*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of take

From Middle English taken (“to take, lay hold of, grasp, strike”), from Old English tacan (“to grasp, touch”), probably of North Germanic origin, from Old Norse taka (“to touch, take”). Alternatively, inherited from Prot

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 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.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
noun

An act of taking. · Money that is taken in, (legal or illegal) proceeds, income; (in particular) profits; takings. · The or a quantity of fish, game animals or pelts, etc which have been taken at one time; catch. · An interpretation or view, opinion or assessment; perspective; a statement expressing such a position.

verb

To get into one's hands, possession, or control, with or without force. · To seize or capture. · To catch or get possession of (fish or game). · To catch the ball; especially as a wicket-keeper and after the batsman has missed or edged it.

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

From Middle English taken (“to take, lay hold of, grasp, strike”), from Old English tacan (“to grasp, touch”), probably of North Germanic origin, from Old Norse taka (“to touch, take”). Alternatively, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *takan (“to take; grasp, touch”). Both from Proto-Germanic *tēkaną (“to touch”), from pre-Germanic *deh₁g- (“to touch”), possibly a phonetically altered form of Proto-Indo-European *te-th₂g- (“to touch, take”) (see there for details). Gradually displaced native English nim, from Middle English nimen, from Old English niman (“to take”). Cognates Cognate with Scots tak (“to take”), Icelandic and Norwegian Nynorsk taka (“to take”), Norwegian Bokmål ta (“to take”), Swedish ta (“to take”), Danish tage (“to take, seize”), West Frisian take, taakje (“to grab, steal”), Dutch taken (“to take; grasp”), Middle Low German tacken (“to grasp”). English thack may be from the same root. Compare tackle. Despite superficial similarity, unrelated to Proto-Indo-European *tek- (“to take by hand, obtain”), which is instead cognate with English thig (“to beg”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

  • Root classification mention*teh₂g-ine-pro
  • Inherited-form mentiontakenenm · to take, lay hold of, grasp, strike
  • Inherited-form mentiontacanang · to grasp, touch
  • Derivation mentiontakanon · to touch, take
  • Inherited-form mention*takangmw-pro
  • Inherited-form mention*tēkanągem-pro · to touch
  • Derivation mention*teh₂g-ine-pro · to touch, take
  • Non-cognate comparisonnimen
  • Non-cognate comparisonnimenenm
  • Cognate mentiontaksco · to take
  • Cognate mentiontakann · to take
  • Cognate mentiontanb · to take
  • Cognate mentiontasv · to take
  • Cognate mentiontageda · to take, seize
  • Cognate mentiontakefy
  • Cognate mentiontakennl · to take; grasp
  • Cognate mentiontackengml · to grasp

This page abbreviates 94 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.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "root",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*teh₂g-",
        "id": "touch"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "taken",
        "t": "to take, lay hold of, grasp, strike"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English taken (“to take, lay hold of, grasp, strike”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "tacan",
        "t": "to grasp, touch"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English tacan (“to grasp, touch”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmq"
      },
      "expansion": "North Germanic"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "non",
        "3": "taka",
        "t": "to touch, take"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Norse taka (“to touch, take”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*takan",
        "4": "",
        "5": "to take; grasp, touch"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *takan (“to take; grasp, touch”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*tēkaną",
        "t": "to touch"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *tēkaną (“to touch”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*teh₂g-",
        "4": "*te-th₂g-",
        "id": "touch",
        "t": "to touch, take"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *te-th₂g- (“to touch, take”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "ncog",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "nim"
      },
      "expansion": "English nim"
    },
    {
      "name": "ncog",
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "nimen"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English nimen"
    },
    {
      "name": "noncog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ang",
        "2": "niman",
        "t": "to take"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English niman (“to take”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sco",
        "2": "tak",
        "t": "to take"
      },
      "expansion": "Scots tak (“to take”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "is",
        "2": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Icelandic"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nn",
        "2": "taka",
        "t": "to take"
      },
      "expansion": "Norwegian Nynorsk taka (“to take”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nb",
        "2": "ta",
        "t": "to take"
      },
      "expansion": "Norwegian Bokmål ta (“to take”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "ta",
        "t": "to take"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish ta (“to take”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "da",
        "2": "tage",
        "t": "to take, seize"
      },
      "expansion": "Danish tage (“to take, seize”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fy",
        "2": "take"
      },
      "expansion": "West Frisian take"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "taken",
        "t": "to take; grasp"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch taken (“to take; grasp”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "gml",
        "2": "tacken",
        "t": "to grasp"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle Low German tacken (“to grasp”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "m+",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "thack"
      },
      "expansion": "English thack"
    },
    {
      "name": "noncog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ine-pro",
        "2": "*tek-",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to take by hand, obtain"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *tek- (“to take by hand, obtain”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "m+",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "thig",
        "t": "to beg"
      },
      "expansion": "English thig (“to beg”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "taken",
      "taken#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "tacan",
      "tacan#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "taka",
      "taka#Old_Norse"
    ],
    [
      "*takan",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/takan"
    ],
    [
      "*tēkaną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/tēkaną"
    ],
    [
      "*te-th₂g-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/teh₂g-#Proto-Indo-European:_touch"
    ],
    [
      "nim",
      "nim#English"
    ],
    [
      "nimen",
      "nimen#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "niman",
      "niman#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "tak",
      "tak#Scots"
    ],
    [
      "taka",
      "taka#Norwegian_Nynorsk"
    ],
    [
      "ta",
      "ta#Norwegian_Bokmål"
    ],
    [
      "ta",
      "ta#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "tage",
      "tage#Danish"
    ],
    [
      "take",
      "take#West_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "taakje",
      "taakje#West_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "taken",
      "taken#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "tacken",
      "tacken#Middle_Low_German"
    ],
    [
      "thack",
      "thack#English"
    ],
    [
      "tackle",
      "tackle#English"
    ],
    [
      "*tek-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/tek-"
    ],
    [
      "thig",
      "thig#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "An act of taking.",
        "Money that is taken in, (legal or illegal) proceeds, income; (in particular) profits; takings.",
        "The or a quantity of fish, game animals or pelts, etc which have been taken at one time; catch.",
        "An interpretation or view, opinion or assessment; perspective; a statement expressing such a position."
      ],
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    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To get into one's hands, possession, or control, with or without force.",
        "To seize or capture.",
        "To catch or get possession of (fish or game).",
        "To catch the ball; especially as a wicket-keeper and after the batsman has missed or edged it."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive"
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  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 94,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

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 take →

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-dGFrZQ