English word origin

Etymology of tath

From Middle English tath, from Old Norse tað (“manure”), from Proto-Germanic *tadą (“manure”), from Proto-Indo-European *dāy- (“to divide, split, part, section”). Cognate with Icelandic tað (“manure, dung”), dialectal Sw

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗

In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗

noun

The dung of livestock left on a field to serve as manure or fertiliser. · A piece of ground dunged by livestock. · Strong grass growing around the dung of kine.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inherited-form mentiontathenm
Derivation mentiontaðnon
Derivation mention*tadągem-pro
Derivation mention*dāy-ine-pro
Cognate mentiontaðis
Cognate mentiontadsv

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "tath"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English tath"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "non",
        "3": "tað",
        "4": "",
        "5": "manure"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Norse tað (“manure”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*tadą",
        "4": "",
        "5": "manure"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *tadą (“manure”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
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        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*dāy-",
        "4": "",
        "5": "to divide, split, part, section"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *dāy- (“to divide, split, part, section”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "is",
        "2": "tað",
        "3": "",
        "4": "manure, dung"
      },
      "expansion": "Icelandic tað (“manure, dung”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "tad",
        "3": "",
        "4": "manure, dung"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish tad (“manure, dung”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "tath",
      "tath#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "tað",
      "tað#Old_Norse"
    ],
    [
      "*tadą",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/tadą"
    ],
    [
      "*dāy-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/dāy-"
    ],
    [
      "tað",
      "tað#Icelandic"
    ],
    [
      "tad",
      "tad#Swedish"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "The dung of livestock left on a field to serve as manure or fertiliser.",
        "A piece of ground dunged by livestock.",
        "Strong grass growing around the dung of kine."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Scotland",
        "UK",
        "archaic",
        "countable",
        "dialectal",
        "historical",
        "uncountable"
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}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

verb

To manure (land) by pasturing cattle on it.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English tathen, from Old Norse teðja (“to manure”), from Proto-Germanic *tadjaną (“to strew, scatter”), from Proto-Indo-European *dāy- (“to divide, split, part, section”). Cognate with Icelandic teðja (“to dung, manure”), Norwegian tedja (“to dung”), German zetten (“to let fall in small pieces, let crumble”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inherited-form mentiontathenenm
Derivation mentionteðjanon
Derivation mention*tadjanągem-pro
Derivation mention*dāy-ine-pro
Cognate mentionteðjais
Cognate mentiontedjano
Cognate mentionzettende

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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    },
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      "args": {
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        "2": "non",
        "3": "teðja",
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    },
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      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *tadjaną (“to strew, scatter”)"
    },
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        "4": "",
        "5": "to divide, split, part, section"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *dāy- (“to divide, split, part, section”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "is",
        "2": "teðja",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to dung, manure"
      },
      "expansion": "Icelandic teðja (“to dung, manure”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "no",
        "2": "tedja",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to dung"
      },
      "expansion": "Norwegian tedja (“to dung”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "zetten",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to let fall in small pieces, let crumble"
      },
      "expansion": "German zetten (“to let fall in small pieces, let crumble”)"
    }
  ],
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      "tathen",
      "tathen#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "teðja",
      "teðja#Old_Norse"
    ],
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      "*tadjaną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/tadjaną"
    ],
    [
      "*dāy-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/dāy-"
    ],
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      "teðja",
      "teðja#Icelandic"
    ],
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    ],
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      "zetten#German"
    ]
  ],
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  "descendants": [],
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        "To manure (land) by pasturing cattle on it."
      ],
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}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for tath →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger

Machine-source provenance

Source SHA-256: 5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run: 73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID: w-dGF0aA