tango

See also: Tango and tangó

Translingual

Noun

tango

1. Alternative letter-case form of Tango of the ICAO/NATO radiotelephony alphabet.

English

Etymology 1

From Rioplatense Spanish tango, probably from a Niger-Congo language (compare Ibibio tamgu (“to dance”)).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈtæŋɡəʊ/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈtæŋɡoʊ/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Rhymes: -æŋɡəʊ

Noun

Argentine tango (dance)

1901-10-12, Flamenco Tango, Medina Vera

tango (plural tangos or tangoes)

1. (dance) A standard ballroom dance in 4/4 time; or a social dance, the Argentine tango.
2. (dance) A Spanish flamenco dance with different steps from the Argentine.
3. (music) A piece of music suited to such a dance.
4. A dark orange colour shade; deep tangerine

   tango:  

Usage notes

• The name of the flamenco dance may be written tangos.

Derived terms

• electrotango
• horizontal tango
• neotango
• tango uniform
• wango tango

Translations

ballroom dance

• Arabic: تَانْغُو m (tanḡū), تَانْغُو m (tangō)
• Armenian: տանգո (hy) (tango)
• Catalan: tango (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 探戈舞 (zh) (tàngēwǔ)

• Czech: tango (cs) n
• Finnish: tango (fi)
• French: tango (fr) m
• Galician: tango (gl) m
• German: Tango (de) m
• Hebrew: טנגו (he)
• Hungarian: tangó (hu)
• Irish: tangó m
• Japanese: タンゴ (tango)
• Korean: 탱고 (ko) (taenggo)
• Lithuanian: tango
• Polish: tango (pl) n
• Portuguese: tango (pt) m
• Russian: та́нго (ru) n (tángo)
• Slovak: tango
• Spanish: tango (es) m
• Tagalog: tanggo
• Turkish: tango (tr)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• French: ^{(please verify)} tango (fr) m (2,3)

Verb

tango (third-person singular simple present tangoes, present participle tangoing, simple past and past participle tangoed)

1. To dance the tango.
2. (slang, intransitive) To mingle or interact (with each other).
   • 2013, Kathy Casey, D'Lish Deviled Eggs, page 67:

     Creamy cheese, tangy-sweet peppers, and a hit of heat tango in this sexy deviled-egg combo.

See also

• it takes two to tango

Etymology 2

From translingual Tango (representing the letter T), from English tango (see above).

Noun

tango (plural tangos or tangoes)

1. (international standards) Alternative letter-case form of Tango from the NATO/ICAO Phonetic Alphabet.
3. (US, law enforcement, military slang) A target; an enemy.

   Tango down!

   • 2005, Charles W. Sasser, Detachment Delta: Operation Aces Wild, New York, N.Y.: Avon Books, →ISBN, page 370:

     The two tangoes running toward the carnage at the prison door dropped simultaneously, dead in their tracks.

   • 2017, Beth Rhodes, Strike Zone, →ISBN, page 210:

     The sharp crack of breaking glass preceded Emily's calm voice. "One tango dead and Marcus is down, John."

Derived terms

• whiskey tango foxtrot

Further reading

• “tango down”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.

Anagrams

• Atong, Tonga, on tag, tag on, tonga

Bikol Central

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: ta‧ngo
• IPA^(key): /taˈŋoʔ/ [taˈŋoʔ]

Noun

tangô

1. a nod

Derived terms

• magtango
• tanguan

Cebuano

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtaŋo/ [ˈt̪a.ŋo]
• Hyphenation: ta‧ngo

Noun

tango (Badlit spelling ᜆᜅᜓ)

1. (anatomy) a tooth with a single cusp; a cuspid; a canine

   Coordinate terms: unto, bangkil, bag-ang

2. (zoology) a fang; a long, pointed canine tooth used for biting and tearing flesh or injecting venom
3. (zoology) a tusk; one of a pair of elongated pointed teeth that extend outside the mouth of an animal such as a walrus, elephant or wild boar
4. cog of gears

Derived terms

• tang-an
• tango sa baliw
• tango sa linti

Verb

tango (Badlit spelling ᜆᜅᜓ)

1. to nod

Czech

Noun

tango n

1. tango (Standard ballroom dance in 4/4 time; or a social dance, the Argentine tango)

Declension

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

Danish

Etymology

From Spanish tango.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tanɡo/, [ˈtˢɑŋɡ̊o]

Noun

tango c (singular definite tangoen, plural indefinite tangoer)

1. tango

Inflection

Declension of tango

common gender	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	tango	tangoen	tangoer	tangoerne
genitive	tangos	tangoens	tangoers	tangoernes

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish tango, probably from a Niger-Congo language.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɑŋ.ɡoː/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: tan‧go

Noun

tango m (plural tango's)

1. tango (Argentine-Uruguayan dance and musical style)

