English
touchtone
From touch + tone.
Proto-Indo-European *dewk- ‘to draw, pull’
…
Frankish *tukkōn ‘to knock, strike, touch’
Vulgar Latin *tuccō ‘to knock, strike’
Old French tochier ‘to touch’
Middle English touchen ‘to touch’
English touch
Proto-Indo-European *ten- ‘to stretch’
…
Proto-Hellenic *tónos ‘tension’
Ancient Greek τόνος ‘strain, tension, pitch’
Latin tonus ‘sound, tone’
Middle English ton ‘tone, sound’
English tone
Today it means
adj —
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / touchtone