*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of tide

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *deh₂- Proto-Indo-European *-y(eti) Proto-Indo-European *-y(éti) Proto-Indo-European *deh₂y- Proto-Indo-European *-tis Proto-Indo-European *déh₂itis Proto-Indo-European *dih₂tís Proto-G

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 ↗
verb

To cause to float with the tide; to drive or carry with the tide or stream. · To carry over or through a problem or difficulty. · To pour a tide or flood. · To work into or out of a river or harbor by drifting with the tide and anchoring when it becomes adverse.

noun

The daily fluctuation in the level of the sea caused by the gravitational influence of the moon and the sun. · The associated flow of water. · Any similar gravitational effect on Earth or other body. · A high-volume flow, literal or figurative; a current or flood.

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

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *deh₂- Proto-Indo-European *-y(eti) Proto-Indo-European *-y(éti) Proto-Indo-European *deh₂y- Proto-Indo-European *-tis Proto-Indo-European *déh₂itis Proto-Indo-European *dih₂tís Proto-Germanic *tīdiz Proto-West Germanic *tīdi Old English tīd Middle English tide English tide Inherited from Middle English tide, from Old English tīd, from Proto-West Germanic *tīdi, from Proto-Germanic *tīdiz, from Proto-Indo-European *dih₂tís, from *déh₂itis, from *deh₂y- + *-tis. Related to time. Cognate with Dutch tijd (“time”), German Zeit (“time”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish tid (“time”), Faroese and Icelandic tíð (“time”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

