tau

See also: Appendix:Variations of "tau"

Languages (45)

English

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English

WOTD – 28 June 2022

Etymology

Ancient Greek Alphabet

← sigma		→ upsilon
Τ τ Ancient Greek: ταῦ
Wikipedia article on tau

A tau (sense 3) used as the symbol of the Hospital Brothers of Saint Anthony in the Antoniterkloster Höchst, a former monastery in Höchst, a quarter of Frankfurt am Main, Hesse, Germany.

When a circle’s radius is 1 unit, its circumference is twice the value of pi (2π) or tau (τ; sense 7) units.

An image of neurons. The taus or tau proteins (sense 8) are stained red.

From Middle English tau, taue, from Latin tau, from Ancient Greek ταῦ (taû) and Hebrew תָּו (tav).

Sense 6 (“mathematical constant equal to 2π”) was used by Joseph M. Lindenberg in 1991, and popularized by the American educator and entrepreneur Michael Hartl in a 2010 paper which explains that τ resembles π; and that τ is the Greek equivalent of t, the first letter of turn, and 2π corresponds to one turn of a circle with a radius of one unit.

Sense 8.1 (“short for tau lepton or tau particle”) was coined by the American physicist Martin Lewis Perl (1927–2014) after the first letter of Ancient Greek τρίτον (tríton, “third”), since the tau lepton or tauon was the third charged lepton discovered.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /taʊ/, /tɔː/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /taʊ/, /tɔ/

  • Audio (General American); /taʊ/:

    (file)

• Rhymes: -aʊ, -ɔː

Noun

tau (plural taus)

2. The letter Τ／τ in the Greek alphabet; being the nineteenth letter of the Classical and Modern Greek, and the twenty-first letter of the Old and Ancient Greek alphabets.
3. Alternative form of taw; the 22nd and last letter of many Semitic alphabets/abjads, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew, Syriac, and Arabic.
   • 1847, Richard Edmund Tyrwhitt, Sermons Chiefly Expository, volume I, Oxford: John Henry Parker; F[rancis] and J[ohn] Rivington, London, page 366:

     Hence it appears that the spits, or skewers, on which and to which the lamb was fixed and fastened in order to be roasted, assumed the form of a cross, not such a tau-cross as is engraved in Dr. Oliver’s Historical Landmarks of Freemasonry, vol. i. p. 80. having three arms only like the Greek letter tau; but a cross like the ancient Hebrew tau, with four arms, though not necessarily all of equal length.

   • 1851, D[aniel] Rock, Hierurgia; or Transubstantiation, Invocation of Saints, Relics, and Purgatory, Besides Those Other Articles of Doctrine Set Forth in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, Expounded; […], 2nd edition, London: C. Dolman, […], page 350:

     In the Spanish translation of Sallust, by the Infant Don Gabriel in 1772, called the Infant Sallust, there is a curious dissertation by Father Perez Bayer on the resemblance between the ancient Hebrew and Phœnician alphabets, in which it is observed that the Hebrew Tau was written in pure Phœnician, […]

   • 2017, Piers Vaughan, Capitular Development Course, 2nd edition, Rose Circle Publications, →ISBN, page 135:

     The tau is both the 19^th letter of the Greek alphabet, and also the 22^nd letter of the Hebrew alphabet. In this context, the Hebrew tau or tav is more pertinent.

5. A Τ-shaped object or sign; a Saint Anthony's cross, sometimes regarded as a sacred symbol.
   • 1658, Thomas Browne, “The Garden of Cyrus. […]. Chapter I.”, in Hydriotaphia, Urne-buriall, […] Together with The Garden of Cyrus, […], London: […] Hen[ry] Brome […], →OCLC, page 96:

     Nor ſhall we take in the myſticall Tau, or the Croſſe of our bleſſed Saviour, which having in ſome deſcriptions an Empedon or croſſing foot-ſtay, made not one ſingle tranſverſion.

   1. (Christianity) A crosier with a Τ-shaped head.
6. The ankh symbol (☥).

   Synonym: crux ansata

7. (astronomy) Chiefly written τ: used to designate the nineteenth star (usually according to brightness) in a constellation.
8. (finance) A measurement of the sensitivity of the value of an option to changes in the implied volatility of the price of the underlying asset.

