tau

See also: Appendix:Variations of "tau"

Languages (51)

Translingual • English

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'Are'are • Bade • Betawi • Catalan • Czech • Dutch • Finnish • French • Galician • Hokkien • Huichol • Hungarian • Iban • Icelandic • Indonesian • Italian • Japanese • Kambera • Kapampangan • Kendayan • Lithuanian • Low German • Makasar • Malay • Mandar • Māori • Minangkabau • Niuean • North Frisian • Norwegian Bokmål • Norwegian Nynorsk • Occitan • Polish • Portuguese • Sotho • Spanish • Tagalog • Tahitian • Tausug • Ternate • Tetum • Tocharian B • Tokelauan • Tongan • Tswana • Vietnamese • Welsh • White Hmong • Woccon

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Page categories

Translingual

Etymology

Abbreviation of English Tanana, upper.

Symbol

tau

1. (international standards) ISO 639-3 language code for Upper Tanana.

See also

• Wiktionary’s coverage of Upper Tanana terms

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 7 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 (“ellipsis of 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) Ellipsis of 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. (particle physics) Chiefly written τ.
    1. Ellipsis of 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) Ellipsis of tau meson, now known as a kaon.

Derived terms

• stau
• 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 Greek: 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

ellipsis of tau protein — see also tau protein

• French: tau (fr) f

ellipsis of tau lepton or tau particle — see tauon

ellipsis of tau meson — see also kaon

See also

• (Greek-script letter names) alpha, beta, gamma, delta, epsilon, zeta, eta, theta, iota, kappa, lambda, mu, nu, xi, omicron, pi, rho, sigma, tau, upsilon, phi, chi, psi, omega

• tau-saghyz
• tau yu bak

See also

• tau huay

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tau/
• Hyphenation: tau

Verb

tau

1. to give

References

• Naitoro, Kateřina (2013) A Sketch Grammar of 'Are'are: The Sound System and Morpho-Syntax (Thesis)‎^[4], Christchurch, New Zealand: University of Canterbury, archived from the original on 2017-11-28

Bade

Alternative forms

• to (Western Bade)

Etymology

Cognate with Ngizim tau.

Verb

tau (verbal noun təʼyi)

1. eat

References

• Tarbutu, Muktar M. (2004), Schuh, Russell G., editor, Bade-English-Hausa Dictionary (Gashua Dialect)‎^[5], Potiskum: Ajami Press, page 68

Betawi

Adverb

tau

1. used to mark semelfactive aspect, indicating an action or situation that has hapenned but does not anymore

   Synonym: perna

Verb

tau

1. to know

Derived terms

• ketauan
• penauan
• tau-tau
• tauan
• tauin
• taunya

Related terms

• tau' (“I don't know; how should I know”)

Catalan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Northern, Balearic, Central, Valencia, Northwestern) [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 at prirucka.ujc.cas.cz [Academic dictionary of foreign words] (in Czech), 1995

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
• Syllabification^(key): tau
• 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]‎^[6] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 3 July 2023

Anagrams

• -tua

French

Alternative forms

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /to/

• Audio (Paris):

  (file)

• Audio (Canada (Shawinigan)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

• Homophones: taus, taux, tôt

Noun

tau m (plural tau or taus)

1. tau (Greek letter)
2. (particle 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, 2012–2026

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 be analogous to; to imitate; etc.”). (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

Alternative forms

• tauk
• tau'

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tauʔ/

Verb

tau

1. to know; to be able to do something

References

• Blust, Robert; Trussel, Stephen; et al. (2023) “*Caqu”, in the CLDF dataset from The Austronesian Comparative Dictionary (2010–), →DOI

Icelandic

Etymology

Borrowed from Danish tøj.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈtʰœiː]
• 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

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /ˈtau/ [ˈt̪a.u]
• Syllabification: ta‧u

Etymology 1

Verb

tau

1. (colloquial) alternative 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

Etymology tree

Proto-Austronesian *Cau

Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *tau

Proto-Philippine *tau

Kapampangan tau

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

Pronunciation

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

Noun

táu

1. person; human; man

   Makapabayung tau.

   Modern human.

   Pasensia na, tau kumu.

