tau

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

English

Ancient Greek Alphabet

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

Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek ταῦ (taû). The physics sense was coined by American physicist Martin Perl.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /taʊ/, /tɔː/

• Audio (US):

  (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, the twenty-first letter of Old and Ancient Greek.
2. A Τ-shaped sign or structure; a Saint Anthony's cross, sometimes regarded as a sacred symbol.
   • 1658: 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. — Sir Thomas Browne, The Garden of Cyrus (Folio Society 2007, p. 168)
3. (physics, dated) A tau meson, now usually known as a kaon.
4. (physics) An unstable heavy lepton, which decays into a muon or electron; a tauon.
5. (biology) Tau protein, a type of protein that stabilizes microtubules in the human central nervous system, failures of which are associated with forms of dementia.
   • 1999, Matt Ridley, Genome, Harper Perennial 2004, p. 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.

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.
7. (mathematics, neologism) An irrational and transcendental constant representing the ratio of the circumference of a Euclidean circle to its radius, approximately 6.2831853071; equal to twice the value of pi. Often written τ.

Synonyms

• (measure of derivative price sensitivity): kappa, vega

Hypernyms

• (measure of derivative price sensitivity): Greeks (includes list of coordinate terms)

Coordinate terms

• (Greek letter): Previous: sigma. Next: upsilon

Derived terms

• tauon
• tauopathy
• tau lepton
• tau meson
• tau neutrino
• tau protein

Translations

Greek letter

• Arabic: تَاو m (taw)
• 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
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: tau (no) n

  Nynorsk: tau n

• Portuguese: tau (pt) m
• Russian: та́у (ru) n (táu)
• Spanish: tau (es) f
• Swedish: tau (sv) n
• Thai: เทา (tao), ตัฟ (dtàf)

St. Anthony's cross

• French: croix en tau f, croix de Saint-Antoine f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• German: Taukreuz (de) n, Antoniuskreuz (de) n, Antoniterkreuz n, Ägyptisches Kreuz n, Plattkreuz n (heraldry)

(dated) kaon

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

tauon — see tauon

protein that stabilises microtubules

• French: protéine tau (fr) f, tau (fr) f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• German: Tau-Protein n, Tauprotein n

Further reading

• tau on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Tau (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Tau (protein) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• AUT, UAT, UTA, Uta, aut-

---

'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

• 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.

---

Czech

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈtau̯]

Noun

tau n

1. tau (Greek letter)

Further reading

• Template:R:KNLA
• Template:R:ASCS

---

Finnish

Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek ταῦ (taû).

Greek letter

Ττ	Previous:	sigma
	Next:	ypsilon

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɑu̯/, [ˈt̪ɑ̝u̯]
• Hyphenation: tau

Noun

tau

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

Declension

For (1) in plural, only nominative case is used.

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

---

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

---

Hungarian

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ταῦ (taû).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈtɒu]
• Hyphenation: tau

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

---

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

Alternative forms

• tahu

Etymology

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

Verb

tau

1. Nonstandard spelling of tahu.

---

Italian

Noun

tau m or f (uncountable)

1. tau (Greek letter)

Anagrams

• 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

Etymology

Ultimately from Proto-Austronesian *Cau

Noun

tau

1. person
2. human

---

Lithuanian

Pronoun

tau

1. Template:lt-form-pronoun

---

Malay

Alternative forms

• tahu
• تاهو

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tau/
• Rhymes: -au, -u

Verb

tau

1. Nonstandard spelling of tahu.

---

Maori

Etymology 1

From Proto-Polynesian *taqu, from Proto-Oceanic, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *taqun (compare Malagasy taona, Indonesian tahun).

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 Malagasy tao, 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.

Noun

tau (used in the form of mātau)

1. knowledge

Verb

tau (used in the form of mātau)

1. (stative) to know

---

Min Nan

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

---

Minangkabau

Etymology

From Proto-Malayic *tahu(ʔ), from Proto-Malayo-Chamic, from Proto-Malayo-Sumbawan, from , 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 (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 *taʀuŋ (compare Indonesian tarung).

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. (deprecated template usage) imperative of taue

References

• “tau” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

---

Norwegian Nynorsk

Alternative forms

• tog

Etymology

From Old Norse tog (“rope”)

Noun

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

1. a rope
2. (physics) tau lepton
3. tau (Greek letter)

Synonyms

• (rope): reip

Derived terms

• ståltau
• taubane
• tauverk

References

• “tau” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

---

Portuguese

Noun

tau m (plural taus)

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

---

Sotho

Noun

tau class 9/10 (plural ditau)

1. lion

---

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtau/ [ˈt̪au̯]

Noun

tau f (plural taus)

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

Synonyms

• (tauon): 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

---

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.

---

Tocharian B

Noun

tau

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

---

Tongan

Etymology

From Proto-Polynesian *tau (compare Hawaiian kau, Maori tau, Niuean tau), from Proto-Oceanic, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *taʀuq (compare Indonesian taruh, Malagasy tao, Malay taruh).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ta.u/

Verb

tau

1. fight

---

Tswana

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ta.u/

Noun

tau class 9/10 (plural ditau)

1. lion

---

Vietnamese

Pronunciation

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

Pronoun

tau

1. Eye dialect spelling of tao, representing Central Vietnam Vietnamese.