tackle English · revision 7433

+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1250|origins=gml takel}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈtækəl/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English takel, [[bor|dum|takel|t=the rigging of a ship]] or Middle Low German takel,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) perhaps related to Middle Dutch taken, to grasp, seize (see [[take]]);^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(NODE 1998) Etymonline compares [[tack]], which, if not the origin, influenced the sense.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Apparatus, gear, equipment: about 1250, in ''Genesis and Exodus'', earlier as a surname (1179).^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The rigging of a ship is from before 1300,^(OED 1989) and fishing gear from the late 14th century.^(Etymonline) Weapons, especially arrows, are an obsolete sense of about 1375.^(OED 1989) A rope and pulley-block for lifting, the block and tackle, is from the 1530s (1539–40).^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) The verb first meant to entangle (mid-14th century); to equip a ship is from about 1400 and to harness a horse from 1714.^(Etymonline) To grapple with or attack was described by Webster in 1828 as a common popular use in New England, though not elegant;^(Etymonline) to try to deal with a task is attested by 1840.^(Etymonline) In sport, to seize and stop a player is by 1867, and the noun from 1876; as a position in American football from 1884.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1250 – gear.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * before 1300 – a ship's rigging.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1539 – block and tackle.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1828 – to grapple with (verb).^(Etymonline)

+ * 1840 – to deal with a problem.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1867 – in sport.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To make determined efforts to deal with a problem or task.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(sport)'' To try to take the ball from an opponent, or to stop a player carrying it.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To confront someone about something.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # The equipment for a sport or activity, especially fishing.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A system of ropes and pulleys for lifting heavy objects.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(sport)'' An act of tackling an opponent.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(American football)'' A player positioned between the guard and the end.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[tackler]]

+ * [[retackle]]

+ * [[double tackle]]

+ * [[ground tackle]]

+ * [[luff tackle]]

+ * [[shoestring tackle]]

+ * [[nose tackle]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[take]]

+ * [[tack]]

+ * [[tackling]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}