Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “tokenism” come from?

tokenism (English) comes from English token, from Middle English token, from Old English tācn, from Proto-West Germanic taikn, from Proto-Germanic taikną, from Proto-Indo-European deyḱ- — to point out.

tokenism (English): A policy of formally complying with efforts to...

Definitions

  1. A policy of formally complying with efforts to...

Ancestry of “tokenism”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishtokenSomething serving as an expression of something...
2Middle Englishtokentoken; omen, portent; prearranged signal
3Old Englishtācnsign, token; token, sign; sign, marker
4Proto-West Germanictaiknsign, token, symbol
5Proto-Germanictaiknąsign, token, symbol
6Proto-Indo-Europeandeyḱ-to point out
Every word from Proto-Indo-European deyḱ- →