Where does “tick” come from?
Tick comes from Middle English tike, from Latin theca, from Ancient Greek θήκη, ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root dʰeh₁- meaning to place or put.
tick (English): A tiny woodland arachnid of the suborder Ixodida;...
Definitions
- A tiny woodland arachnid of the suborder Ixodida;...
Ancestry of “tick”, step by step
tick traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English ticket
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | ticket | A pass entitling the holder to admission to a... |
| 2 | Middle French | estiquet | a slip of paper with names of witnesses on it |
| 3 | Middle French | estiquier | Alternative form of estacher |
| 4 | Middle French | estacher | to attach |
| 5 | Old French | estachier | Alternative form of atachier; bind; to fasten... |
| 6 | Old French | estache | stake; strap |
| 7 | Medieval Latin | staca | a stake |
| 8 | Gothic | 𐍃𐍄𐌰𐌺𐌰 | — |
| 9 | Proto-Germanic | stakô | stake |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)teg- | to cover; pole, stick, beam |