Etymograph

English

technique

Technique comes from French technique ‘technicality’, from Ancient Greek τεχνικός ‘of or pertaining to art, artistic, skilful’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *tetḱ- ‘to create, produce’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tetḱ-1‘to create’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*téḱ-sneh₂1reconstructed
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEτέχνη2tékhnē‘art’
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEτεχνικός2tekhnikós‘of or pertaining to art’
  5. Frenchc. 1600–presenttechnique2‘technicality’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1924technique2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek τέχνη
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English technique
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1924, HE Wortham, A Musical Odyssey: “Brahms, after realizing that the technique of the piano…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tetḱ-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek τέχνη‘to create’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*téḱ-sneh₂Wiktionary, Ancient Greek τέχνηreconstructed
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEτέχνηWiktionary, English techniquetékhnē‘art’
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEτεχνικόςWiktionary, English techniquetekhnikós‘of or pertaining to art’
  5. Frenchc. 1600–presenttechniqueWiktionary, English technique‘technicality’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1924techniqueWiktionary, English technique. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1924, HE Wortham, A Musical Odyssey: “Brahms, after realizing that the technique of the piano…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *tetḱ- ‘to create, produce’

architecture, arch, textile, pretext, 20 more

through Ancient Greek τέχνη ‘art, handicraft’

4 more

through French technique ‘technicality’

polytechnic

Today it means

noun The practical aspects of a given art, occupation etc.; formal requirements.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “technique”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Ancient Greek τέχνη. 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 *tetḱ- / technique

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