Etymograph

English

tart

Tart comes from Middle English tart ‘Sour, tart’, from Old English teart ‘sharp, rough, severe’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *der- ‘to flay, split, cleave’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*der-‘to flay, split, cleave’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*teraną‘to tear’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*tartaz‘rough, sharp, tearing’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*tartreconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150teart‘sharp, rough, severe’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500tart‘Sour, tart’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 2026tart

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*der-‘to flay, split, cleave’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*teraną‘to tear’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*tartaz‘rough, sharp, tearing’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*tartreconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150teart‘sharp, rough, severe’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500tart‘Sour, tart’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 2026tart

Earliest quotation: 2026, Howard LaFranchi, Trump’s war in Iran puts new strain on alliances. Why this t: “[French president Emmanuel] Macron fired back [at US president…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *der- ‘to flay, split, cleave’

truck, turd, dermatology, dermatitis, pander, dermis, derm, tarn, 16 more

through Proto-Germanic *teraną ‘to tear’

retirement, terry, tier, retire, tire, tear, tirade, 5 more

Another origin of tart

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*terkʷ-‘to turn, spin’root as named · steps between not traced
  2. Old Frenchc. 842–1400tarte
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500tart
  4. Englishtodaytart

From Middle English tart, tarte, from Old French tarte, tartre (‘flat pastry’) (compare Medieval Latin tarta), of unknown origin.uncertain The source flags this step as uncertain. Perhaps an alteration of Old French torte, tourte, from Latin turta, perhaps from tŏrta f (‘twisted’), in which case it would be cognate to torta.

Today it means

adj Sharp to the taste; acid; sour.

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

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *der- / tart

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