Tae

Part of speech: preposition

Definitions

1. A Scottish dialect preposition meaning to or toward, used before a noun or verb ; a Scottish dialect word for the digit at the end of a foot
2. In Scots speech, a preposition indicating direction or purpose, equivalent to the English word to ; in the same dialect, a noun meaning the toe of the foot
3. The Scottish form of the English preposition to ; a regional term in Scots for a toe, the small digit on the end of the foot

Etymology: Scots "tae" is a reduced form of "to," the same preposition that English uses, and it is one of the few cases where a spelling change marks a regional sound rather than a different word. Old English "tō" was pronounced with a long vowel, and in Scots it developed into a monophthong that was written "tae" or "tae" to show its sound. The word appears in Scots texts as early as the fifteenth century, and in Scotland it became the everyday form of "to" in speech and writing. The most familiar use is "tae" in phrases like "gaun tae the shops," where the sense is identical to English "to." Scots also uses "tae" in the infinitive, as in "I want tae go," and it can mark direction and recipient just as standard English "to" does. Its meaning has not shifted at all; only its shape has changed through regular sound development.

Synonyms: to