Where does “tacky” come from?
Tacky derives from English tack, which acquired the suffix -y through Middle English -y, Middle French -ie, Latin -ia, Latin -ivus, Latin -ia, and ultimately Proto-Indo-European -kos.
tacky (English): Of a substance, slightly sticky; Of low quality;...
Definitions
- Of a substance, slightly sticky; Of low quality;...
Ancestry of “tacky”, step by step
tacky traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English tack
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | tack | A small nail with a flat head; A thumbtack; A... |
| 2 | French | tache | blot, stain or smear; spot; more or less... |
| 3 | Old French | tasche | duty; obligation |
| 4 | Frankish | taska | pouch |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | taskǭ | bag, purse; pouch, pocket |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | das- | — |
| 7 | Translingual | da | — |
| 8 | English | deca- | Greek number... |
| 9 | French | déca- | deca- |
| 10 | Latin | decās | a decade (period of ten years) |
| 11 | Ancient Greek | δεκάς | the number ten; a group of ten, decade |
| 12 | Ancient Greek | -ᾰ́ς | group of |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-European | -ónts | Derives nouns denoting body parts |
| 14 | Hungarian | önt | to pour; to cast; accusative singular of ön |
| 15 | Hungarian | -t | Used to form the accusative case; -ed, -t. Used... |
via English Y
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Y | A figure or mark in the shape of the letter Y; A... |
| 2 | English | yuri | A narrative or visual work featuring a romance or... |
| 3 | Japanese | 百合 | lily |
| 4 | Japanese | 連用形 | an inflectional category: the continuative or... |
| 5 | Japanese | 見る | to see, to watch, to observe, to look at... |
| 6 | Japanese | 夢 | a dream; a vision; leaving reality to the state... |
| 7 | Old Japanese | 夢 | a dream |
| 8 | Japanese | 目 | an order in biology: smaller than a class, bigger... |
| 9 | Middle Chinese | 目 | — |