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teck

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Etymology and origin of the French word teck

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1614 Du Jarric More words from the 17th century
Borrowed from
Portuguese teca

Pronunciation

Forms

teck m (plural tecks)[1] Earlier teca (1614), teka (1685), théca (1752), tick (1758), tecque (1773); also spelled tek (1782).[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Portuguese teca (“teak, teak wood”),[4][2][5] which is borrowed from Tamil or Malayalam,[4] a word of the Malabar coast.[6][5][7] The wood was already imported into Asia Minor around the beginning of the Christian era.[2][6]

English teak (1690s) is from the Portuguese word too.[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is Teca in 1614, in Du Jarric's history of the Portuguese discoveries in the East Indies, for the tree and its wood.[4][3]

Semantic evolution

The spelling took a long time to settle: teka (1685) gave way in the 18th century to théca, theca and tick, and teck (1772) won out over tecque, tek, the English-looking teak (1803) and teik (1823).[2] The word names a tall tropical tree of South-East Asia and its hard, almost rot-proof wood, used in shipbuilding and cabinetmaking.[4][2] The derivative teckeraie “teak plantation”, which seems recent, is used of Africa.[2]

Timeline

  • 1614 – Teca in Du Jarric's history of the Indies.[4][3]
  • 1685 – Teka in the Journal des savants.[4][2]
  • 1690s – English teak is recorded.[8]
  • 1752 – The form théca.[2][6]
  • 1772 – The spelling teck appears.[2][6][5]
  • 1782 – The spelling tek.[2][3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Teak, a large tree of tropical Asia (family Verbenaceae).[9][4][1]
  2. The hard, dense, brownish and rot-proof wood of this tree, used in shipbuilding and furniture: une table de jardin en teck.[9][4]

Word family

  • teckeraie

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  5. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 20, 112a
  8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  9. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Teck.” Etymologically, 15 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/teck. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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