   Synonyms: kappa, vega

   Hypernym: Greeks (includes a list of coordinate terms)

10. (mathematics, neologism) Chiefly written τ: an irrational and transcendental constant representing the ratio of the circumference of a Euclidean circle to its radius, equal to twice the value of pi (2π; approximately 6.2831853071).
12. (neurology) Short for tau protein (“a protein abundant especially in the neurons of the human central nervous system that stabilizes microtubules, and when misfolded is associated with forms of dementia such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases”).
    • 1999, Matt Ridley, Genome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters, London: Harper Perennial, published 2004, →ISBN, page 263:

      Quite what that job is remains obscure, but one theory is that it is to stabilise another protein called tau, which is supposed in turn to keep in shape the tubular ‘skeleton’ of a neuron.

13. (physics) Chiefly written τ.
    1. Short for tau lepton or tau particle (“an unstable elementary particle which is a type of lepton, having a mass almost twice that of a proton, a negative charge, and a spin of ½; it decays into hadrons (usually pions) or other leptons, and neutrinos; a tauon”).
    2. (historical) Short for tau meson, now known as a kaon.

Derived terms

• tau bone
• tau cross
• tau effect
• tau lepton
• tau meson
• tau neutrino
• tauon
• tauopathy
• tau particle
• tau protein
• tau staff
• tau tangle

 

Translations

the letter Τ／τ in the Greek alphabet

• Arabic: تَاو m (tāw)
• Asturian: tau (ast)
• Catalan: tau (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 陶 (zh) (táo), 套 (zh) (tào)

• Czech: tau n
• Danish: tau (da) n
• Dutch: tau (nl) m or f
• Esperanto: taŭo (eo)
• Finnish: tau (fi)
• French: tau (fr) m
• Georgian: ტაუ (ṭau)
• German: Tau (de) n
• Greek: ταυ (el) n (taf)

  Ancient: ταῦ n (taû)

• Hebrew: טָאוּ f (tau)
• Hungarian: tau (hu)
• Icelandic: tá (is) n
• Interlingua: tau
• Italian: tau (it) m or f
• Japanese: タウ (ja) (tau)
• Korean: 타우 (ko) (tau)
• Malay: tau (ms)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: tau (no) n

  Nynorsk: tau n

• Polish: tau (pl) n
• Portuguese: tau (pt) m
• Russian: тау (ru) n (tau)
• Spanish: tau (es) f
• Swedish: tau (sv) n
• Thai: เทา (th) (tao)
• Ukrainian: тау n (tau)
• Welsh: tau f

a letter of many Semitic alphabets — see taw

Τ-shaped object or sign

crosier with a Τ-shaped head

Saint Anthony’s cross — see also Saint Anthony's cross

• French: croix en tau f
• German: Taukreuz (de) n

ankh symbol — see ankh

used to designate the nineteenth (usually the nineteenth brightest) star in a constellation

irrational and transcendental constant equal to twice the value of pi

short for tau protein — see also tau protein

• French: tau (fr) f

short for tau lepton or tau particle — see tauon

short for tau meson — see also kaon

Further reading

• tau on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• tau cross on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• tau (particle) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• tau protein on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• turn (angle) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• tau (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• AUT, UAT, UTA, Uta, aut-, uta

'Are'are

Verb

tau

1. to give

References

• Kateřina Naitoro, A Sketch Grammar of 'Are'are: The Sound System and Morpho-Syntax (2013)

Catalan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic, Valencia) [ˈtaw]
• Rhymes: -aw

Noun

tau f (plural taus)

1. Tau; the Greek letter Τ (lowercase τ)
2. tav; the Hebrew letter ת
3. (religion) a tau cross

Czech

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈtau̯]

Noun

tau n (indeclinable)

1. tau (Greek letter)

Further reading

• “tau”, in Kartotéka Novočeského lexikálního archivu (in Czech)
• tau in Akademický slovník cizích slov, 1995, at prirucka.ujc.cas.cz

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch tau, thau, from Ancient Greek ταῦ (taû). Doublet of taw, tav.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

tau n (plural taus, diminutive tautje n)

1. tau (Greek letter)

Further reading

• tau (letter) on the Dutch Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^nl

Finnish

Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek ταῦ (taû).

