tau

See also: Tau, TAU, tàu, Tàu, tãu, tău, Tău, taʻu, ta'u, and täü

English

WOTD – 28 June 2022

Etymology

**Ancient Greek Alphabet**
← sigma		→ upsilon
Τ τ Ancient Greek: ταῦ
Wikipedia article on tau

A tau (sense 2) used as the symbol of the Hospital Brothers of Saint Anthony in the Antoniterkloster Höchst, a former monastery in Höchst, a quarter of Frankfurt am Main, Hesse, Germany.

When a circle’s radius is 1 unit, its circumference is twice the value of pi (2π) or tau (τ; sense 6) units.

An image of neurons. The taus or tau proteins (sense 7) are stained red.

From Middle English tau, taue, from Latin tau, from Ancient Greek ταῦ (taû) and Hebrew תָּו (tav).

Sense 6 (“mathematical constant equal to 2π”) was used by Joseph M. Lindenberg in 1991, and popularized by the American educator and entrepreneur Michael Hartl in a 2010 paper which explains that τ resembles π; and that τ is the Greek equivalent of t, the first letter of turn, and 2π corresponds to one turn of a circle with a radius of one unit.[1]

Sense 8.1 (“short for tau lepton or tau particle”) was coined by the American physicist Martin Lewis Perl (1927–2014) after the first letter of Ancient Greek τρίτον (tríton, “third”), since the tau lepton or tauon was the third charged lepton discovered.[2]

Pronunciation

(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /taʊ/, /tɔː/
(General American) IPA^(key): /taʊ/, /tɔ/
Audio (GA) (file)
Rhymes: -aʊ, -ɔː

Noun

tau (plural taus)

The letter Τ/τ in the Greek, Hebrew, and ancient Semitic alphabets; being the nineteenth letter of the Classical and Modern Greek, and the twenty-first letter of the Old and Ancient Greek alphabets.
A Τ-shaped object or sign; a Saint Anthony's cross, sometimes regarded as a sacred symbol.
- 1658, Thomas Browne, “The Garden of Cyrus. […]. Chapter I.”, in Hydriotaphia, Urne-buriall, […] Together with The Garden of Cyrus, […], London: […] Hen[ry] Brome […], OCLC 48702491; reprinted as Hydriotaphia (The English Replicas), New York, N.Y.: Payson & Clarke Ltd., 1927, OCLC 78413388, page 96:
  Nor ſhall we take in the myſticall Tau, or the Croſſe of our bleſſed Saviour, which having in ſome deſcriptions an Empedon or croſſing foot-ſtay, made not one ſingle tranſverſion.
1. (Christianity) A crosier with a Τ-shaped head.
The ankh symbol (☥).
Synonym: crux ansata
(astronomy) Chiefly written τ: used to designate the nineteenth star (usually according to brightness) in a constellation.
(finance) A measurement of the sensitivity of the value of an option to changes in the implied volatility of the price of the underlying asset.
Synonyms: kappa, vega
Hypernym: Greeks (includes a list of coordinate terms)
(mathematics, neologism) Chiefly written τ: an irrational and transcendental constant representing the ratio of the circumference of a Euclidean circle to its radius, equal to twice the value of pi (2π; approximately 6.2831853071).
(neurology) Short for tau protein (“a protein abundant especially in the neurons of the human central nervous system that stabilizes microtubules, and when misfolded is associated with forms of dementia such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases”).
- 1999, Matt Ridley, Genome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters, London: Harper Perennial, published 2004, →ISBN, page 263:
  Quite what that job is remains obscure, but one theory is that it is to stabilise another protein called tau, which is supposed in turn to keep in shape the tubular ‘skeleton’ of a neuron.
(physics) Chiefly written τ.
1. Short for tau lepton or tau particle (“an unstable elementary particle which is a type of lepton, having a mass almost twice that of a proton, a negative charge, and a spin of ½; it decays into hadrons (usually pions) or other leptons, and neutrinos; a tauon”).
2. (historical) Short for tau meson, now known as a kaon.

Derived terms

tau cross
tau lepton
tau meson
tau neutrino
tauon
tauopathy
tau particle
tau protein

Translations

the letter Τ/τ in the Greek, Hebrew, and ancient Semitic alphabets

Arabic: تَاو‎ m (tāw)
Catalan: tau (ca) f
Chinese:
Mandarin: 套 (zh) (tào)
Czech: tau n
Danish: tau (da) n
Dutch: tau (nl) m or f
Esperanto: taŭo (eo)
Finnish: tau (fi)
French: tau (fr) m
Georgian: ტაუ (ṭau)
German: Tau (de) n
Greek: ταυ (el) n (taf)
Ancient: ταῦ n (taû)
Hebrew: טָאוּ‎ f (tau)
Hungarian: tau (hu)
Icelandic: tá (is) n
Interlingua: tau
Italian: tau (it) m or f
Japanese: タウ (ja) (tau)
Korean: 타우 (ko) (tau)
Malay: tau (ms)
Norwegian:
Bokmål: tau (no) n
Nynorsk: tau n
Polish: tau (pl) n
Portuguese: tau (pt) m
Russian: та́у (ru) n (táu)
Spanish: tau (es) f
Swedish: tau (sv) n
Thai: เทา (th) (tao), ตัฟ (dtàf)
Ukrainian: та́у n (táu), та́в n (táv)
Welsh: tau f

Τ-shaped object or sign

crosier with a Τ-shaped head

Saint Anthony’s cross — See also translations at Saint Anthony's cross

French: croix en tau f
German: Taukreuz (de) n

ankh symbol — see ankh

used to designate the nineteenth (usually the nineteenth brightest) star in a constellation

irrational and transcendental constant equal to twice the value of pi

short for tau protein — See also translations at tau protein

French: tau (fr) f

short for tau lepton or tau particle — see tauon

short for tau meson — See also translations at kaon

References

Michael Hartl (28 June 2010, updated 28 June 2020), “The Tau Manifesto”, in Tauday.com‎, archived from the original on 2022-01-30, section 4.1 (One Turn):
There are two main reasons to use τ for the circle constant. The first is that τ visually resembles π: after centuries of use, the association of π with the circle constant is unavoidable, […] The second reason is that τ corresponds to one turn of a circle, and you may have noticed that “τ” and “turn” both start with a “t” sound.
Martin L[ewis] Perl (April 1977) Evidence for, and Properties of, the New Charged Heavy Lepton (SLAC-PUB-1923)‎, archived from the original on 2021-07-09, section 1 (Introduction), page 3; published in Trần Thanh Vân, editor, Proceedings of the Twelfth Rencontre de Moriond: Flaine, Haute-Savoie, France, March, 6–18, 1977 (Moriond Proceedings; 19), volume 1 (Leptons and Multileptons), Orsay, Paris: Laboratoire de Physique Théorique et Particules Elémentaires [Laboratory of Theoretical Physics and Elementary Particles], Université de Paris-Sud, 1977, OCLC 634313954, pages 75–97:
Since there is now substantial evidence that it [the new elementary particle] is a lepton, we wish to designate it by a lower case Greek letter. We use ${\\displaystyle \\tau ^{\\pm }}$ because it appears to be the third charged lepton to be found and τριτον means third in Greek. We feel the old use of ${\\displaystyle \\tau }$ to designate the three pion decay mode of the K is now obsolete.

Anagrams

AUT, UAT, UTA, Uta, aut-, uta

'Are'are

Verb

tau

to give

References

Kateřina Naitoro, A Sketch Grammar of 'Are'are: The Sound System and Morpho-Syntax (2013)

Catalan

Pronunciation

(Balearic, Central, Valencian) IPA^(key): /ˈtaw/
Rhymes: -aw

Noun

tau f (plural taus)

Tau; the Greek letter Τ (lowercase τ).
Tav; the Hebrew letter ת‎.
(religion) A tau cross.

Czech

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ˈtau̯]

Noun

tau n

tau (Greek letter)

Finnish

Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek ταῦ (taû).

Greek letter
Ττ	Previous:	sigma
Ττ	Next:	ypsilon

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈtɑu̯/, [ˈt̪ɑu̯]
Rhymes: -ɑu
Syllabification^(key): tau

Noun

tau

tau (Greek letter)
tauon, tau (elementary particle)

Declension

Inflection of tau (Kotus type 21/rosé, no gradation)
nominative		tau	taut
genitive		taun	tauiden tauitten
partitive		tauta	tauita
illative		tauhun	tauihin
		singular	plural
nominative		tau	taut
accusative	nom.	tau	taut
accusative	gen.	taun	taut
genitive		taun	tauiden tauitten
partitive		tauta	tauita
inessive		taussa	tauissa
elative		tausta	tauista
illative		tauhun	tauihin
adessive		taulla	tauilla
ablative		taulta	tauilta
allative		taulle	tauille
essive		tauna	tauina
translative		tauksi	tauiksi
instructive		—	tauin
abessive		tautta	tauitta
comitative		—	tauineen

Possessive forms of tau (type rosé)
possessor	singular	plural
1st person	tauni	taumme
2nd person	tausi	taunne
3rd person	taunsa

Anagrams

-tua

French

Alternative forms

(in the plural) taus (1990 spelling reform)

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /to/
Audio (Paris) (file)
Homophones: taus, taux, tôt

Noun

tau m (plural tau or taus)

tau (Greek letter)
(physics) tau, tauon

Derived terms

tauique

Anagrams

tua

German Low German

Alternative forms

to (in some dialects)

Etymology

Middle Low German tô.

Preposition

tau

(in some dialects) to

Derived terms

taum
taun
taur

Huichol

Noun

tau

sun

Hungarian

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ταῦ (taû).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ˈtɒu]
Hyphenation: tau
Rhymes: -u

Noun

tau (plural tauk)

tau (Greek letter)

Declension

Inflection (stem in long/high vowel, back harmony)
	singular	plural
nominative	tau	tauk
accusative	taut	taukat
dative	taunak	tauknak
instrumental	tauval	taukkal
causal-final	tauért	taukért
translative	tauvá	taukká
terminative	tauig	taukig
essive-formal	tauként	taukként
essive-modal	—	—
inessive	tauban	taukban
superessive	taun	taukon
adessive	taunál	tauknál
illative	tauba	taukba
sublative	taura	taukra
allative	tauhoz	taukhoz
elative	tauból	taukból
delative	tauról	taukról
ablative	tautól	tauktól
non-attributive possessive - singular	taué	tauké
non-attributive possessive - plural	tauéi	taukéi

Possessive forms of tau
possessor	single possession	multiple possessions
1st person sing.	taum	tauim
2nd person sing.	taud	tauid
3rd person sing.	tauja	taui
1st person plural	taunk	tauink
2nd person plural	tautok	tauitok
3rd person plural	taujuk	tauik

Iban

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /tauʔ/

Verb

tau

ought, should

Icelandic

Etymology

Borrowed from Danish tøj.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /tʰøyː/
Rhymes: -øyː

Noun

tau n (genitive singular taus, no plural)

fabric
clothing

Declension

declension of tau

	indefinite	definite
n-s	singular
nominative	tau	tauið
accusative	tau	tauið
dative	taui	tauinu
genitive	taus	tausins

Indonesian

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ta.ʊ/
Hyphenation: ta.u

Verb

tau

(colloquial) to know

Etymology 2

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek ταῦ (taû).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /taʊ/

Noun

tau

the Greek letter tau (Τ or τ)

Italian

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈtaw/
Rhymes: -aw
Hyphenation: tàu

Noun

tau m or f (invariable)

tau (Greek letter)

Anagrams

-uta, tua

Japanese

Romanization

tau

Rōmaji transcription of たう

Kambera

Verb

tau

person
na tau na pa-hi dà-nggu
the person that I cried with

References

Marian Klamer (1998) A Grammar of Kambera, Berlin, New York: Mouton de Gruyter, →ISBN, page 328

Kapampangan

Alternative forms

tauo (Abecedario, obsolete)
tawu (Súlat Wáwâ)

Etymology 1

From Proto-Philippine *tau, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *tau, from Proto-Austronesian *Cau.

Pronunciation

Hyphenation: ta‧u

IPA^(key): /ˈtau/, [ˈtäː.o]

Noun

táu

person
human

Pronunciation

Hyphenation: ta‧u

IPA^(key): /təˈu/, [təˈoː]

Noun

taú

feast; party; banquet

Lithuanian

Pronoun

tau

(second-person singular) dative form of tu.

Malay

Alternative forms

tahu
تاهو

Etymology 1

From Proto-Malayic *tahu(ʔ), from Proto-Malayo-Chamic, from Proto-Malayo-Sumbawan, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *taqu, from Proto-Austronesian *Caqu.

Pronunciation

(Kedah) IPA^(key): /tau/
IPA^(key): /ta.u/
Rhymes: -au, -u

Verb

tau

Nonstandard spelling of tahu.

Etymology 2

Borrowed from English tau, from Ancient Greek ταῦ (taû).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /tau/

Noun

tau (Jawi spelling تاو‎, plural tau-tau, informal 1st possessive tauku, 2nd possessive taumu, 3rd possessive taunya)

the Greek letter tau (Τ or τ)

Maori

Etymology 1

From Proto-Polynesian *taqu (compare Hawaiian kau), from Proto-Oceanic, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *taqun (compare Malay tahun, Tagalog taón).

Noun

tau

year (time it takes for the Earth to complete one revolution of the Sun)
year (time it takes for any planetary body to make one revolution around another body)
year (a period between set dates that mark a year)
year (scheduled part of a calendar year spent in a specific activity)
year (Julian year)
year (level or grade at school or college)

Etymology 2

From Proto-Polynesian *tau, from Proto-Oceanic, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *taʀuq (compare Malay taruh).

Verb

tau

to settle

Etymology 3

From Proto-Polynesian *tau, from Proto-Oceanic, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *taqu, from Proto-Austronesian *Caqu (compare Malay tahu).

Noun

tau (used in the form mātau)

knowledge

Verb

tau (used in the form mātau)

(stative) to know

References

“tau” in John C. Moorfield, Te Aka: Maori-English, English-Maori Dictionary and Index, 3rd edition, Longman/Pearson Education New Zealand, 2011, →ISBN.

Min Nan

For pronunciation and definitions of tau – see 兜 (“home; nearby”). (This character, tau, is the Pe̍h-ōe-jī form of 兜.)

Minangkabau

Etymology

From Proto-Malayic *tahu(ʔ), from Proto-Malayo-Chamic, from Proto-Malayo-Sumbawan, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *taqu, from Proto-Austronesian *Caqu.

Verb

tau

to know

Niuean

Etymology 1

From Proto-Polynesian *taqu, from Proto-Oceanic, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *taqun.

Noun

tau

year

Etymology 2

From Proto-Polynesian *tau, from Proto-Oceanic, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *taʀuŋ.

Verb

tau

fight

North Frisian

**North Frisian cardinal numbers**
< 1	2	3 >
Cardinal : tau Ordinal : öler

Etymology

From Old Frisian twā. Compare Mooring North Frisian twäär, tou.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /tau/

Numeral

tau

(Föhr-Amrum, Heligoland, Sylt) two

Coordinate terms

Cardinal numbers from 1 till 99

	—0	—1	—2	—3	—4	—5	—6	—7	—8	—9
0—	nol	een	tau	trii	fjauer	fiiw	seeks	sööwen	aacht	njüügen
1—	tjiin	elwen	twaalew	tretanj	fjauertanj	füftanj	seekstanj	sööwentanj	aagetanj	njüügentanj
2—	twuntig	eenantwuntig	tauantwuntig	triiantwuntig	fjauerantwuntig	fiiwantwuntig	seeksantwuntig	sööwenantwuntig	aachtantwuntig	njüügenantwuntig
3—	dörtig	eenandörtig	tauandörtig	triiandörtig	fjauerandörtig	fiiwandörtig	seeksandörtig	sööwenandörtig	aachtandörtig	njüügenandörtig
4—	fiartig	eenanfiartig	tauanfiartig	triianfiartig	fjaueranfiartig	fiiwanfiartig	seeksanfiartig	sööwenanfiartig	aachtanfiartig	njüügenanfiartig
5—	föftig	eenanföftig	tauanföftig	triianföftig	fjaueranföftig	fiiwanföftig	seeksanföftig	sööwenanföftig	aachtanföftig	njüügenanföftig
6—	söstig	eenansöstig	tauansöstig	triiansöstig	fjaueransöstig	fiiwansöstig	seeksansöstig	sööwenansöstig	aachtansöstig	njüügenansöstig
7—	sööwentig	eenansööwentig	tauansööwentig	triiansööwentig	fjaueransööwentig	fiiwansööwentig	seeksansööwentig	sööwenansööwentig	aachtansööwentig	njüügenansööwentig
8—	tachentig	eenantachentig	tauantachentig	triiantachentig	fjauerantachentig	fiiwantachentig	seeksantachentig	sööwenantachentig	aachtantachentig	njüügenantachentig
9—	neegentig	eenanneegentig	tauanneegentig	triianneegentig	fjaueranneegentig	fiiwanneegentig	seeksanneegentig	sööwenanneegentig	aachtanneegentig	njüügenanneegentig

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology 1

From Old Norse tog (rope).