   I'm sorry, I'm only a human.

2. someone; people; human being

   Tau pu? Atin pung tau kene?.

   Is anyone here? Is somebody here?

   Tinalanga lareng tau pangabanwa.

   People look above the sky.

3. person left alone in a place as a guard or caretaker (when others are away)

   Synonyms: bante, tanud

4. boyfriend; girlfriend; lover

   Synonyms: kapalsintan, kaluguran

   Ikamung tau ku at alanang aliwa pa.

   You're my girlfriend/boyfriend and no one else.

   Kasal ne king tau na.

   S/he's already married to his/her girlfriend/boyfriend.

5. flame; blaze

   Synonym: api

Derived terms

• kasingtau
• katau
• katau-tau
• magpakatau
• makatau
• mangatau
• matatau
• matau
• matau-tau
• mipagtau-tau
• mitatau
• mitau
• mitau-tau
• pamikatauan
• pantau
• pangakatau
• pangakatauan
• pangatau
• tau-tau

Related terms

• balintatau
• katauan
• Tausug
• telataung-mata

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

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

Noun

taú

1. feast; party; banquet

   Synonyms: apag, diwang, pamagsaya

   Pangakayaldawanang magtau ka?

   Will you be preparing food and inviting guests for your birthday?

   Mikipamagtao?

   Is there a feast?

Derived terms

• magpatau
• magtau
• mamagtau
• mantau
• mikatau
• mikitau

Kendayan

Numeral

tau

1. three

Lithuanian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [¹ˈtɑˑʊ]
• Rhymes: -ɑˑʊ
• Syllabification: táu

Pronoun

táu

1. second-person singular dative of tu

Low German

Alternative forms

• to (northwestern dialects and Münsterland)
• tou, täo (eastern Westphalian)

Etymology

Middle Low German tô.

Preposition

tau (some dialects, including Pomeranian, Mecklenburgisch, Eastphalian, Sauerland)

1. to

Derived terms

• taum
• taun
• taur

Makasar

Pronunciation

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

Etymology 1

From Inherited from Proto-South Sulawesi *tau, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *tau, from Proto-Austronesian *Cau.

Noun

tau (Lontara spelling ᨈᨕᨘ or 𑻦𑻱𑻴, definite taua)

1. people, person, man
2. slave, laborer, coolie

Derived terms

Affixations

• attau
• katauang
• pattau toàng
• pattauang
• tau-tau
• tauang

Compounds

• rupa tau
• tannga tau
• tau romang

Etymology 2

Inherited from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *taqu, from Proto-Austronesian *Caqu (“to know how, be able to, be skilled at”).

Adjective

tau (Lontara spelling ᨈᨕᨘ or 𑻦𑻱𑻴)

1. friendly, amicably, being familiar with someone.
2. tame, domesticated

Derived terms

• appattau
• pakatau
• pakatauang
• tauang

Root

tau (Lontara spelling ᨈᨕᨘ or 𑻦𑻱𑻴)

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

Derived terms

• appattau
• pattau
• pattauang

Further reading

• A. A. Cense (2024), Makassaars-Nederlands woordenboek‎^[7], Brill, →DOI

Malay

Etymology 1

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtau/ [ˈt̪a.u], /ˈtaw/ [ˈt̪au̯]
• Rhymes: -u, -au̯
• Hyphenation: ta‧u, tau

Verb

tau (Jawi spelling تاو)

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

Etymology 2

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtaw/ [ˈt̪au̯]
• Rhymes: -au̯
• Hyphenation: tau

Noun

tau (Jawi spelling تاو, plural tau-tau)

1. the Greek letter tau (Τ or τ)

Further reading

• "tau" in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu (PRPM) [Malay Literary Reference Centre (PRPM)] (in Malay), Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017
  (also see "tau" at PRPM first version)

Etymology 3

Borrowed from Hokkien 豆 (tāu).