Greek letter

Ττ	Previous:	sigma
	Next:	ypsilon

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɑu̯/, [ˈt̪ɑ̝u̯]
• Rhymes: -ɑu
• Hyphenation^(key): tau

Noun

tau

1. tau (Greek letter)
2. tauon, tau (elementary particle)

Declension

Inflection of tau (Kotus type 21/rosé, no gradation)
nominative		tau	taut
genitive		taun	tauiden tauitten
partitive		tauta	tauita
illative		tauhun	tauihin
		singular	plural
nominative		tau	taut
accusative	nom.	tau	taut
	gen.	taun
genitive		taun	tauiden tauitten
partitive		tauta	tauita
inessive		taussa	tauissa
elative		tausta	tauista
illative		tauhun	tauihin
adessive		taulla	tauilla
ablative		taulta	tauilta
allative		taulle	tauille
essive		tauna	tauina
translative		tauksi	tauiksi
abessive		tautta	tauitta
instructive		—	tauin
comitative		See the possessive forms below.

Possessive forms of tau (Kotus type 21/rosé, no gradation)

first-person singular possessor singular plural nominative tauni tauni accusative nom. tauni tauni gen. tauni genitive tauni tauideni tauitteni partitive tautani tauitani inessive taussani tauissani elative taustani tauistani illative tauhuni tauihini adessive taullani tauillani ablative taultani tauiltani allative taulleni tauilleni essive taunani tauinani translative taukseni tauikseni abessive tauttani tauittani instructive — — comitative — tauineni second-person singular possessor singular plural nominative tausi tausi accusative nom. tausi tausi gen. tausi genitive tausi tauidesi tauittesi partitive tautasi tauitasi inessive taussasi tauissasi elative taustasi tauistasi illative tauhusi tauihisi adessive taullasi tauillasi ablative taultasi tauiltasi allative taullesi tauillesi essive taunasi tauinasi translative tauksesi tauiksesi abessive tauttasi tauittasi instructive — — comitative — tauinesi first-person plural possessor singular plural nominative taumme taumme accusative nom. taumme taumme gen. taumme genitive taumme tauidemme tauittemme partitive tautamme tauitamme inessive taussamme tauissamme elative taustamme tauistamme illative tauhumme tauihimme adessive taullamme tauillamme ablative taultamme tauiltamme allative taullemme tauillemme essive taunamme tauinamme translative tauksemme tauiksemme abessive tauttamme tauittamme instructive — — comitative — tauinemme second-person plural possessor singular plural nominative taunne taunne accusative nom. taunne taunne gen. taunne genitive taunne tauidenne tauittenne partitive tautanne tauitanne inessive taussanne tauissanne elative taustanne tauistanne illative tauhunne tauihinne adessive taullanne tauillanne ablative taultanne tauiltanne allative taullenne tauillenne essive taunanne tauinanne translative tauksenne tauiksenne abessive tauttanne tauittanne instructive — — comitative — tauinenne third-person possessor singular plural nominative taunsa taunsa accusative nom. taunsa taunsa gen. taunsa genitive taunsa tauidensa tauittensa partitive tautaan tautansa tauitaan tauitansa inessive taussaan taussansa tauissaan tauissansa elative taustaan taustansa tauistaan tauistansa illative tauhunsa tauihinsa adessive taullaan taullansa tauillaan tauillansa ablative taultaan taultansa tauiltaan tauiltansa allative taulleen taullensa tauilleen tauillensa essive taunaan taunansa tauinaan tauinansa translative taukseen tauksensa tauikseen tauiksensa abessive tauttaan tauttansa tauittaan tauittansa instructive — — comitative — tauineen tauinensa

Derived terms

compounds

• antitau

 

Further reading

• “tau”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎^[3] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2023-07-03

Anagrams

• -tua

French

Alternative forms

• (in the plural) taus (1990 spelling reform)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /to/

• Audio (Paris):

  (file)

• Homophones: taus, taux, tôt

Noun

tau m (plural tau or taus)

1. tau (Greek letter)
2. (physics) tau, tauon

Derived terms

• tauique

Further reading

• “tau”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Anagrams

• tua

Galician

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtaw/ [ˈt̪ɑw]
• Rhymes: -aw
• Hyphenation: tau

Noun

tau m (plural taus)

1. tau (name of the Greek letter Τ, τ)

References

• “tau”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2024

German Low German

Alternative forms

• to (in some dialects)

Etymology

Middle Low German tô.

