Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “tactical” come from?

Tactical derives from English tactic, from Ancient Greek τάσσω meaning "to arrange," combined with the Ancient Greek suffix -σις, ultimately tracing to Proto-Indo-European roots -tis and -kos.

tactical (English): of, or relating to tactics; of, or relating to...

Definitions

  1. of, or relating to tactics; of, or relating to...

Ancestry of “tactical”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishtacticA maneuver, or action calculated to achieve some...
2Frenchtactiquetactic; tactical
3Latintactica—
4Ancient Greekτακτική—
5Ancient Greekτακτικόςfit for ordering or arranging, especially in war;...
6Ancient Greek-τικόςrelating to, suited to, skilled in, able to,...
7Ancient Greek-σιςAdded to verb stems to form abstract nouns or...
8Ancient Greek-τιςEarlier form of -σις , retained after dentals δ,...
9Proto-Indo-European-tisDerives abstract/action nouns from verb roots

Words derived from “tactical”

  • tactically
  • nontactical
  • multitactical
  • psychotactical
  • aerotactical
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -tis →