take (English)
Where does "take" come from?
The English word "take" traces its etymological roots back to the Proto-Indo-European *teh₂g-, meaning "to touch" or "to reach for." It reached English by way of the Proto-Germanic *tēkaną and the Old Norse taka, eventually displacing the older native English word "nim." Over time, the meaning evolved from a simple physical touch to the broader sense of grasping, seizing, and eventually the many modern figurative uses we see today.
Full etymology tree
- take (English), 'The or an act of taking.'
- inherited taken (Middle English), 'to take'
- inherited tacan (Old English), 'to take'
- borrowed taka (Old Norse), 'to take'
- inherited *tēkaną (Proto-Germanic), 'to touch'
- inherited *deh₁g- (Pre-Germanic)
- inherited *te-th₂g- (Proto-Indo-European)
- inherited *deh₁g- (Pre-Germanic)
- inherited *tēkaną (Proto-Germanic), 'to touch'
- borrowed taka (Old Norse), 'to take'
- inherited tacan (Old English), 'to take'
- inherited taken (Middle English), 'to take'
Direct ancestors
- teh₂g- (Proto-Indo-European)
- taken (Middle English)
- tacan (Old English)
- taka (Old Norse)
- tēkaną (Proto-Germanic)
- teh₂g- (Proto-Indo-European)
- nim (English)
- nimen (Middle English)
Updated July 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris