 in the OED, of a wood or thicket.^[7] Of a person, healthy or vigorous, a sense now dialectal.^[8][9]

Semantic evolution

Not letting water or air in or out is from 1507, as in watertight,^[5][7] fixed firmly in place from 1513,^[5] drawn or stretched from the 1570s,^[2][5] and fitting closely from 1779.^[2][5] Evenly matched, of a contest, is from 1828, American English.^[2] The informal senses stingy (1805) and drunk (1830) came in the 19th century,^[2][9] and “close, intimate” in 1956.^[2] A tight ship was first one with its ropes firmly fastened, then one under firm discipline, hence run a tight ship.^[9] The adverb is from 1680,^[5][2] sit tight from 1738,^[2] tighten from 1727,^[5] tights from 1827,^[5] and tightwad from 1906, American English.^[5]

Timeline

• c. 1300 – thick-set.^[2]
• c. 1435 – dense.^[7]
• 1507 – watertight.^[5][7]
• 1513 – firmly fixed.^[5]
• 1570s – stretched.^[2]
• 1680 – adverb.^[5][2]
• 1779 – close-fitting.^[2][5]
• 1805 – stingy.^[2]
• 1830 – drunk.^[2]
• 1844 – tight-fisted.^[2][5]
• 1906 – tightwad.^[5]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Fixed or fastened firmly in place.
2. Stretched fully; taut.
3. Closely made so that water or air cannot pass: airtight.
4. Fitting closely, sometimes too closely.
5. Strict or firm: tight control.
6. With little room or time to spare; scarce: a tight schedule, money is tight.
7. Closely contested.
8. (informal) stingy.
9. (informal) Drunk.

Adverb

1. Firmly, securely or soundly: hold tight, sleep tight.

Word family

• tightly
• tightness
• overtight
• sticktight
• windtight
• airtight
• hug-me-tight
• tight-assed

Related words

• tights
• tighten
• thight

Usage notes

Tight is used as an adverb after verbs of closing or tightening, such as squeeze, shut and hold, and describes the resulting state; tightly describes the manner of the action and can come before the verb.^[10]

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 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, 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. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b c Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin