tact

tact · noun¹

1. Latin · derived fromtāctus“touched”
2. French · borrowed fromtact
3. English todaytact

Borrowed from French tact, following a semantic shift from earlier tact (“sense of touch; feeling”), borrowed from Latin tāctus (“touched”). The borrowing was likely influenced by earlier English tact (“sense of touch; feeling”), which was a parallel borrowing directly from the Latin.

tact · noun, verb²

1. Latin · borrowed fromtāctus
2. English todaytact

Directly borrowed from Latin tāctus.

Words from the same roots

First known use, by meaning

• from early 19th c. Sensitive mental touch; special skill or faculty; keen perception or discernment; ready power of appreciating and doing what is required by circumstances; the ability to say the right thing and avoid statements that will give offence or pain even if true.
• from 1650s The sense of touch; feeling.