Etymograph

English

tanto

Tanto comes from Japanese 短刀, and goes back to Middle Chinese 短刀 ‘dagger’.

  1. Middle Chinesec. 500–1000短刀1twan^X taw‘dagger’
  2. Japanesemodern短刀1tantō
  3. Englishtodaytanto1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English tanto

Lineage

  1. Middle Chinesec. 500–1000短刀Wiktionary, English tantotwan^X taw‘dagger’
  2. Japanesemodern短刀Wiktionary, English tantotantō
  3. EnglishtodaytantoWiktionary, English tanto

Every English word from Middle Chinese 短刀

Another origin of tanto

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*só‘this’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sei‘thus, so’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtam‘so’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtantus‘of such size, of such measure’
  5. Italianc. 1300–presenttanto‘such’
  6. Englishtodaytanto

Today it means

noun A traditional Japanese small sword or knife; often used as a secondary weapon to a katana.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “tanto”. 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 / Middle Chinese 短刀 / tanto

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