Etymograph

English

tanda

Tanda comes from Spanish tanda ‘time, instance’, from Latin tandem ‘used also as an adverbial intensifier of…’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *só ‘this’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*só1‘this’uncertain
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sei1‘thus, so’uncertain
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtam1‘so, so much, to such an extent, to such a degree’uncertain
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtandem1‘used also as an adverbial intensifier of interrogatives to a somewhat greater degree than…’uncertain
  5. Spanishc. 1500–presenttanda2‘time, instance’literally ‘turn’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 2007tanda2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Spanish tanda
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English tanda
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2007, Glenn Collins, Tangoing Cheek to Cheek for 3 Minutes in the Park: “The disc jockey, Hernan Brizuela, 33, was playing sets,…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sóWiktionary, Spanish tanda‘this’uncertain
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*seiWiktionary, Spanish tanda‘thus, so’uncertain
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtamWiktionary, Spanish tanda‘so, so much, to such an extent, to such a degree’uncertain
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtandemWiktionary, Spanish tanda‘used also as an adverbial intensifier of interrogatives to a somewhat greater degree than…’uncertain
  5. Spanishc. 1500–presenttandaWiktionary, English tanda‘time, instance’literally ‘turn’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 2007tandaWiktionary, English tanda. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2007, Glenn Collins, Tangoing Cheek to Cheek for 3 Minutes in the Park: “The disc jockey, Hernan Brizuela, 33, was playing sets,…”

The story

Borrowed from Spanish tanda (literally “turn”).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *só ‘this’

then, these, soon, thereabouts, 5 more

through Proto-Italic *sei ‘thus, so’

sic

through Latin tam ‘so, so much, to such an extent, to such a degree’

contamination, contaminate, contaminant, tanto

through Latin tandem ‘used also as an adverbial intensifier of…’

tandem

Today it means

noun A turn of dancing in a milonga or tango; a music set or broadcast corresponding to such a turn.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “tanda”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Spanish tanda. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *só / tanda

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