Etymologically
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tango

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈtaŋ.ɡoː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈtaŋ.ɡo][1]

Forms

tangō (present infinitive tangere, perfect active tetigī, supine tāctum); third conjugation[1] Old Latin also has forms without the nasal, such as tago, tagam (Pacuvius) and taxis (Varro).[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *tang-e-, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *th₂-n-g- (“to touch”), a nasal present of the root *teh₂g-.[3][1] integer “untouched, whole” and contāmināre belong to the same root.[3][1]

Cognate with Umbrian antakres (“untouched”),[3] Ancient Greek τεταγών (tetagṓn, “having seized”) and Gothic 𐍄𐌴𐌺𐌰𐌽 (tekan, “to touch”).[3][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found from Plautus onwards,[3] who says of grasping men that they are like octopuses, which “hold on to whatever they touch”.[2]

Semantic evolution

It meant to touch, and of lands to border on, as Cicero's farms touching the Tiber and Caesar's people bordering the Rhine.[2] It meant to touch with a substance, to touch harmfully, as Plautus' “if he touches me in anger, he'll get a beating”, and to touch in order to use, as Cato's rule not to touch timber except at certain times.[2] In comedy it meant to cheat someone out of something.[2]

It meant to reach a place, as Plautus' “as soon as we touched land”, and of feelings to affect, as Cicero's “this grief touches me”.[2] It also meant to touch on a subject in speech, and in law to apply to someone.[2] The saying rem acu tetigisti, “you have touched the thing with a needle”, meant “you have hit the nail on the head”.[1] Music theory used it for stopping or striking a string and playing a keyboard.[5] It survives as Italian tangere, Spanish tañer and Portuguese tanger.[1] English tangible comes from Late Latin tangibilis.[6]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it for touching and for reaching land.[2][7]
  • 220–130 BC – Pacuvius uses the old form tagit.[4][7]
  • 234–149 BC – Cato uses it for touching timber.[2][7]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it for bordering and for being moved.[2][7]
  • 1580s – English tangible is first recorded.[6]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To touch.[2][4]
  2. To border on.[2]
  3. To smear, touch (with a substance).[2]
  4. To touch (so as to harm); to strike.[2][1]
  5. To touch (in order to use).[2]
  6. (colloquial) To cheat (of).[2][1]
  7. To reach, arrive at.[2][1]
  8. To affect, move.[2][1]
  9. To touch on, mention.[2]
  10. (law) To apply to.[2]

Word family

  • attingō
  • contingō
  • intāctus
  • pertango
  • praetango
  • retango
  • semitactus
  • tāctilis
  • tāctiō
  • tāctus
  • tagāx
  • tangibilis
  • contāminō
  • integer
  • taxō
  • English tangible
  • English tact
  • English contact

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  4. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Lexicon musicum Latinum medii aevi (1992–), Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften; online ed. Wörterbuchnetz
  6. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  7. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de