Etymology Explorer › French

Where does “tâtonner” come from?

tâtonner (French) comes from French tâter, from Old French taster, from Vulgar Latin tastare, from Latin taxāre, from Latin Taxus, from Ancient Greek εἶδος, from Spanish -scopio, from Latin -scopium — to see, to look, to observe.

tâtonner (French): to feel one's way, grope around

Definitions

  1. to feel one's way, grope around

Ancestry of “tâtonner”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchtâterto feel; to get a feel for
2Old Frenchtasterto taste; to touch; to hit; to strike
3Vulgar Latintastareto touch, feel; present active infinitive of...
4Latintaxāre—
5LatinTaxusyew
6Ancient GreekεἶδοςThat which is seen: form, image, shape;...
7Spanish-scopio-scope
8Latin-scopium—
9Ancient GreekσκοπέωI look, look at, behold; I examine, inspect; 413...
10Ancient Greekσκοπόςwatcher, lookout; protector, guardian; spy, scout
11Ancient GreekσκέπτομαιI look at, examine; I examine, consider, think
12Proto-Hellenicsképťomaito look at
13Proto-Indo-Europeanspéḱyetito be looking at, to keep looking at
14Proto-Indo-Europeanspeḱ-to see, to look, to observe

Words derived from “tâtonner”

  • tatonnement
  • tâtonnement
Every word from Proto-Indo-European speḱ- →