Finnish

Etymology

From Argentine-Spanish tango.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɑŋːo/, [ˈt̪ɑ̝ŋːo̞]
• Rhymes: -ɑŋːo
• Syllabification^(key): tan‧go
• Hyphenation^(key): tan‧go

Noun

tango

1. tango

Declension

Inflection of tango (Kotus type 1/valo, no gradation)
nominative		tango	tangot
genitive		tangon	tangojen
partitive		tangoa	tangoja
illative		tangoon	tangoihin
		singular	plural
nominative		tango	tangot
accusative	nom.	tango	tangot
	gen.	tangon
genitive		tangon	tangojen
partitive		tangoa	tangoja
inessive		tangossa	tangoissa
elative		tangosta	tangoista
illative		tangoon	tangoihin
adessive		tangolla	tangoilla
ablative		tangolta	tangoilta
allative		tangolle	tangoille
essive		tangona	tangoina
translative		tangoksi	tangoiksi
abessive		tangotta	tangoitta
instructive		—	tangoin
comitative		See the possessive forms below.

Possessive forms of tango (Kotus type 1/valo, no gradation)

first-person singular possessor singular plural nominative tangoni tangoni accusative nom. tangoni tangoni gen. tangoni genitive tangoni tangojeni partitive tangoani tangojani inessive tangossani tangoissani elative tangostani tangoistani illative tangooni tangoihini adessive tangollani tangoillani ablative tangoltani tangoiltani allative tangolleni tangoilleni essive tangonani tangoinani translative tangokseni tangoikseni abessive tangottani tangoittani instructive — — comitative — tangoineni second-person singular possessor singular plural nominative tangosi tangosi accusative nom. tangosi tangosi gen. tangosi genitive tangosi tangojesi partitive tangoasi tangojasi inessive tangossasi tangoissasi elative tangostasi tangoistasi illative tangoosi tangoihisi adessive tangollasi tangoillasi ablative tangoltasi tangoiltasi allative tangollesi tangoillesi essive tangonasi tangoinasi translative tangoksesi tangoiksesi abessive tangottasi tangoittasi instructive — — comitative — tangoinesi first-person plural possessor singular plural nominative tangomme tangomme accusative nom. tangomme tangomme gen. tangomme genitive tangomme tangojemme partitive tangoamme tangojamme inessive tangossamme tangoissamme elative tangostamme tangoistamme illative tangoomme tangoihimme adessive tangollamme tangoillamme ablative tangoltamme tangoiltamme allative tangollemme tangoillemme essive tangonamme tangoinamme translative tangoksemme tangoiksemme abessive tangottamme tangoittamme instructive — — comitative — tangoinemme second-person plural possessor singular plural nominative tangonne tangonne accusative nom. tangonne tangonne gen. tangonne genitive tangonne tangojenne partitive tangoanne tangojanne inessive tangossanne tangoissanne elative tangostanne tangoistanne illative tangoonne tangoihinne adessive tangollanne tangoillanne ablative tangoltanne tangoiltanne allative tangollenne tangoillenne essive tangonanne tangoinanne translative tangoksenne tangoiksenne abessive tangottanne tangoittanne instructive — — comitative — tangoinenne third-person possessor singular plural nominative tangonsa tangonsa accusative nom. tangonsa tangonsa gen. tangonsa genitive tangonsa tangojensa partitive tangoaan tangoansa tangojaan tangojansa inessive tangossaan tangossansa tangoissaan tangoissansa elative tangostaan tangostansa tangoistaan tangoistansa illative tangoonsa tangoihinsa adessive tangollaan tangollansa tangoillaan tangoillansa ablative tangoltaan tangoltansa tangoiltaan tangoiltansa allative tangolleen tangollensa tangoilleen tangoillensa essive tangonaan tangonansa tangoinaan tangoinansa translative tangokseen tangoksensa tangoikseen tangoiksensa abessive tangottaan tangottansa tangoittaan tangoittansa instructive — — comitative — tangoineen tangoinensa

Derived terms

compounds

• tangokappale
• tangokuninkaallinen
• tangolaulaja
• tangonimi
• tangotanssija

Further reading

• “tango”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎^[1] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2023-07-03

Anagrams

• Tonga, togan, tonga

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tɑ̃.ɡo/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

tango m (plural tangos)

1. tango (dance)
2. tango (music)

Derived terms

• tango argentin

Descendants

• Turkish: tango

Further reading

• “tango”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Galician

Verb

tango

1. first-person singular present indicative of tanguer

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtan.ɡo/
• Rhymes: -anɡo
• Hyphenation: tàn‧go

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Spanish tango.

