Etymograph

English

technique

Technique comes from French technique ‘technicality’, from Ancient Greek τεχνικός ‘of or pertaining to art, artistic, skilful’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *tetḱ- ‘to create, produce’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tetḱ-‘to create’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*téḱ-sneh₂reconstructed
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEτέχνηtékhnē‘art’
  4. Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEτεχνικόςtekhnikós‘of or pertaining to art’
  5. Frenchc. 1600–presenttechnique‘technicality’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1924same form

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tetḱ-‘to create’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*téḱ-sneh₂reconstructed
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEτέχνηtékhnē‘art’
  4. Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEτεχνικόςtekhnikós‘of or pertaining to art’
  5. Frenchc. 1600–presenttechnique‘technicality’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1924same form

Earliest quotation: 1924, HE Wortham, A Musical Odyssey: “Brahms, after realizing that the technique of the piano…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *tetḱ- ‘to create, produce’

architecture, arch, textile, pretext, tectonics, tassie, tela, 17 more

through Ancient Greek τέχνη ‘art, handicraft’

technetium, 3 more

through French technique ‘technicality’

polytechnic

Today it means

noun The practical aspects of a given art, occupation etc.; formal requirements.

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

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *tetḱ- / technique

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