Etymology

talking-to

Today it means: A scolding or reprimand; a lengthy rebuke. Full definition →

English to ← Middle English to ← Old English tō
Ask AI about its historyChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

The story

  1. Englishtalking
  2. Proto-Indo-European*de
  3. Proto-Indo-European*doh₁
  4. Proto-Germanic*tō
  5. Proto-West Germanic*tō
  6. Old Englishtō
  7. Middle Englishto
  8. Englishto
  9. English todaytalking-to

From talking + to.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.