Preposition

tau

1. (in some dialects) to

Derived terms

• taum
• taun
• taur

Hokkien

For pronunciation and definitions of tau – see 兜 (“helmet; hood; helmet-shaped; etc.”). (This term is the pe̍h-ōe-jī form of 兜).

For pronunciation and definitions of tau – see 掜 (“to pick up with one's fingers pressed on both sides”). (This term is the pe̍h-ōe-jī form of 掜).

For pronunciation and definitions of tau – see 㨮 (“to box someone's ears; to slap someone on the face”). (This term is the pe̍h-ōe-jī form of 㨮).

For pronunciation and definitions of tau – see 兜 (“helmet; hood; helmet-shaped; etc.”). (This term is the pe̍h-ōe-jī form of 兜).

Huichol

Noun

tau

1. sun

Hungarian

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ταῦ (taû).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈtɒu]
• Hyphenation: tau
• Rhymes: -u

Noun

tau (plural tauk)

1. tau (Greek letter)

Declension

Inflection (stem in long/high vowel, back harmony)
	singular	plural
nominative	tau	tauk
accusative	taut	taukat
dative	taunak	tauknak
instrumental	tauval	taukkal
causal-final	tauért	taukért
translative	tauvá	taukká
terminative	tauig	taukig
essive-formal	tauként	taukként
essive-modal	—	—
inessive	tauban	taukban
superessive	taun	taukon
adessive	taunál	tauknál
illative	tauba	taukba
sublative	taura	taukra
allative	tauhoz	taukhoz
elative	tauból	taukból
delative	tauról	taukról
ablative	tautól	tauktól
non-attributive possessive - singular	taué	tauké
non-attributive possessive - plural	tauéi	taukéi

Possessive forms of tau
possessor	single possession	multiple possessions
1st person sing.	taum	tauim
2nd person sing.	taud	tauid
3rd person sing.	tauja	taui
1st person plural	taunk	tauink
2nd person plural	tautok	tauitok
3rd person plural	taujuk	tauik

Iban

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tauʔ/

Verb

tau

1. ought, should

Icelandic

Etymology

Borrowed from Danish tøj.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tʰøyː/
• Rhymes: -øyː

Noun

tau n (genitive singular taus, no plural)

1. fabric
2. clothing

Declension

Declension of tau (sg-only neuter)

	singular
	indefinite	definite
nominative	tau	tauið
accusative	tau	tauið
dative	taui	tauinu
genitive	taus	tausins

Indonesian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈta.u/
• Rhymes: -au, -u
• Hyphenation: ta‧u

Etymology 1

Verb

tau

1. nonstandard form of tahu (“to know”).

Etymology 2

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek ταῦ (taû).

Noun

tau

1. tau (the letter Τ／τ in the Greek alphabet; being the nineteenth letter of the Classical and Modern Greek, and the twenty-first letter of the Old and Ancient Greek alphabets)

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtaw/
• Rhymes: -aw
• Hyphenation: tàu

Noun

tau m or f (invariable)

1. tau (Greek letter)

Anagrams

• -uta, tua

Japanese

Romanization

tau

1. Rōmaji transcription of たう

Kambera

Verb

tau

1. person

   na tau na pa-hi dà-nggu

   the person that I cried with

References

• Marian Klamer (1998) A Grammar of Kambera, Berlin, New York: Mouton de Gruyter, →ISBN, page 328

Kapampangan

Alternative forms

• tauo (Spanish orthography, obsolete)
• tawu (Súlat Wáwâ)

