Etymology

tit for tat

Today it means: Equivalent retribution; an act of returning exactly what one gets; an eye for an eye. Full definition →

First used late 19th c.Dutch dit voor dat ← French tant pour tant
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tit for tat · noun1

  1. French · derived fromtant pour tant“equal for equal”
  2. Dutch · derived fromdit voor dat“this for that”
  3. English todaytit for tat

Uncertain; conjectured to be ultimately from Dutch dit voor dat (“this for that”) or French tant pour tant (“equal for equal”). Compare earlier tip for tap (“(a) blow for (a) blow”), from tip + tap; compare also dialectal tint for tant and tit (“a light blow or hit”). The vowel sequence follows a typical ablaut reduplication pattern.

tit for tat · noun2

Tit for tat is a rhyme for hat.

First known use, by meaning

  • from late 19th c. A hat.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.