English
tigress
Tigress comes from French tigresse ‘female equivalent of tigre (“tiger”): tigress’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *(s)teyg- ‘to point, stick’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)teyg-‘to point, stick’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEτίγρις‘tiger’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtigris‘tiger’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400tigre‘tiger’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600same form‘tiger’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentsame form‘tiger’
- French, derivedc. 1600–presenttigresse‘female equivalent of tigre (“tiger”): tigress’
- Englishearliest quotation 1918tigress
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)teyg-‘to point, stick’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEτίγρις‘tiger’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtigris‘tiger’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400tigre‘tiger’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600same form‘tiger’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentsame form‘tiger’
- French, derivedc. 1600–presenttigresse‘female equivalent of tigre (“tiger”): tigress’
- Englishearliest quotation 1918tigress
Earliest quotation: 1918, –November, The Land That Time Forgot: “So-al was a mighty fine-looking girl, built like a…”
Formed from tiger + -ess
Proto-Indo-European *(s)teyg- ‘to point, stick’
Ancient Greek τίγρις
Latin tigris
Anglo-Norman tigre
Middle English tygre
English tiger
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *(s)teyg- ‘to point, stick’
style, attack, stock, stick, stitch, stigma, etiquette, stylus, detach, stiletto, instigate, 9 more
through Latin tigris ‘tiger’
Today it means
noun A female tiger; a she-tiger.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *(s)teyg- / tigress