Etymology 1

From Proto-Philippine *tau, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *tau, from Proto-Austronesian *Cau.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtau/ [ˈtäː.u]
• Hyphenation: ta‧u

Noun

táu

1. person; human; man
2. someone; people; human being
3. boyfriend; girlfriend; lover

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /təˈu/ [təˈuː]
• Hyphenation: ta‧u

Noun

taú

1. feast; party; banquet

Kendayan

Numeral

tau

1. three

Lithuanian

Pronoun

tau

1. second-person singular dative of tu

Malay

Alternative forms

• tahu
• تاهو

Etymology 1

From Proto-Malayic *tahu(ʔ), from Proto-Malayo-Chamic, from Proto-Malayo-Sumbawan, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *taqu, from Proto-Austronesian *Caqu.

Pronunciation

• (Kedah) IPA^(key): /tau/
• IPA^(key): /ta.u/
• Rhymes: -au, -u

Verb

tau

1. (informal) Alternative form of tahu (“to know”)

Etymology 2

Borrowed from English tau, from Ancient Greek ταῦ (taû).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tau/

Noun

tau (Jawi spelling تاو, plural tau-tau, informal 1st possessive tauku, 2nd possessive taumu, 3rd possessive taunya)

1. the Greek letter tau (Τ or τ)

Further reading

• “tau” in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu | Malay Literary Reference Centre, Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017.

Maori

Etymology 1

From Proto-Polynesian *taqu (compare Hawaiian kau), from Proto-Oceanic, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *taqun (compare Malay tahun, Tagalog taón).

Noun

tau

1. year (time it takes for the Earth to complete one revolution of the Sun)
2. year (time it takes for any planetary body to make one revolution around another body)
3. year (a period between set dates that mark a year)
4. year (scheduled part of a calendar year spent in a specific activity)
5. year (Julian year)
6. year (level or grade at school or college)

Etymology 2

From Proto-Polynesian *tau, from Proto-Oceanic, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *taʀuq (compare Malay taruh).

Verb

tau

1. to settle

Etymology 3

From Proto-Polynesian *tau, from Proto-Oceanic, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *taqu, from Proto-Austronesian *Caqu (compare Malay tahu).

Noun

tau (used in the form mātau)

1. knowledge

Verb

tau (used in the form mātau)

1. (stative) to know

References

• “tau” in John C. Moorfield, Te Aka: Maori–English, English–Maori Dictionary and Index, 3rd edition, Longman/Pearson Education New Zealand, 2011, →ISBN.

Minangkabau

Etymology

From Proto-Malayic *tahu(ʔ), from Proto-Malayo-Chamic, from Proto-Malayo-Sumbawan, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *taqu, from Proto-Austronesian *Caqu.

Verb

tau

1. to know

Niuean

Etymology 1

From Proto-Polynesian *taqu, from Proto-Oceanic, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *taqun.

Noun

tau

1. year

Etymology 2

From Proto-Polynesian *tau, from Proto-Oceanic, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *taʀuŋ.

Verb

tau

1. fight

North Frisian

North Frisian numbers ^(edit)

	20
←  1	2	3  →
Cardinal: tau     Ordinal: naist, öler

North Frisian cardinal numbers

<  1	2	3  >
Cardinal : tau     Ordinal : taust

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [tʰaʊ̯]

Etymology 1

From Old Frisian twā.

Numeral

tau (Föhr-Amrum, Sylt, Heligoland)

1. two

Alternative forms

• twäär (Mooring)

Coordinate terms

Cardinal numbers from 1 till 99 (Föhr-Amrum dialect)

	—0	—1	—2	—3	—4	—5	—6	—7	—8	—9
0—	nol	een	tau	trii	fjauer	fiiw	seeks	sööwen	aacht	njüügen
1—	tjiin	elwen	twaalew	tretanj	fjauertanj	füftanj	seekstanj	sööwentanj	aagetanj	njüügentanj
2—	twuntig	ianantwuntig	tauantwuntig	triiantwuntig	fjauerantwuntig	fiiwantwuntig	seeksantwuntig	sööwenantwuntig	aachtantwuntig	njüügenantwuntig
3—	dörtig	ianandörtig	tauandörtig	triiandörtig	fjauerandörtig	fiiwandörtig	seeksandörtig	sööwenandörtig	aachtandörtig	njüügenandörtig
4—	fiartig	iananfiartig	tauanfiartig	triianfiartig	fjaueranfiartig	fiiwanfiartig	seeksanfiartig	sööwenanfiartig	aachtanfiartig	njüügenanfiartig
5—	föftig	iananföftig	tauanföftig	triianföftig	fjaueranföftig	fiiwanföftig	seeksanföftig	sööwenanföftig	aachtanföftig	njüügenanföftig
6—	söstig	ianansöstig	tauansöstig	triiansöstig	fjaueransöstig	fiiwansöstig	seeksansöstig	sööwenansöstig	aachtansöstig	njüügenansöstig
7—	sööwentig	ianansööwentig	tauansööwentig	triiansööwentig	fjaueransööwentig	fiiwansööwentig	seeksansööwentig	sööwenansööwentig	aachtansööwentig	njüügenansööwentig
8—	tachentig	ianantachentig	tauantachentig	triiantachentig	fjauerantachentig	fiiwantachentig	seeksantachentig	sööwenantachentig	aachtantachentig	njüügenantachentig
9—	neegentig	iananneegentig	tauanneegentig	triianneegentig	fjaueranneegentig	fiiwanneegentig	seeksanneegentig	sööwenanneegentig	aachtanneegentig	njüügenanneegentig

Etymology 2

From Proto-Germanic *þwahaną.

Verb

tau

1. (Föhr-Amrum) to wash

Conjugation

Conjugation of tau (Föhr-Amrum dialect)

infinitive I	tau
infinitive II	(tu) tauen
past participle	twaanjen
imperative singular	tau
imperative plural	tau’m
	present	past
1st singular	tau	twuch
2nd singular	twaist	twuchst
3rd singular	twait	twuch
plural	tau	twuch
	perfect	pluperfect
1st singular	haa twaanjen	hed twaanjen
2nd singular	heest twaanjen	hedst twaanjen
3rd singular	hee twaanjen	hed twaanjen
plural	haa twaanjen	hed twaanjen
	future (skel)	future (wel)
1st singular	skal tau	wal tau
2nd singular	skääl tau	wääl tau
3rd singular	skal tau	wal tau
plural	skel tau	wel tau

Alternative forms

• taui (Sylt)
• tüünj (Mooring)

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology 1

From Old Norse tog (rope).

Noun

tau n (definite singular tauet, indefinite plural tau, definite plural taua or tauene)

1. a rope
2. (physics) tau lepton
3. tau (Greek letter)

Synonyms

• (rope): rep, reip

Derived terms

• ståltau
• taubane
• tauverk

Etymology 2

Verb

tau

1. imperative of taue

References

• “tau” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology 1

From earlier and Old Norse tog (“rope”), from Proto-Germanic *taugō.

Alternative forms

• tog (superseded)

Noun

tau n (definite singular tauet, indefinite plural tau, definite plural taua)

1. a rope

Synonyms

• (rope): reip

Derived terms

• ståltau
• taubane
• tauverk

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Ancient Greek ταῦ (taû).

Noun

tau m (definite singular tauen, indefinite plural tauar, definite plural tauane)

1. tau: The letter Τ/τ in the Greek, Hebrew and ancient Semitic alphabets, being the nineteenth letter of the Classical and Modern Greek, the twenty-first letter of Old and Ancient Greek.
2. (physics) tau lepton

References

• “tau” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Anagrams

• Tau, tua

Occitan

Etymology

From Latin talis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /taw/

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

tau m (feminine singular tala, masculine plural taus, feminine plural talas)

1. (Gascony, Provençal, Limousin, Vivaro-alpine, Auvergne) such

Alternative forms

• tal

Polish

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek ταῦ (taû), from Phoenician 𐤕 (t /⁠taw⁠/).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtaw/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aw
• Syllabification: tau

Noun

tau n (indeclinable)

1. tau (Greek letter Τ, τ)

Further reading

• tau in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Portuguese

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈtaw/ [ˈtaʊ̯]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈtaw/

• Homophone: tal (Brazil)
• Rhymes: -aw
• Hyphenation: tau

Noun

tau m (plural taus)

1. tau (name of the Greek letter Τ, τ)
2. (physics) tauon

Sotho

Noun

tau class 9/10 (plural ditau)

1. lion

Descendants

• → Phuthi: idawû

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtau/ [ˈt̪au̯]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -au
• Syllabification: tau

Noun

tau f (plural taus)

1. tau; the Greek letter Τ, τ
2. tauon (elementary particle)

   Synonym: tauón

See also

• (Greek script letter names) letra; alfa, beta, gamma, delta, épsilon, dseda, eta, zeta, iota, kappa, lambda, mi, ni, xi, ómicron, pi, ro, sigma, tau, ípsilon, fi, ji, psi, omega ^{(Category: es:Greek letter names)}
• (leptons) leptón; electrón, muón, tau/tauón, neutrino electrónico, neutrino muónico, neutrino tauónico

Further reading

• “tau”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10

Tahitian

Adjective

tau

1. some

Synonyms

• nau

References

• Yves Lemaître, Lexique du tahitien contemporain (Current Tahitian lexicon), 1995.
• “tau” in Dictionnaire en ligne Tahitien/Français (Online Tahitian–French Dictionary), by the Tahitian Academy.

Tausug

Etymology

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *tau.

Pronunciation

• (Sinūgan Parianun) IPA^(key): /taʔu/ [t̪aˈʔu]
• Rhymes: -u
• Syllabification: ta‧u

Noun

tau (Sulat Sūg spelling تَؤُ)

1. person
2. human

Derived terms

• pagkatau
• Tausūg

 

Ternate

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈta.u]

Verb

tau

1. to pull

Conjugation

Conjugation of tau
	Singular	Plural
	Inclusive	Exclusive
1st	totau	fotau	mitau
2nd	notau	nitau
3rd	Masculine	otau	itau, yotau†
Feminine	motau
Neuter	itau
† - archaic

References

• Rika Hayami-Allen (2001) A descriptive study of the language of Ternate, the northern Moluccas, Indonesia, University of Pittsburgh

Tetum

Etymology

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *taʀuq, compare Maori tau and Indonesian taruh.

Verb

tau

1. to put, to place

Tocharian B

Etymology

From Middle Chinese 斗 (MC tuwX).

Noun

tau ? sg (irregular plural towä or tom or taum)

1. a dry measure, roughly equivalent to ten quarts or 1.25 pecks

Tokelauan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈta.u]
• Hyphenation: ta‧u

Etymology 1

From Proto-Polynesian *te-qa-u.

Determiner

tau

1. (alienable, definite) thy, your

See also

Tokelauan possessive determiners

	Definite inalienable (O-type)
	singular reference				plural reference
	sg	du		pl	sg	du		pl
		long	short			long	short
1st person (excl.)	toku, tota1	to māua	to mā	to mātou	oku, ota1	o māua	o mā	o mātou
1st person (incl.)	―	to tāua	to tā	to tātou	―	o tāua	o tā	o tātou
2nd person	tō	toulua		toutou	ō	oulua		outou
3rd person	tona	to lāua	to lā	to lātou	ona	o lāua	o lā	o lātou
	Definite alienable (A-type)
	singular reference				plural reference
	sg	du		pl	sg	du		pl
		long	short			long	short
1st person (excl.)	taku, tata1	ta māua	ta mā	ta mātou	aku, ata1	a māua	a mā	a mātou
1st person (incl.)	―	ta tāua	ta tā	ta tātou	―	a tāua	a tā	a tātou
2nd person	tau	taulua		tautou	au	aulua		autou
3rd person	tana	ta lāua	ta lā	ta lātou	ana	a lāua	a lā	a lātou
	Indefinite inalienable (O-type)
	singular reference				plural reference
	sg	du		pl	sg	du		pl
		long	short			long	short
1st person (excl.)	hoku, hota1	ho māua	ho mā	ho mātou	ni oku, ni ota1	ni o māua	ni o mā	ni o mātou
1st person (incl.)	―	ho tāua	ho tā	ho tātou	―	ni o tāua	ni o tā	ni o tātou
2nd person	hō	houlua		houtou	ni ō	ni oulua		ni outou
3rd person	hona	ho lāua	ho lā	ho lātou	ni ona	ni o lāua	ni o lā	ni o lātou
	Indefinite alienable (A-type)
	singular reference				plural reference
	sg	du		pl	sg	du		pl
		long	short			long	short
1st person (excl.)	haku, hata1	ha māua	ha mā	ha mātou	ni aku, ni ata1	ni a māua	ni a mā	ni a mātou
1st person (incl.)	―	ha tāua	ha tā	ha tātou	―	ni a tāua	ni a tā	ni a tātou
2nd person	hau	haulua		hautou	ni au	ni aulua		ni autou
3rd person	hana	ha lāua	ha lā	ha lātou	ni ana	ni a lāua	ni a lā	ni a lātou
1) Sympathetic

Etymology 2

From Proto-Polynesian *taqu. Cognates include Hawaiian kau and Samoan tau.

Noun

tau

1. season
2. weather
3. climate

Etymology 3

From Proto-Polynesian *tau. Cognates include Tongan tou and Samoan tau.

Verb

tau

1. (transitive) to pick

Usage notes

• tau is used to refer to flowers and fruits, with the exception of the coconut and pandanus.

Etymology 4

From Proto-Polynesian *tau. Cognates include Tongan tau and Samoan tau.

Verb

tau

1. (intransitive) to fight; to quarrel
2. (intransitive) to compete

Etymology 5

From Proto-Polynesian *tau. Cognates include Maori tau and Samoan tau.

Verb

tau (plural tatau)

1. (intransitive) to hit
2. (intransitive) to land
3. (intransitive) to arrive
4. (intransitive) to anchor
5. (intransitive, of fish) to settle down

Etymology 6

From Proto-Polynesian *tau. Cognates include Tuvaluan tau and Samoan tau.

Verb

tau

1. (transitive, of months) to count

Etymology 7

From Proto-Polynesian *tau. Cognates include Rapa tau and Samoan tau.

Noun

tau

1. The point where the keel meets the stern of the canoe.

Etymology 8

Noun

tau

1. Fresh nest fern leaves, used to cover a traditional oven.

Etymology 9

Particle

tau

1. Used to indicate the exclusiveness of the following noun or pronoun; just, only, merely

Etymology 10

Particle

tau

1. Used to indicate the focus lies on the following noun; concerning, regarding

Etymology 11

Particle

tau

1. Used to indicate that the action of the following verb is beginning; starting to; beginning to

Etymology 12

Verb

tau

1. Only used in tau ma (“to be fed up with”)

References

• R. Simona, editor (1986), Tokelau Dictionary‎^[4], Auckland: Office of Tokelau Affairs, page 342

Tongan

Etymology

From Proto-Polynesian *tau, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *taʀuŋ.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ta.u/

Verb

tau

1. fight

Tswana

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tà.ú/

Noun

tau class 9/10 (plural ditau)

1. lion

Vietnamese

Pronunciation

• (Vinh) IPA^(key): [taw˧˥]

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [taw˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [taw˧˧]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [ta(ː)w˧˧]

Pronoun

tau

1. North Central Vietnam form of tao (“I/me”)

Anagrams

• tua

Welsh

Pronunciation

• (North Wales) IPA^(key): /taɨ̯/
• (South Wales) IPA^(key): /tai̞/

Verb

tau

1. (literary) third-person singular present indicative/future of tewi

Mutation

Mutated forms of tau

radical	soft	nasal	aspirate
tau	dau	nhau	thau

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Welsh.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

White Hmong

Etymology

From Proto-Hmong-Mien *təuk, from Old Chinese 得 (OC *tɯːɡ).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tau̯˧/

Verb

tau

1. to get, gain, obtain
2. (used preverbally) perfective action marker

   Kuv tsis tau ua. ― I didn't do that.

3. (used postverbally) potential mood marker

   Ua tau. ― May be done.

References

• Heimbach, Ernest E. (1979) White Hmong — English Dictionary‎^[5], SEAP Publications, →ISBN.

Woccon

Noun

tau

1. fire