Where does “tiptoe” come from?
Tiptoe comes from English tip and Old English tō, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European deyḱ-, meaning to point or indicate.
tiptoe (English): The tip of the toe; Standing elevated, on or as...
Definitions
- The tip of the toe; Standing elevated, on or as...
Ancestry of “tiptoe”, step by step
tiptoe traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English toe
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | toe | Each of the five digits on the end of the foot;... |
| 2 | Middle English | to | toe; to; too |
| 3 | Middle English | tone | the one |
| 4 | Latin | tonus | The stretching or straining of a rope; A strain;... |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | τόνος | rope, cord; chord; tone, note |
| 6 | Proto-Hellenic | tónos | rope, cord; tension |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | tónos | something stretched; chord, fiber, string |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | ten- | to stretch, to extend |