tau

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English

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Etymology

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Ancient Greek Alphabet

sigma

upsilon
Τ τ
Ancient Greek: ταῦ
Wikipedia article on tau
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.[1]

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.[2]

Pronunciation

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Noun

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tau (plural taus)

  1. The letter Ττ 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.
  2. 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 19th letter of the Greek alphabet, and also the 22nd letter of the Hebrew alphabet. In this context, the Hebrew tau or tav is more pertinent.
  3. 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.
  4. The ankh symbol ().
    Synonym: crux ansata
  5. (astronomy) Chiefly written τ: used to designate the nineteenth star (usually according to brightness) in a constellation.
  6. (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)
  7. (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).
  8. (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).
  9. (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

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Translations

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References

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  1. ^ Michael Hartl (2010 June 28) “The Tau Manifesto”, in Tauday.com[1], archived from the original on 30 January 2022, section 4.1 (One Turn):
    There are two main reasons to use τ for the circle constant. The first is that τ visually resembles π: after centuries of use, the association of π with the circle constant is unavoidable, [] The second reason is that τ corresponds to one turn of a circle, and you may have noticed that “τ” and “turn” both start with a “t” sound.
  2. ^ Martin L[ewis] Perl (1977 April) Evidence for, and Properties of, the New Charged Heavy Lepton (SLAC-PUB-1923)‎[2], archived from the original on 9 July 2021, section 1 (Introduction), page 3; published in Trần Thanh Vân, editor, Proceedings of the Twelfth Rencontre de Moriond: Flaine, Haute-Savoie, France, March, 6–18, 1977 (Moriond Proceedings; 19), volumes 1 (Leptons and Multileptons), Orsay, Paris: Laboratoire de Physique Théorique et Particules Elémentaires [Laboratory of Theoretical Physics and Elementary Particles], Université de Paris-Sud, 1977, →OCLC, pages 75–97:
    Since there is now substantial evidence that it [the new elementary particle] is a lepton, we wish to designate it by a lower case Greek letter. We use because it appears to be the third charged lepton to be found and τριτον means third in Greek. We feel the old use of to designate the three pion decay mode of the K is now obsolete.

Further reading

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Anagrams

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'Are'are

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Verb

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tau

  1. to give

References

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Catalan

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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tau f (plural taus)

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

Czech

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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tau n (indeclinable)

  1. tau (Greek letter)

Further reading

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

Dutch

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Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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Noun

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tau n (plural taus, diminutive tautje n)

  1. tau (Greek letter)

Further reading

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Finnish

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Ancient Greek ταῦ (taû).

Greek letter
Ττ Previous: sigma
Next: ypsilon
Finnish Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia fi

Pronunciation

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

Noun

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tau

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

Declension

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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

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compounds

Further reading

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Anagrams

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French

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Alternative forms

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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tau m (plural tau or taus)

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

Derived terms

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Further reading

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Anagrams

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Galician

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Pronunciation

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

Noun

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tau m (plural taus)

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

References

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German Low German

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Alternative forms

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  • to (in some dialects)

Etymology

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Middle Low German .

Preposition

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tau

  1. (in some dialects) to

Derived terms

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Hokkien

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For pronunciation and definitions of tau – see (“helmet; hood; helmet-shaped; etc.”).
(This term is the pe̍h-ōe-jī form of ).
For pronunciation and definitions of tau – see (“to pick up with one's fingers pressed on both sides”).
(This term is the pe̍h-ōe-jī form of ).
For pronunciation and definitions of tau – see (“to box someone's ears; to slap someone on the face”).
(This term is the pe̍h-ōe-jī form of ).
For pronunciation and definitions of tau – see (“helmet; hood; helmet-shaped; etc.”).
(This term is the pe̍h-ōe-jī form of ).

Huichol

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Noun

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tau

  1. sun

Hungarian

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Hungarian Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia hu

Etymology

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From Ancient Greek ταῦ (taû).

Pronunciation

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

Noun

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tau (plural tauk)

  1. tau (Greek letter)

Declension

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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

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Pronunciation

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Verb

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tau

  1. ought, should

Icelandic

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Danish tøj.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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tau n (genitive singular taus, no plural)

  1. fabric
  2. clothing

Declension

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    Declension of tau
n-s singular
indefinite definite
nominative tau tauið
accusative tau tauið
dative taui tauinu
genitive taus tausins

Indonesian

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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Verb

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tau

  1. nonstandard form of tahu (to know).

Etymology 2

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Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek ταῦ (taû).

