Etymograph

English

tank

Tank comes from Portuguese tanque ‘liquid container’, probably from Gujarati ટાંકી ‘cistern’; the 1915 war machines were disguised as water tanks.

  1. Gujaratimodernટાંકીṭā̃kī‘cistern’uncertain
  2. Portuguesec. 1500–presenttanque‘tank, liquid container’
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1896tank

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Gujaratimodernટાંકીṭā̃kī‘cistern’uncertain
  2. Portuguesec. 1500–presenttanque‘tank, liquid container’
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1896tank

Earliest quotation: 1896, Henry Lawson: “The tanks are full and the grass is high.”

first attested First attested in 1915, but in common usage only as of 1916 (as stated in the etymology)

The story

A false friend can be found in North Germanic: dunk (‘canister, keg’), 17th c. tönk, which appears derived from both Low German tunneke, Dutch tonneke (diminutive of "barrel"), and dunka (‘to dunk, to dip under water, to moisten’).

Every English word from Gujarati ટાંકી

Today it means

noun A closed container for liquids or gases.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Gujarati ટાંકી / tank

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