tandem
English edit
Etymology edit
From Latin tandem (“(of time) at length, at last”). In English, applied humorously (by someone who knew Latin) to two horses harnessed "at length" (i.e., in a single line) instead of side-by-side.
Pronunciation edit
- (UK, General Australian)IPA(key): /ˈtæn.dəm/
- (US) IPA(key): /ˈtæn.dəm/, [ˈtɛən.dəm]
Audio (US) (file)
- Rhymes: -ændəm
Noun edit
tandem (plural tandems)
- A carriage pulled by two or more draught animals (generally draught horses) harnessed one behind the other, both providing the pulling power but only the animal in front able to steer. [from mid 18th c.]
- 1850-50, William Makepeace Thackeray, Pendennis, ch 3:
- Mr. Foker was no more like a gentleman now than in his school days: and yet Pen felt a secret pride in strutting down High Street with a young fellow who owned tandems, talked to officers, and ordered turtle and champagne for dinner.
- 1850-50, William Makepeace Thackeray, Pendennis, ch 3:
- (transferred sense) A bicycle or tricycle in which two people sit one behind the other, both able to pedal but only the person in front able to steer. [from late 19th c.]
- (figurative) A group of two or more people, machines etc. working together; close collaboration.
- (education) A method of language learning based on mutual exchange, where ideally each learner is a native speaker in the language the other person wants to learn.
- 2007, Jane Woodin, “Intercultural positioning: tandem conversations about word meaning”, in Regina Weinert, editor, Spoken Language Pragmatics, Bloomsbury Publishing, →ISBN:
- Spanish and English tandem learners discuss the meaning of a given word in a semi-structured conversation.
- (medicine) a hollow metal tube containing radioactive material, inserted through the vagina into the uterus for treatment of gynecological cancer.
- 2007, Phillip M. Devlin, editor, Brachytherapy: Applications and Techniques, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, page 236:
- This sagittal ultrasound shows the bright signal of the tandem in a good position in the uterus.
Derived terms edit
Descendants edit
- → Assamese: টমটম (tomtom)
- → Bengali: টমটম (ṭomoṭom)
- → Catalan: tàndem
- → Czech: tandem
- → Danish: tandem
- → Dutch: tandem
- → Finnish: tandem
- → French: tandem
- → German: Tandem
- → Greek: τάντεμ (tántem)
- → Hungarian: tandem
- → Italian: tandem
- → Polish: tandem
- → Portuguese: tandem
- → Russian: танде́м (tandɛ́m)
- → Serbo-Croatian: та̀нде̄м / tàndēm
- → Spanish: tándem
Translations edit
bicycle
|
arrangement
Adverb edit
tandem (not comparable)
- One behind the other.
- to ride tandem on a bicycle-built-for-two
- The horses were harnessed tandem.
Synonyms edit
Translations edit
One behind the other
Adjective edit
tandem (not comparable)
Derived terms edit
Translations edit
together; working as one
Further reading edit
Czech edit
Etymology edit
Borrowed from German Tandem, from English tandem,[1] originally from Latin tandem (“at last”).[2]
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
tandem m inan
Declension edit
References edit
- ^ Machek, Václav (1968) Etymologický slovník jazyka českého [Etymological Dictionary of the Czech Language], 2nd edition, Prague: Academia
- ^ "tandem" in Jiří Rejzek, Český etymologický slovník, electronic version, Leda, 2007
Dutch edit
Etymology edit
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
tandem m (plural tandems, diminutive tandempje n)
French edit
Etymology edit
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
tandem m (plural tandems)
- tandem (vehicle, bicycle)
Further reading edit
- “tandem”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Anagrams edit
Ido edit
Etymology edit
Pronunciation edit
Adverb edit
tandem
- (neologism) finally, at last, eventually
- Synonym: fine
Italian edit
Etymology edit
Unadapted borrowing from English tandem.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
tandem m (invariable)
- tandem (all senses)
References edit
- ^ tandem in Luciano Canepari, Dizionario di Pronuncia Italiana (DiPI)
Latin edit
Etymology edit
From tam (“so”) + -dem (“new interpreted particle from īdem”). Compare with its earlier doublet: tamen. Both with original meaning supposedly "so(much)ever".
Pronunciation edit
- (Classical) IPA(key): /ˈtan.dem/, [ˈt̪än̪d̪ɛ̃ˑ]
- (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /ˈtan.dem/, [ˈt̪än̪d̪em]
Adverb edit
tandem (not comparable)
- at length, at last, finally, eventually
- used also as an adverbial intensifier of interrogatives to a somewhat greater degree than -nam
Usage notes edit
- The particle -nam and adverb tandem (“finally”) may be added to interrogative pronouns and adverbs to add emphasis. The adverb tandem adds stronger emphasis.
Synonyms edit
Related terms edit
Descendants edit
- Sicilian: tannu
References edit
- “tandem”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- “tandem”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
- tandem in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
- Sihler, Andrew L. (1995) New Comparative Grammar of Greek and Latin, Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, →ISBN
Portuguese edit
Pronunciation edit
- Hyphenation: tan‧dem
Noun edit
tandem m (plural tandens)
- tandem (bicycle with two seats and two sets of pedals)
Romanian edit
Etymology edit
Noun edit
tandem n (plural tandemuri)
Declension edit
Declension of tandem
| singular | plural | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| indefinite articulation | definite articulation | indefinite articulation | definite articulation | |
| nominative/accusative | (un) tandem | tandemul | (niște) tandemuri | tandemurile |
| genitive/dative | (unui) tandem | tandemului | (unor) tandemuri | tandemurilor |
| vocative | tandemule | tandemurilor | ||
Spanish edit
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
tandem m (plural tandems)