Standard Lemma guide

tait

name · noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • tāt
  • /teɪt/
  • rhymes with -eɪt
  • homophone: Tate
  • homophone: tate
  • homophone: Tait
  • CMU ARPABET: T EY1 T Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

name

Meaning 1

A Scottish surname transferred from the nickname, originally a nickname for a cheerful or lively person.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

The honey possum (Tarsipes rostratus).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From Middle English Tayte, Tayt, Teyt (personal name), from Middle English tayt, teyte (“cheerful, merry”), from Old Norse teitr (“cheerful, glad”), from Proto-Germanic *taitaz (“glad, delicate, tender, radiant”). Cognate with Old English tāt (“glad”, attested in names), Old High German zeiz (“loving, pleasant, tender”).

A borrowing into English of the Australian aboriginal name for the animal.