Where does “tit-for-tat” come from?
tit-for-tat (English) comes from English tit for tat, from English tit, from Middle English tit, from Old English tit, from Old English titt, from Proto-Germanic titt-, from Proto-Indo-European tata-, from Sanskrit तथा — fluidity, slime, poison; poison; poison; slime;...
tit-for-tat (English): Having the characteristic of returning bad for...
Definitions
- Having the characteristic of returning bad for...
Ancestry of “tit-for-tat”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | tit for tat | Equivalent retribution; an act of returning... |
| 2 | English | tit | A mammary gland, teat; A woman's breast; An... |
| 3 | Middle English | tit | — |
| 4 | Old English | tit | — |
| 5 | Old English | titt | tit, teat, breast; nipple |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | titt- | teat; nipple; breast |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | tata- | father; parent; nipple |
| 8 | Sanskrit | तथा | in that manner |
| 9 | Sanskrit | यथा | in which manner or way, according as, as, like |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-Iranian | HyátʰaH | in which way, as, in which manner |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | yós | that, who, which |
| 12 | Proto-Finnic | wiša | — |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-Iranian | wišás | poison, venom |
| 14 | Proto-Indo-European | wisós | fluidity, slime, poison; poison; poison; slime;... |