Etymograph

English

tey

Tey comes from Middle English teies, and goes back to Old French teise.

  1. Old Frenchc. 842–1400teise1
  2. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400teice1
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500teies1
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1866tey1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English tey
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1866, James Edwin Thorold Rogers, A History of Agriculture and Prices in England: “The tey or toise, the modern fathom, is employed…”.

Lineage

  1. Old Frenchc. 842–1400teiseWiktionary, English tey
  2. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400teiceWiktionary, English tey
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500teiesWiktionary, English tey
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1866teyWiktionary, English tey. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1866, James Edwin Thorold Rogers, A History of Agriculture and Prices in England: “The tey or toise, the modern fathom, is employed…”

Every English word from Old French teise

Today it means

noun An English measure of length for rope, perhaps equivalent to the fathom.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “tey”. 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 / Old French teise / tey

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