English
touch
Touch comes from Middle English touchen, from Old French tochier, from Vulgar Latin *tuccō ‘to knock’, from Frankish *tukkōn, ultimately PIE *dewk-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dewk-‘to draw, pull’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*tukkōną‘to tug, grab’reconstructed
- Frankishc. 250–700*tukkōn‘to knock, strike, touch’reconstructed
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*tuccō‘to knock, strike’reconstructed
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400tochier‘to touch’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500touchen‘to touch’
- Englishearliest quotation 1526touch
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dewk-‘to draw, pull’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*tukkōną‘to tug, grab’reconstructed
- Frankishc. 250–700*tukkōn‘to knock, strike, touch’reconstructed
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*tuccō‘to knock, strike’reconstructed
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400tochier‘to touch’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500touchen‘to touch’
- Englishearliest quotation 1526touch
Earliest quotation: 1526, [William Tyndale, The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible): “Men of Israhell take hede to youreselves what ye…”
The story
Largely displaced native Middle English rinen, from Old English hrīnan (whence Modern English rine).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *dewk- ‘to pull, to draw’
team, education, production, product, produce, tie, reduce, duke, introduction, conduct, reduction, introduce, toy, educate, tying, dolphin, induction, tighten, tug, conn, tow, induce, duchess, deduction, duct, tuck, educator, subdue, conducive, seduce, doge, herzog, tether, taut, redux, transducer, cond, douche, untie, tew, 126 more
Today it means
verb To make physical contact with; to bring the hand, finger or other part of the body into contact with.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *dewk- / touch