tarry

tarry · verb, noun¹

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*derHgʰ-“to pull, tug, irritate”
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*terganą
3. Old English · inherited fromtirian
4. Middle English · inherited fromtarien
5. English todaytarry

From Middle English tarien, terien (“to vex, harass, cause to hesitate, delay”), from Old English tirian, tirġan, terġan (“to worry, exasperate, pain, provoke, excite”), from Proto-Germanic *terganą, *targijaną (“to pull, tease, irritate”), from Proto-Indo-European *derHgʰ- (“to pull, tug, irritate”). Cognate with Dutch tergen (“to provoke”), German zergen (“to vex, irritate, provoke”), Norwegian Bokmål terge (“to irritate, provoke”), Russian дёргать (djórgatʹ, “to pull, yank, jerk, pester”). Compare also Walloon tårdjî (“to be late, to be slow, to wait”). Compare typologically Czech meškat, Russian ме́шкать (méškatʹ) (akin to меша́ть (mešátʹ)), копа́ться (kopátʹsja) (akin to копа́ть (kopátʹ)).

tarry · adjective²

1. Middle English · inherited fromterrie
2. English todaytarry

From Middle English terrie, equivalent to tar + -y.

Tarry · proper noun³

Variant of Terry.