tau

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

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 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.

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

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /taʊ/, /tɔː/
• (General American) 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; reprinted as Hydriotaphia (The English Replicas), New York, N.Y.: Payson & Clarke Ltd., 1927, →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
• tau particle
• tau protein
• tauon
• tauopathy

 

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)
• 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

crosier with a Τ-shaped head

Saint Anthony’s cross — See also translations at 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

short for tau protein — See also translations at tau protein

• French: tau (fr) f

short for tau lepton or tau particle — see tauon

short for tau meson — See also translations at kaon

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

Verb

tau

1. to give

References

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

Catalan

Pronunciation

• (Balearic, Central, Valencian) IPA^(key): /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

1. tau (Greek letter)

Further reading

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

Finnish

Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek ταῦ (taû).

Greek letter

Ττ	Previous:	sigma
	Next:	ypsilon

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɑu̯/, [ˈt̪ɑu̯]
• 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
instructive		—	tauin
abessive		tautta	tauitta
comitative		—	tauineen

Possessive forms of tau (type rosé)
possessor	singular	plural
1st person	tauni	taumme
2nd person	tausi	taunne
3rd person	taunsa

Anagrams

• -tua

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

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

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tauʔ/

Verb

tau

1. ought, should

Icelandic

Etymology

Borrowed from Danish tøj.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tʰøyː/
• Rhymes: -øyː

Noun

tau n (genitive singular taus, no plural)

1. fabric
2. clothing

Declension

declension of tau

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

Indonesian

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

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

Verb

tau

1. (colloquial) to know

Etymology 2

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek ταῦ (taû).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /taʊ/

Noun

tau

1. the Greek letter tau (Τ or τ)

Further reading

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

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtaw/
• Rhymes: -aw
• Syllabification: 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 (Abecedario, obsolete)
• tawu (Súlat Wáwâ)

Etymology 1

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

Pronunciation

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

Noun

táu

1. person
2. human

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

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

Noun

taú

1. feast; party; banquet

Kendayan

Numeral

tau

1. three

---

Lithuanian

Pronoun

tau

1. (second-person singular) dative form of tu.

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

• (Kedah) 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.

Maori

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

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

Min Nan

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

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

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

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

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. imperative of taue

References

• “tau” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

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

Occitan

Etymology

From Latin talis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /taw/

• (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

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /taw/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aw
• Syllabification: tau

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

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. (physics) tauon

Sotho

Noun

tau class 9/10 (plural ditau)

1. lion

Descendants

• → Phuthi: idawû

Spanish

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

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

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.

Tausug

Etymology

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *tau.

Noun

tau

1. person
2. human

Derived terms

• pagkatau

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

Tetum

Etymology

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

Verb

tau

1. to put, to place

Tocharian B

Etymology

From Middle Chinese 斗 (MC təu^X).

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
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^[3], 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

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [taw˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [taw˧˧]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [ta(ː)w˧˧]

Pronoun

tau

1. 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

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

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^[4], SEAP Publications, →ISBN.
• Ratliff, Martha (2010) Hmong-Mien language history (Studies in Language Change; 8), Camberra, Australia: Pacific Linguistics, →ISBN.

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Woccon

Noun

tau

1. fire