English
ticky box
From ticky (“a tick mark”) + box.
A compound of ticky ‘a tick mark’ + box
Late Latin buxis ‘box’
Proto-West Germanic *buhsā ‘box’
Old English box ‘box, case’
Middle English box ‘container’
English box
Today it means
noun A blank square on a form in which a check mark or cross may be placed in order to indicate a selection.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “ticky box”. 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 / ticky box