Where does “tidy” come from?
tidy (Middle English) comes from English tide, from Middle English tyde, from Old English tīd, from Proto-Germanic tīdiz, from Proto-Indo-European déh₂itis, from Proto-Indo-European deh₂y-, from Proto-Indo-European deh₂- — to share, divide.
Ancestry of “tidy”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | tide | The periodic change of the sea level,... |
| 2 | Middle English | tyde | A time (period), season |
| 3 | Old English | tīd | time, period, season; period, season, time;... |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | tīdiz | time; period, interval |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | déh₂itis | interval, period of time |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | deh₂y- | to share, divide |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | deh₂- | to share, divide |