Noun

tau n (definite singular tauet, indefinite plural tau, definite plural taua or tauene)

a rope
(physics) tau lepton
tau (Greek letter)

Synonyms

(rope): rep, reip

Derived terms

ståltau
taubane
tauverk

Verb

tau

imperative of taue

References

“tau” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology 1

From earlier and Old Norse tog (“rope”), from Proto-Germanic *taugō.

Alternative forms

tog (superseeded)

Noun

tau n (definite singular tauet, indefinite plural tau, definite plural taua)

a rope

Synonyms

(rope): reip

Derived terms

ståltau
taubane
tauverk

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Ancient Greek ταῦ (taû).

Noun

tau m (definite singular tauen, indefinite plural tauar, definite plural tauane)

tau: The letter Τ/τ in the Greek, Hebrew and ancient Semitic alphabets, being the nineteenth letter of the Classical and Modern Greek, the twenty-first letter of Old and Ancient Greek.
(physics) tau lepton

References

“tau” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Anagrams

Tau, tua

Occitan

Etymology

From Latin talis.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /taw/
(file)

Adjective

tau m (feminine singular tala, masculine plural taus, feminine plural talas)

(Gascony, Provençal, Limousin, Vivaro-alpine, Auvergne) such

Alternative forms

tal

Polish

Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek ταῦ (taû), from Phoenician 𐤕 (t /taw/).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /taw/
Audio (file)
Rhymes: -aw
Syllabification: tau

Noun

tau n (indeclinable)

tau (Greek letter Τ, τ)

Portuguese

Pronunciation

(Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈtaw/ [ˈtaʊ̯]

(Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈtaw/

Homophone: tal (Brazil)
Rhymes: -aw
Hyphenation: tau

Noun

tau m (plural taus)

tau (name of the Greek letter Τ, τ)
(physics) tauon

Sotho

Noun

tau class 9/10 (plural ditau)

lion

Descendants

→ Phuthi: idawû

Spanish

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈtau/ [ˈt̪au̯]
Audio (Colombia) (file)
Rhymes: -au
Syllabification: tau

Noun

tau f (plural taus)

tau; the Greek letter Τ, τ
tauon (elementary particle)
Synonym: tauón

Tahitian

Adjective

tau

some

Synonyms

nau

References

Yves Lemaître, Lexique du tahitien contemporain (Current Tahitian lexicon), 1995.
“tau” in Dictionnaire en ligne Tahitien/Français (Online Tahitian–French Dictionary), by the Tahitian Academy.

Tausug

Etymology

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *tau.

Noun

tau

person
human

Derived terms

pagkatau

Ternate

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ˈta.u]

Verb

tau

to pull

Conjugation

Conjugation of tau
	Singular	Plural
	Inclusive	Exclusive
1st	totau	fotau	mitau
2nd	notau	nitau
3rd	Masculine	otau	itau, yotau^†
Feminine	motau
Neuter	itau
† - archaic

References

Rika Hayami-Allen (2001) A descriptive study of the language of Ternate, the northern Moluccas, Indonesia, University of Pittsburgh

Tetum

Etymology

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *taʀuq, compare Maori tau and Indonesian taruh.

Verb

tau

to put, to place

Tocharian B

Etymology

From Middle Chinese 斗 (MC təu^X).[1]

Noun

tau ? sg (irregular plural towä or tom or taum)

a dry measure, roughly equivalent to ten quarts or 1.25 pecks

References

Adams, Douglas Q. (1999), “tau”, in A dictionary of Tocharian B (Leiden Studies in Indo-European; 10), Amsterdam, Atlanta: Rodopi, →ISBN

Tokelauan

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈta.u/
Hyphenation: ta‧u

Etymology 1

From Proto-Polynesian *te-qa-u.

Determiner

tau

(alienable, definite) thy, your

Etymology 2

From Proto-Polynesian *taqu. Cognates include Hawaiian kau and Samoan tau.

Noun

tau

season
weather
climate

Etymology 3

From Proto-Polynesian *tau. Cognates include Tongan tou and Samoan tau.

Verb

tau

(transitive) to pick

Usage notes

tau is used to refer to flowers and fruits, with the exception of the coconut and pandanus.

Etymology 4

From Proto-Polynesian *tau. Cognates include Tongan tau and Samoan tau.

Verb

tau

(intransitive) to fight; to quarrel
(intransitive) to compete

Etymology 5

From Proto-Polynesian *tau. Cognates include Maori tau and Samoan tau.

