Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “teat” come from?

Teat comes from Old French tete, from Frankish titta, from Proto-Germanic titt-, from Proto-Indo-European tata-, a reduplicated form likely imitating the sound of sucking or nursing.

teat (English): The projection of a mammary gland from which, on...

Definitions

  1. The projection of a mammary gland from which, on...

Ancestry of “teat”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchtetenipple; teat
2Frankishtitta—
3Proto-Germanictitt-teat; nipple; breast
4Proto-Indo-Europeantata-father; parent; nipple
5Sanskritतथाin that manner
6Sanskritयथाin which manner or way, according as, as, like
7Proto-Indo-IranianHyátʰaHin which way, as, in which manner
8Proto-Indo-Europeanyósthat, who, which
9Proto-Finnicwiša—
10Proto-Indo-Iranianwišáspoison, venom
11Proto-Indo-Europeanwisósfluidity, slime, poison; poison; poison; slime;...

Words derived from “teat”

  • teet
  • teated
  • teatless
  • teatlike
  • hind teat
Every word from Proto-Indo-European wisós →