Where does “token” come from?

Token comes from Middle English taken, from Old English tacen, from Proto-Germanic taikną, from Proto-Indo-European deyḱ-, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European deh₁g-.

token (English): Something serving as an expression of something...

Definitions

  1. Something serving as an expression of something...

Ancestry of “token”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishtokentoken; omen, portent; prearranged signal
2Old Englishtācnsign, token; token, sign; sign, marker
3Proto-West Germanictaiknsign, token, symbol
4Proto-Germanictaiknąsign, token, symbol
5Proto-Indo-Europeandeyḱ-to point out

Words derived from “token”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European deyḱ- →
token — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer