tap

faucet – Probably comes from French fausset, meaning “bore, tap.” More…

tattoo – In the military sense—of a signal summoning soldiers to their quarters at night—it was originally written tap-too, from a Dutch word taptoe, meaning “close the tap” (of a cask), which was told to soldiers when they were expected to return to their quarters. More…

tick, tickle – Tick, as in “sound of a clock,” “mark of correctness,” originally meant “light touch, tap,” and its modern senses are recent developments; tickle is probably a derivative of this version of tick. More…

tit for tat – Probably borrowed from Dutch tip for tap, “blow for blow.” More…

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