Etymology

tallow

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Today it means: A hard animal fat obtained from suet, etc.; used in cooking as well as to make candles, soap and lubricants. Full definition →

Middle English talow ← Old English *tealh ← Proto-West Germanic *talg
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*del-“to flow”
  2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*talgaz
  3. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*talg
  4. Old English · inherited from*tealh
  5. Middle English · inherited fromtalow
  6. English todaytallow

From Middle English talow, talgh, from Old English *tealh, *tealg, (compare Old English tælg, telg (“dye”)), from Proto-West Germanic *talg, from Proto-Germanic *talgaz (compare Dutch talg, German Talg), from Proto-Indo-European *del- (“to flow”) (compare Middle Irish delt (“dew”), Old Armenian տեղ (teł, “heavy rain”)).

Words from the same roots

Proto-Indo-European*del- all →

tolltaletilttotterseduloustolter

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.