English
tailor
Tailor comes from Old French taillier ‘to cut’, and goes back to Latin tālea ‘a cutting’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtālea‘a cutting’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEtāliō‘to cut’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400taillier‘to cut’
- Old French, derivedc. 842–1400tailleor
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400taillour
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form
- Englishearliest quotation 1880tailor
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtālea‘a cutting’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEtāliō‘to cut’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400taillier‘to cut’
- Old French, derivedc. 842–1400tailleor
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400taillour
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form
- Englishearliest quotation 1880tailor
Earliest quotation: 1880, New South Wales. Parliament. Legislative, Journal (volume 30: “The tailor — is that a sea fish —…”
Linked words
through Latin tālea ‘a cutting’
tally, entail, intaglio, 10 more
through Late Latin tāliō ‘to cut’
Today it means
noun A person who makes, repairs, or alters clothes professionally, especially suits and men's clothing.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin tālea / tailor