English word origin

Etymology of tee

* From Middle English, from Old English te, from Latin tē (the name of the letter T). * (computing): By analogy with a T-shaped pipe that sends fluids in two directions.

6 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗

In this entry · 6 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 · variant 1/2

Original entry ↗

verb

To redirect output to multiple destinations.

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

* From Middle English, from Old English te, from Latin tē (the name of the letter T). * (computing): By analogy with a T-shaped pipe that sends fluids in two directions.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Inherited-form mentionteang
Derivation mentiontēla

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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Source etymology 1 · variant 2/2

Original entry ↗

noun

The name of the Latin script letter T/t. · Something shaped like the letter T. · Ellipsis of tee-shirt. · The process of redirecting output to multiple destinations.

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

* From Middle English, from Old English te, from Latin tē (the name of the letter T). * (computing): By analogy with a T-shaped pipe that sends fluids in two directions.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Inherited-form mentionteang
Derivation mentiontēla

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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      "lang_code": "akz",
      "word": "tìika",
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        "The process of redirecting output to multiple destinations."
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Source etymology 2 · variant 1/2

Original entry ↗

noun

A flat area of ground from which players hit their first shots on a golf hole. · A usually wooden or plastic peg from which a ball is kicked or hit. · The target area of a curling rink. · The mark at which players aim in quoits.

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

First attested in the 17th century as teaz, back-formation from obsolete Scots teaz, later reanalyzed as a plural.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Borrowed-form mentionteazsco

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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      "lang": "Dutch",
      "lang_code": "nl",
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Source etymology 2 · variant 2/2

Original entry ↗

verb

To place a ball on a tee

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

First attested in the 17th century as teaz, back-formation from obsolete Scots teaz, later reanalyzed as a plural.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Borrowed-form mentionteazsco

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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      "teaz",
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      "glosses": [
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Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗

verb

To teach, educate, train, bring up.

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

From Middle English teen, from Old English tēon (which was contracted from earlier tēohan, from Proto-West Germanic *teuhan.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Inherited-form mentionteenenm
Inherited-form mentionteonang
Inherited-form mention*teuhangmw-pro

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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Source etymology 4

Original entry ↗

noun

A finial resembling an umbrella, crowning a dagoba in Indochinese countries.

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

From Burmese ထီး (hti:, “umbrella”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Borrowed-form mentionထီးmy · umbrella

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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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 tee →

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-dGVl