Etymograph

English

tough

Tough comes from Old English tōh ‘tough, tenacious’, from Proto-Germanic *tanhuz ‘clinging, tough’, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *denḱ- ‘to bite’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*denḱ-‘to bite’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*tinganą‘to press upon’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*tanhuz‘fitting’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*tą̄h(ī)īreconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150tōh‘tough’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500tough
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1958same form

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*denḱ-‘to bite’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*tinganą‘to press upon’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*tanhuz‘fitting’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*tą̄h(ī)īreconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150tōh‘tough’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500tough
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1958same form

Earliest quotation: 1958, David Gunston, Railways on the Screen: “One of his best stories was "Barney Oldfield's Race…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *denḱ- ‘to bite’

tong, 1 more

Today it means

adj Of a material, strong and resilient; sturdy.

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

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *denḱ- / tough

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