Noun

tau (Jawi spelling تاو, plural tau-tau)

1. (attributive) bean
   1. especially soybean

See also

• taucu
• tauge
• tauhu
• tauyu

Mandar

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *tau, from Proto-Austronesian *Cau.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tau/

Noun

tau

1. human, person

References

• Nadia Almira Sagitta (2016), Kamus Mandar-Indonesia‎^[8], page 24

Māori

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtau/ [ˈtɐʉ]

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

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

Minangkabau

Etymology

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

Verb

tau

1. to know

Further reading

• Blust, Robert; Trussel, Stephen; et al. (2023) “*Caqu”, in the CLDF dataset from The Austronesian Comparative Dictionary (2010–), →DOI

Niuean

Etymology 1

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

Noun

tau

1. season
2. year

Etymology 2

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

Verb

tau

1. (transitive) to fight

Noun

tau

1. war

References

• Wolfgang B. Sperlich, editor (1997), Tohi Vagahau Niue—Niue Language Dictionary‎^[9], Honolulu: University of Hawaiʻi Press, →ISBN, page 302

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tæʉ̯/

Etymology 1

Inherited from Danish toug (now spelt tov), from Old Norse tog, from Proto-Germanic *tugą. The unusual spelling ⟨oug⟩ was pronounced according to dialectal Norwegian (as in baug, plog). Underlying dialectal forms continue the Old Norse ablaut variant taug, from Proto-Germanic *taugō. Standardized as taug in 1907, the spelling was altered to tau in 1917.

Cognate with Swedish tåg (from *tugą) and Icelandic taug (from *taugō). Closely related also with Norwegian tog (“train”), which comes via Middle Low German from *tugiz, a stem variant of *tugą. All ultimately from the root of *teuhaną (“to pull”). To the contrary, the similarity with Dutch touw, German Tau (“strong rope”) is merely accidental (although this West Germanic word did influence the Scandinavian one, e.g. in compounds like tauverk).

Noun

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

1. a rope

   Synonym: rep (reip)

Derived terms

• ståltau
• taubane
• tauverk

Etymology 2

Ultimately from Ancient Greek ταῦ (taû).

Noun

tau m (definite singular tauen, indefinite plural tauer, definite plural tauene)

1. tau (Greek letter)
2. (physics) tau lepton

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

tau

1. imperative of taue

References

• “tau” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
• “tau” in Norwegian Academy Dictionary (NAOB).

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 (Gascony):

  (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

Etymology tree

Phoenician 𐤕 (t /⁠taw⁠/)

Ancient Greek ταῦ (taû)lbor.

Polish tau

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^[10] (in Polish)

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. (particle physics) tauon

Further reading

• “tau”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “tau”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Sotho

Noun

tau class 9/10 (plural ditau)

1. lion

Descendants

• → Phuthi: idawû

Spanish

Etymology

Derived from Ancient Greek ταῦ (taû) and Hebrew תָּו (tav).

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

3. tau cross

Noun

tau m (plural taus)

1. taw (22nd and last letter of the Hebrew alphabet)
2. alternative form of tao (“tau cross”).

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

• leptons: electrón · muon · tau/tauón · neutrino (neutrino electrónico · neutrino muónico · neutrino tauónico) ^[edit]

Further reading

• “tau”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025

Tagalog

Pronoun

tau (Baybayin spelling ᜆᜌᜓ) (text messaging)

1. abbreviation of tayo

Tahitian

Adjective

tau

1. some

Synonyms

• nau

References

• Lemaître, Yves (1995), Lexique du tahitien contemporain [Current Tahitian lexicon]‎^[11] (in French), Paris: Éditions de l'Orstom, →ISBN
• “tau” in Dictionnaire en ligne Tahitien/Français (Online Tahitian–French Dictionary), by the Tahitian Academy.

Tausug

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Austronesian *Cau

Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *tau

Proto-Philippine *tau

Tausug tau

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

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
• tau-tau mata
• Tausūg

Ternate

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈta.u]

Verb

tau

1. to pull

Conjugation

Conjugation of tau

		singular	plural
			inclusive	exclusive
1st person		totau	fotau	mitau
2nd person		notau	nitau
3rd person	masculine	otau	itau yotau (archaic)
	feminine	motau
	neuter	itau

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 Māori 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
	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
	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
	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
	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 Māori 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^[12], 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^[13], SEAP Publications, →ISBN.

Woccon

Noun

tau

1. fire