Etymograph

English

tokening

Tokening comes from Old English tācnung ‘signification, indication, sign,…’, and goes back to tācnian.

  1. Old Englishc. 450–1150tācnian1‘to mark, make a mark upon something’
  2. Old Englishc. 450–1150tācnung2‘signification, indication, sign, characteristic mark, symptom’
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500tokning2
  4. Englishtodaytokening2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Old English tacnung
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English tokening

Lineage

  1. Old Englishc. 450–1150tācnianWiktionary, Old English tacnung‘to mark, make a mark upon something’
  2. Old Englishc. 450–1150tācnungWiktionary, English tokening‘signification, indication, sign, characteristic mark, symptom’
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500tokningWiktionary, English tokening
  4. EnglishtodaytokeningWiktionary, English tokening

Every English word from Old English tācnian

Today it means

noun The act or process of marking or designating.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “tokening”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Old English tacnung. 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 English tācnian / tokening

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