Unnumbered source etymology
Original entry ↗Any physical device meant to ease or do a task. · Any piece of equipment used in a profession, such as a craftsman's. · Anything that aids someone to perform an operation; an instrument; a means. · A piece of software used to develop software or hardware, or to perform low-level operations.
To work on or shape with tools, e.g., hand-tooled leather. · To equip with tools. · To work very hard. · To put down another person (possibly in a subtle, hidden way), and in that way to use him or her to meet a goal.
From Middle English tool, tol, from Old English tōl (“tool, implement, instrument”, literally “that with which one prepares something”), perhaps borrowed from Old Norse tól, but at any rate ultimately from Proto-Germanic *tōlą (“that which is used in preparation, tool”), from Proto-Indo-European *dewh₂- (“to tie to, secure”), equivalent to taw (“to prepare”) + -le (agent suffix). Cognate with Scots tuil (“tool, implement, instrument, device”), Icelandic tól (“tool”), Faroese tól (“tool, instrument”). Related to Old English tāwian (“to make, prepare, or cultivate”); see taw, and tow ("fibres used for spinning").
Relationships mentioned by the source
These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.
- Root classification mention*dewh₂-ine-pro
- Inherited-form mentiontoolenm
- Inherited-form mentiontōlang · tool, implement, instrument
- Derivation mentiontólnon
- Derivation mention*tōlągem-pro · that which is used in preparation, tool
- Derivation mention*dewh₂-ine-pro · to tie to, secure
- Cognate mentiontuilsco
- Cognate mentiontólis
- Cognate mentiontólfo
- Cognate mentiontāwianang
This page abbreviates 9 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.
Inspect preserved source fields
Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.
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"1": "en",
"2": "ine-pro",
"3": "*dewh₂-"
},
"expansion": ""
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{
"name": "inh",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "enm",
"3": "tool"
},
"expansion": "Middle English tool"
},
{
"name": "inh",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "ang",
"3": "tōl",
"t": "tool, implement, instrument",
"lit": "that with which one prepares something"
},
"expansion": "Old English tōl (“tool, implement, instrument”, literally “that with which one prepares something”)"
},
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"t": "that which is used in preparation, tool"
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{
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"t": "to tie to, secure"
},
"expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *dewh₂- (“to tie to, secure”)"
},
{
"name": "suffix",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "taw",
"3": "le",
"t1": "to prepare",
"id2": "agent noun"
},
"expansion": "taw (“to prepare”) + -le"
},
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"name": "gloss",
"args": {
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"expansion": "(agent suffix)"
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{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
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"2": "tuil",
"3": "",
"4": "tool, implement, instrument, device"
},
"expansion": "Scots tuil (“tool, implement, instrument, device”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "is",
"2": "tól",
"3": "",
"4": "tool"
},
"expansion": "Icelandic tól (“tool”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "fo",
"2": "tól",
"3": "",
"4": "tool, instrument"
},
"expansion": "Faroese tól (“tool, instrument”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "ang",
"2": "tāwian",
"3": "",
"4": "to make, prepare, or cultivate"
},
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}
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[
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[
"tól",
"tól#Old_Norse"
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[
"*tōlą",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/tōlą"
],
[
"*dewh₂-",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/dewh₂-"
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[
"taw",
"taw#English"
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[
"-le",
"-le#English:_agent_noun"
],
[
"tuil",
"tuil#Scots"
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[
"tól",
"tól#Icelandic"
],
[
"tól",
"tól#Faroese"
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[
"tāwian",
"tawian#Old_English"
],
[
"taw",
"taw#English"
],
[
"tow",
"tow#English"
]
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"lexical": [
{
"pos": "noun",
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"Any physical device meant to ease or do a task.",
"Any piece of equipment used in a profession, such as a craftsman's.",
"Anything that aids someone to perform an operation; an instrument; a means.",
"A piece of software used to develop software or hardware, or to perform low-level operations."
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{
"pos": "verb",
"glosses": [
"To work on or shape with tools, e.g., hand-tooled leather.",
"To equip with tools.",
"To work very hard.",
"To put down another person (possibly in a subtle, hidden way), and in that way to use him or her to meet a goal."
],
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