Noun

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tau

  1. tau (the letter Ττ 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

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Italian Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia it

Pronunciation

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

Noun

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tau m or f (invariable)

  1. tau (Greek letter)

Anagrams

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Japanese

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Romanization

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tau

  1. Rōmaji transcription of たう

Kambera

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Verb

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tau

  1. person
    na tau na pa-hi dà-nggu
    the person that I cried with

References

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

Kapampangan

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Alternative forms

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Etymology 1

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

Pronunciation

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

Noun

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táu

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

Etymology 2

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Pronunciation

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

Noun

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taú

  1. feast; party; banquet

Kendayan

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Numeral

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tau

  1. three

Lithuanian

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Pronoun

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tau

  1. second-person singular dative of tu

Malay

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Alternative forms

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Etymology 1

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

Pronunciation

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Verb

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tau

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

Etymology 2

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

Pronunciation

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Noun

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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

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Maori

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Etymology 1

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

Noun

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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

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

Verb

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tau

  1. to settle

Etymology 3

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

Noun

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tau (used in the form mātau)

  1. knowledge

Verb

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tau (used in the form mātau)

  1. (stative) to know

References

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

Minangkabau

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Etymology

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

Verb

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tau

  1. to know

Niuean

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Etymology 1

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

Noun

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tau

  1. year

Etymology 2

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

Verb

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tau

  1. fight

North Frisian

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North Frisian cardinal numbers
 <  1 2 3  > 
    Cardinal : tau
    Ordinal : öler

Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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From Old Frisian twā.

Numeral

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tau

  1. (Föhr-Amrum, Sylt, Heligoland) two
Alternative forms
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Coordinate terms
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Etymology 2

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From Proto-Germanic *þwahaną.

Verb

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tau

  1. (Föhr-Amrum) to wash
Conjugation
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Alternative forms
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Norwegian Bokmål

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Norwegian Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia no

Etymology 1

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From Old Norse tog (rope).

Noun

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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
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Derived terms
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Etymology 2

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Verb

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tau

  1. imperative of taue

References

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Norwegian Nynorsk

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Norwegian Nynorsk Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia nn

Etymology 1

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

Alternative forms

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Noun

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

  1. a rope
Synonyms
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Derived terms
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Etymology 2

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Norwegian Nynorsk Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia nn

Borrowed from Ancient Greek ταῦ (taû).

Noun

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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

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Anagrams

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Occitan

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Etymology

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From Latin talis.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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

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

Alternative forms

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Polish

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Polish Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia pl

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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Noun

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tau n (indeclinable)

  1. tau (Greek letter Τ, τ)

Further reading

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  • tau in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Portuguese

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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tau m (plural taus)

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

Sotho

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Noun

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tau class 9/10 (plural ditau)

  1. lion

Descendants

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  • Phuthi: idawû

Spanish

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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tau f (plural taus)

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

See also

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Further reading

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Tahitian

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Adjective

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tau

  1. some

Synonyms

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References

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Tausug

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Etymology

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From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *tau.

Pronunciation

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

Noun

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tau (Sulat Sūg spelling تَؤُ)

  1. person
  2. human

Derived terms

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Ternate

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Pronunciation

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Verb

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tau

  1. to pull

Conjugation

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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

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

Tetum

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Etymology

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

Verb

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tau

  1. to put, to place

Tocharian B

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Etymology

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From Middle Chinese (MC tuwX).[1][2]

Noun

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

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

References

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  1. ^ Adams, Douglas Q. (1999) “tau”, in A dictionary of Tocharian B (Leiden Studies in Indo-European; 10), Amsterdam, Atlanta: Rodopi, →ISBN
  2. ^
    2003, Alexander Lubotsky, Sergey Starostin, “Turkic and Chinese loan words in Tocharian”, in Bauer, Brigitte L.M., Pinault, Georges-Jean, editors, Language in Time and Space: A Festschrift for Werner Winter on the Occasion of his 80th Birthday, pages 257-269:

Tokelauan

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Pronunciation

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

Etymology 1

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From Proto-Polynesian *te-qa-u.

Determiner

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tau

  1. (alienable, definite) thy, your
See also
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Etymology 2

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

Noun

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tau

  1. season
  2. weather
  3. climate

Etymology 3

[edit]

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

Verb

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tau

  1. (transitive) to pick
Usage notes
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  • tau is used to refer to flowers and fruits, with the exception of the coconut and pandanus.

Etymology 4

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

Verb

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tau

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

Etymology 5

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

Verb

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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

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

Verb

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tau

  1. (transitive, of months) to count

Etymology 7

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

Noun

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tau

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

Etymology 8

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Noun

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tau

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

Etymology 9

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Particle

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tau

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

Etymology 10

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Particle

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tau

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

Etymology 11

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Particle

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tau

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

Etymology 12

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Verb

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tau

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

References

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

Tongan

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Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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Verb

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tau

  1. fight

Tswana

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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tau class 9/10 (plural ditau)

  1. lion

Vietnamese

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Pronunciation

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Pronoun

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tau

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

Anagrams

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Welsh

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Pronunciation

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Verb

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tau

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

Mutation

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Welsh mutation
radical soft nasal aspirate
tau dau nhau thau
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

White Hmong

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Etymology

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From Proto-Hmong-Mien *təuk, from Old Chinese (OC *tɯːɡ).[1]

Pronunciation

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Verb

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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

[edit]
  • Heimbach, Ernest E. (1979) White Hmong — English Dictionary[5], SEAP Publications, →ISBN.
  1. ^ Ratliff, Martha (2010) Hmong-Mien language history (Studies in Language Change; 8), Camberra, Australia: Pacific Linguistics, →ISBN, page 254; 283.

Woccon

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Noun

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tau

  1. fire