  • Cognate mentiontijdnl · time
  • Cognate mentionZeitde · time

This page abbreviates 5 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": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:tide<id:time>",
        "id": "sea tide",
        "tree": "1",
        "text": "++"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *deh₂-\nProto-Indo-European *-y(eti)\nProto-Indo-European *-y(éti)\nProto-Indo-European *deh₂y-\nProto-Indo-European *-tis\nProto-Indo-European *déh₂itis\nProto-Indo-European *dih₂tís\nProto-Germanic *tīdiz\nProto-West Germanic *tīdi\nOld English tīd\nMiddle English tide\nEnglish tide\n[Appendix:Glossary#inherited|Inherited]] from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*tīdiz\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*tīdi\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Old English\", \"term\" : \"tīd\", \"lang\" : \"ang\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"tide\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"tide\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-id=\"sea tide\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"tide\" id=\"English:_sea_tide\">\nInherited from Middle English tide, from Old English tīd, from Proto-West Germanic *tīdi, from Proto-Germanic *tīdiz, from Proto-Indo-European *dih₂tís, from *déh₂itis, from *deh₂y- + *-tis."
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "tijd",
        "3": "",
        "t": "time"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch tijd (“time”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "Zeit",
        "3": "",
        "t": "time"
      },
      "expansion": "German Zeit (“time”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "da,nb,nn,sv",
        "2": "tid",
        "3": "",
        "t": "time"
      },
      "expansion": "Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish tid (“time”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fo,is",
        "2": "tíð",
        "3": "",
        "t": "time"
      },
      "expansion": "Faroese and Icelandic tíð (“time”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:tide<id:time>",
        "id": "sea tide",
        "tree": "1",
        "text": "++"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *deh₂-\nProto-Indo-European *-y(eti)\nProto-Indo-European *-y(éti)\nProto-Indo-European *deh₂y-\nProto-Indo-European *-tis\nProto-Indo-European *déh₂itis\nProto-Indo-European *dih₂tís\nProto-Germanic *tīdiz\nProto-West Germanic *tīdi\nOld English tīd\nMiddle English tide\nEnglish tide\nInherited from Middle English tide, from Old English tīd, from Proto-West Germanic *tīdi, from Proto-Germanic *tīdiz, from Proto-Indo-European *dih₂tís, from *déh₂itis, from *deh₂y- + *-tis."
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "*deh₂-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/deh₂-"
    ],
    [
      "*-y(eti)",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-yeti"
    ],
    [
      "*-y(éti)",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-yéti"
    ],
    [
      "*deh₂y-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/deh₂y-#Proto-Indo-European:_to_divide"
    ],
    [
      "*-tis",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-tis#Proto-Indo-European:_action_nouns"
    ],
    [
      "*déh₂itis",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/déh₂itis#Proto-Indo-European:_division"
    ],
    [
      "*dih₂tís",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/dih₂tís"
    ],
    [
      "*tīdiz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/tīdiz#Proto-Germanic:_time"
    ],
    [
      "*tīdi",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/tīdi#Proto-West_Germanic:_time"
    ],
    [
      "tīd",
      "tid#Old_English:_time"
    ],
    [
      "tide",
      "tide#Middle_English:_time"
    ],
    [
      "tide",
      "tide#Middle_English:_time"
    ],
    [
      "tīd",
      "tid#Old_English:_time"
    ],
    [
      "*tīdi",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/tīdi#Proto-West_Germanic:_time"
    ],
    [
      "*tīdiz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/tīdiz#Proto-Germanic:_time"
    ],
    [
      "*dih₂tís",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/dih₂tís"
    ],
    [
      "*déh₂itis",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/déh₂itis#Proto-Indo-European:_division"
    ],
    [
      "*deh₂y-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/deh₂y-#Proto-Indo-European:_to_divide"
    ],
    [
      "*-tis",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-tis#Proto-Indo-European:_action_nouns"
    ],
    [
      "time",
      "time#English"
    ],
    [
      "tijd",
      "tijd#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "Zeit",
      "Zeit#German"
    ],
    [
      "Danish",
      "tid#Danish"
    ],
    [
      "Norwegian Bokmål",
      "tid#Norwegian_Bokmål"
    ],
    [
      "Norwegian Nynorsk",
      "tid#Norwegian_Nynorsk"
    ],
    [
      "tid",
      "tid#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "Faroese",
      "tíð#Faroese"
    ],
    [
      "tíð",
      "tíð#Icelandic"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To cause to float with the tide; to drive or carry with the tide or stream.",
        "To carry over or through a problem or difficulty.",
        "To pour a tide or flood.",
        "To work into or out of a river or harbor by drifting with the tide and anchoring when it becomes adverse."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive",
        "broadly",
        "intransitive",
        "rare"
      ],
      "recordId": "3f6afe3ba911639f1f708583bcf9b1862b3e71bc94d5fbcfdaf0cff9464dd3d9",
      "rawRecordSha256": "f1eb9769d0b85b0c7f76cbc592fad7b3d4c815e0e8129c0aaef22e69ad0cc92b",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 19523
    },
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "The daily fluctuation in the level of the sea caused by the gravitational influence of the moon and the sun.",
        "The associated flow of water.",
        "Any similar gravitational effect on Earth or other body.",
        "A high-volume flow, literal or figurative; a current or flood."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "535a13d9ff63d1cfcacb4eb9a93f25ace58153b7e65cbc1d9c10fe606426b739",
      "rawRecordSha256": "cb3d868203340cf5e1e3ed7fbba2bbc1683259d285986746d8996cfe26409701",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 19522
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 5,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
verb

To happen, occur.

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

From Middle English tiden, tide, from Old English tīdan (“to happen”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "tiden"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English tiden"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "tīdan",
        "4": "",
        "5": "to happen"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English tīdan (“to happen”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "tiden",
      "tiden#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "tīdan",
      "tidan#Old_English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To happen, occur."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "intransitive",
        "obsolete"
      ],
      "recordId": "af0aeab2c7435409def44e6527df3d2c60a99bc8e064a77e823b04ccca2de149",
      "rawRecordSha256": "be64d2b41a439fb5d4a45cd4a1a5bd75f96c34bfae0e1a29b28ca2b9bb42c7ff",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 19524
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "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 tide →

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-dGlkZQ