Etymograph

English

tect

Tect comes from Latin tēctus ‘covered’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *(s)teg-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)teg-1‘to cover with a roof’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*tegō1‘to cover’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtegō2‘to cover’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtēctus2‘covered’perfect passive participle of tegō
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500tecte2‘covered, tect’
  6. Englishtodaytect2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin tego
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English tect

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)teg-Wiktionary, Latin tego‘to cover with a roof’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*tegōWiktionary, Latin tego‘to cover’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtegōWiktionary, English tect‘to cover’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtēctusWiktionary, English tect‘covered’perfect passive participle of tegō
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500tecteWiktionary, English tect‘covered, tect’
  6. EnglishtodaytectWiktionary, English tect

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *(s)teg- ‘to cover with a roof’

tile, thug, sauna, thatch, staccato, toque, 27 more

through Latin tegō ‘to cover’

detective, detection, toga, 10 more

Today it means

adj Covered; hidden.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “tect”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin tego. 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 *(s)teg- / tect

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