Verb

tau (plural tatau)

(intransitive) to hit
(intransitive) to land
(intransitive) to arrive
(intransitive) to anchor
(intransitive, of fish) to settle down

Etymology 6

From Proto-Polynesian *tau. Cognates include Tuvaluan tau and Samoan tau.

Verb

tau

(transitive, of months) to count

Etymology 7

From Proto-Polynesian *tau. Cognates include Rapa tau and Samoan tau.

Noun

tau

The point where the keel meets the stern of the canoe.

Noun

tau

Fresh nest fern leaves, used to cover a traditional oven.

Particle

tau

Used to indicate the exclusiveness of the following noun or pronoun; just, only, merely

Particle

tau

Used to indicate the focus lies on the following noun; concerning, regarding

Particle

tau

Used to indicate that the action of the following verb is beginning; starting to; beginning to

Verb

tau

Only used in tau ma (“to be fed up with”)

References

R. Simona, editor (1986) Tokelau Dictionary‎, Auckland: Office of Tokelau Affairs, page 342

Tongan

Etymology

From Proto-Polynesian *tau, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *taʀuŋ.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ta.u/

Verb

tau

fight

Tswana

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ta.u/

Noun

tau class 9/10 (plural ditau)

lion

Vietnamese

Pronunciation

(Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [taw˧˧]
(Huế) IPA^(key): [taw˧˧]
(Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [ta(ː)w˧˧]

Pronoun

tau

Central Vietnam form of tao (“I/me”)

Anagrams

tua

Welsh

Pronunciation

(North Wales) IPA^(key): /taɨ̯/
(South Wales) IPA^(key): /tai̞/

Verb

tau

(literary) third-person singular present indicative/future of tewi

Mutation

Welsh mutation
radical	soft	nasal	aspirate
tau	dau	nhau	thau
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

White Hmong

Etymology

From Proto-Hmong *təuk, from Old Chinese 得 (OC *tɯːɡ).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /tau̯˧/

Verb

tau

to get, gain, obtain
(used preverbally) perfective action marker
Kuv tsis tau ua. ― I didn't do that.
(used postverbally) potential mood marker
Ua tau. ― May be done.

References

Heimbach, Ernest E. (1979) White Hmong — English Dictionary‎, SEAP Publications, →ISBN.
Ratliff, Martha (2010) Hmong-Mien Language History (Studies in Language Change; 8), Camberra, Australia: Pacific Linguistics, →ISBN.

[1] Michael Hartl (28 June 2010, updated 28 June 2020), “The Tau Manifesto”, in Tauday.com‎, archived from the original on 2022-01-30, section 4.1 (One Turn):
There are two main reasons to use τ for the circle constant. The first is that τ visually resembles π: after centuries of use, the association of π with the circle constant is unavoidable, […] The second reason is that τ corresponds to one turn of a circle, and you may have noticed that “τ” and “turn” both start with a “t” sound.

[2] Martin L[ewis] Perl (April 1977) Evidence for, and Properties of, the New Charged Heavy Lepton (SLAC-PUB-1923)‎, archived from the original on 2021-07-09, section 1 (Introduction), page 3; published in Trần Thanh Vân, editor, Proceedings of the Twelfth Rencontre de Moriond: Flaine, Haute-Savoie, France, March, 6–18, 1977 (Moriond Proceedings; 19), volume 1 (Leptons and Multileptons), Orsay, Paris: Laboratoire de Physique Théorique et Particules Elémentaires [Laboratory of Theoretical Physics and Elementary Particles], Université de Paris-Sud, 1977, OCLC 634313954, pages 75–97:
Since there is now substantial evidence that it [the new elementary particle] is a lepton, we wish to designate it by a lower case Greek letter. We use ${\\displaystyle \\tau ^{\\pm }}$ because it appears to be the third charged lepton to be found and τριτον means third in Greek. We feel the old use of ${\\displaystyle \\tau }$ to designate the three pion decay mode of the K is now obsolete.

[3] Adams, Douglas Q. (1999), “tau”, in A dictionary of Tocharian B (Leiden Studies in Indo-European; 10), Amsterdam, Atlanta: Rodopi, →ISBN

tau

English

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Noun

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'Are'are

Verb

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Catalan

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Noun

Czech

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Finnish

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Declension

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French

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German Low German

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Huichol

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Hungarian

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Iban

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Icelandic

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Kapampangan

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