tau

See also: Tau, TAU, tàu, Tàu, tãu, tău, taʻu, ta'u, täü, and тау

English

WOTD – 28 June 2022

Etymology

Ancient Greek Alphabet

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

A tau (sense 2) 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 6) units.

An image of neurons. The taus or tau proteins (sense 7) are stained red.

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

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

• IPA^(key): /taʊ/, /tɔː/
• IPA^(key): /taʊ/, /tɔ/

• Audio (GA):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aʊ, -ɔː

Noun

tau (plural taus)

1. The letter Τ/τ in the Greek, Hebrew, and ancient Semitic alphabets; being the nineteenth letter of the Classical and Modern Greek, and the twenty-first letter of the Old and Ancient Greek alphabets.
2. 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.
3. The ankh symbol (☥).

   Synonym: crux ansata

4. (astronomy) Chiefly written τ: used to designate the nineteenth star (usually according to brightness) in a constellation.
5. (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)

6. (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).
7. (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.

8. (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 cross
• tau lepton
• tau meson
• tau neutrino
• tauon
• tauopathy
• tau particle
• tau protein

 

Translations

the letter Τ/τ in the Greek, Hebrew, and ancient Semitic alphabets

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

  Mandarin: 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)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• 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: та́у (ru) n (táu)
• Spanish: tau (es) f
• Swedish: tau (sv) n
• Thai: เทา (th) (tao), ตัฟ (dtàf)
• Ukrainian: та́у n (táu), та́в n (táv)
• Welsh: tau f

Τ-shaped object or sign

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

crosier with a Τ-shaped head

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

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

• French: croix en tau f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• German: Taukreuz (de) n

ankh symbol — see ankh

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

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

irrational and transcendental constant equal to twice the value of pi

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

short for tau protein — see also tau protein

• French: tau (fr) f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

short for tau lepton or tau particle — see tauon

short for tau meson — see also kaon

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

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

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'Are'are

Verb

tau

1. to give

References

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

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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.

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Czech

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈtau̯]

Noun

tau n

1. tau (Greek letter)

Further reading

• Template:R:KNLA
• Template:R:ASCS

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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

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

Anagrams

• -tua

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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

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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

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Huichol

Noun

tau

1. sun

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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

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Iban

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): tauʔ

Verb

tau

1. ought, should

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Icelandic

Etymology

Borrowed from Danish tøj.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tʰøyː/
• Rhymes: -øyː

Noun

tau n (genitive singular taus, no plural)

1. fabric
2. clothing

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Indonesian

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ta.ʊ/
• Hyphenation: ta.u

Verb

tau

1. Nonstandard spelling of tahu.

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /taʊ/

Noun

tau

1. the Greek letter tau (Τ or τ)

Further reading

• “tau” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

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Italian

Pronunciation

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

Noun

tau m or f (invariable)

1. tau (Greek letter)

Anagrams

• -uta, tua

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Japanese

Romanization

tau

1. Rōmaji transcription of たう

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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

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Kapampangan

Etymology

Ultimately from Proto-Austronesian *Cau

Noun

tau

1. person
2. human

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Lithuanian

Pronoun

tau

1. Template:lt-form-pronoun

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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

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

Verb

tau

1. Nonstandard spelling of tahu.

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.

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Maori

Etymology 1

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

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.

Verb

tau

1. to settle

Etymology 3

From Proto-Polynesian *tau, from Proto-Oceanic, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *taqu, from Proto-Austronesian *Caqu.

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.

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Min Nan

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

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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

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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

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North Frisian

North Frisian cardinal numbers

<  1	2	3  >
Cardinal : tau     Ordinal : öler

Etymology

From Old Frisian twā. Compare Mooring North Frisian twäär, tou.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /tau/

Numeral

tau

1. (Föhr-Amrum, Heligoland, Sylt) two

Coordinate terms

Cardinal numbers from 1 till 99

	—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	eenantwuntig	tauantwuntig	triiantwuntig	fjauerantwuntig	fiiwantwuntig	seeksantwuntig	sööwenantwuntig	aachtantwuntig	njüügenantwuntig
3—	dörtig	eenandörtig	tauandörtig	triiandörtig	fjauerandörtig	fiiwandörtig	seeksandörtig	sööwenandörtig	aachtandörtig	njüügenandörtig
4—	fiartig	eenanfiartig	tauanfiartig	triianfiartig	fjaueranfiartig	fiiwanfiartig	seeksanfiartig	sööwenanfiartig	aachtanfiartig	njüügenanfiartig
5—	föftig	eenanföftig	tauanföftig	triianföftig	fjaueranföftig	fiiwanföftig	seeksanföftig	sööwenanföftig	aachtanföftig	njüügenanföftig
6—	söstig	eenansöstig	tauansöstig	triiansöstig	fjaueransöstig	fiiwansöstig	seeksansöstig	sööwenansöstig	aachtansöstig	njüügenansöstig
7—	sööwentig	eenansööwentig	tauansööwentig	triiansööwentig	fjaueransööwentig	fiiwansööwentig	seeksansööwentig	sööwenansööwentig	aachtansööwentig	njüügenansööwentig
8—	tachentig	eenantachentig	tauantachentig	triiantachentig	fjauerantachentig	fiiwantachentig	seeksantachentig	sööwenantachentig	aachtantachentig	njüügenantachentig
9—	neegentig	eenanneegentig	tauanneegentig	triianneegentig	fjaueranneegentig	fiiwanneegentig	seeksanneegentig	sööwenanneegentig	aachtanneegentig	njüügenanneegentig

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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. (deprecated template usage) imperative of taue

References

• “tau” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

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Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology 1

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

Alternative forms

• tog (superseeded)

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

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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

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Polish

Etymology

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

Noun

tau n (indeclinable)

1. tau (Greek letter Τ, τ)

Further reading

• tau in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• tau in Polish dictionaries at PWN

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Portuguese

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈtaw/ [ˈtaʊ̯]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈtaw/

• Rhymes: -aw
• Hyphenation: tau

Noun

tau m (plural taus)

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

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Sotho

Noun

tau class 9/10 (plural ditau)

1. lion

Descendants

• → Phuthi: idawû

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Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtau/ [ˈt̪au̯]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

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, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014

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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.

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Tausug

Etymology

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *tau.

Noun

tau

1. person
2. human

Derived terms

• pagkatau

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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

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Tetum

Etymology

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

Verb

tau

1. to put, to place

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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

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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^[2], Auckland: Office of Tokelau Affairs, page 342

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Tongan

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ta.u/

Verb

tau

1. fight

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Tswana

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ta.u/

Noun

tau class 9/10 (plural ditau)

1. lion

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Vietnamese

Pronunciation

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

Pronoun

tau

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

Anagrams

• tua

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Welsh

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /taɨ̯/
• IPA^(key): /tai̞/

Verb

tau

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

Mutation

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.

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White Hmong

Etymology

From Proto-Hmong *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^[3], SEAP Publications, →ISBN.
• Ratliff, Martha (2010) Hmong-Mien language history (Studies in Language Change; 8), Camberra, Australia: Pacific Linguistics, →ISBN.