Noun

tango m (plural tanghi)

1. tango

Etymology 2

Verb

tango

1. first-person singular present indicative of tangere

Further reading

• tango in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

Anagrams

• Tonga

Japanese

Romanization

tango

1. Rōmaji transcription of たんご
2. Rōmaji transcription of タンゴ

Latin

Etymology

From Proto-Italic *tangō, nasal infix present from Proto-Indo-European *teh₂g-. Cognate with Ancient Greek τάσσω (tássō), τεταγών (tetagṓn), Old English þaccian (“to touch, pat”). More at thack, thwack.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈtaŋ.ɡoː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈt̪äŋ.ɡo]

Verb

tangō (present infinitive tangere, perfect active tetigī, supine tāctum); third conjugation

1. (transitive) to touch, grasp

   Nōlī mē tangere.

   Don't touch me.

2. (transitive) to reach, arrive at, come to a place
3. (transitive) to attain to
4. (transitive) to subtract, rob
5. (transitive) to strike, beat, knock
6. (transitive) to move, affect, influence
   • 8 CE, Ovid, Fasti 5.653:

     saepe tamen patriae dulcī tanguntur amōre

     Yet often they are moved by sweet love of [their] native land

7. (transitive) to bewitch, enchant, charm
8. (transitive) to come home to

Conjugation

   Conjugation of tangō (third conjugation)

indicative		singular						plural
		first		second		third		first		second		third
active	present	tangō		tangis		tangit		tangimus		tangitis		tangunt
	imperfect	tangēbam		tangēbās		tangēbat		tangēbāmus		tangēbātis		tangēbant
	future	tangam		tangēs		tanget		tangēmus		tangētis		tangent
	perfect	tetigī		tetigistī		tetigit		tetigimus		tetigistis		tetigērunt, tetigēre
	pluperfect	tetigeram		tetigerās		tetigerat		tetigerāmus		tetigerātis		tetigerant
	future perfect	tetigerō		tetigeris		tetigerit		tetigerimus		tetigeritis		tetigerint
	sigmatic future1	tāxō		tāxis		tāxit		tāximus		tāxitis		tāxint
passive	present	tangor		tangeris, tangere		tangitur		tangimur		tangiminī		tanguntur
	imperfect	tangēbar		tangēbāris, tangēbāre		tangēbātur		tangēbāmur		tangēbāminī		tangēbantur
	future	tangar		tangēris, tangēre		tangētur		tangēmur		tangēminī		tangentur
	perfect	tāctus + present active indicative of sum
	pluperfect	tāctus + imperfect active indicative of sum
	future perfect	tāctus + future active indicative of sum
subjunctive		singular						plural
		first		second		third		first		second		third
active	present	tangam		tangās		tangat		tangāmus		tangātis		tangant
	imperfect	tangerem		tangerēs		tangeret		tangerēmus		tangerētis		tangerent
	perfect	tetigerim		tetigerīs		tetigerit		tetigerīmus		tetigerītis		tetigerint
	pluperfect	tetigissem		tetigissēs		tetigisset		tetigissēmus		tetigissētis		tetigissent
	sigmatic aorist1	tāxim		tāxīs		tāxīt		tāxīmus		tāxītis		tāxint
passive	present	tangar		tangāris, tangāre		tangātur		tangāmur		tangāminī		tangantur
	imperfect	tangerer		tangerēris, tangerēre		tangerētur		tangerēmur		tangerēminī		tangerentur
	perfect	tāctus + present active subjunctive of sum
	pluperfect	tāctus + imperfect active subjunctive of sum
imperative		singular						plural
		first		second		third		first		second		third
active	present	—		tange		—		—		tangite		—
	future	—		tangitō		tangitō		—		tangitōte		tanguntō
passive	present	—		tangere		—		—		tangiminī		—
	future	—		tangitor		tangitor		—		—		tanguntor
non-finite forms		infinitive						participle
		active			passive			active			passive
present		tangere			tangī			tangēns			—
future		tāctūrum esse			tāctum īrī			tāctūrus			tangendus, tangundus
perfect		tetigisse			tāctum esse			—			tāctus
future perfect		—			tāctum fore			—			—
perfect potential		tāctūrum fuisse			—			—			—
verbal nouns		gerund								supine
		genitive		dative		accusative		ablative		accusative		ablative
		tangendī		tangendō		tangendum		tangendō		tāctum		tāctū

¹At least one use of the Old Latin "sigmatic future" and "sigmatic aorist" tenses is attested, which are used by Old Latin writers; most notably Plautus and Terence. The sigmatic future is generally ascribed a future or future perfect meaning, while the sigmatic aorist expresses a possible desire ("might want to").

Synonyms

• (touch): contingo, tempto
• (arrive): perveniō, adveniō, ēvādō, obeō, adsum, teneō, prehendō
• (grasp): apiscor, prehenso, tempto, teneo
• (beat): mulcō, ferio, percello, discutio, pulsō, ico, affligo, pello, percutiō, impingo, accido, caedo, verbero
• (affect): perpello

Derived terms

• attingō
• contingō
• obtingō
• pertingō

Related terms

• contāminō
• integer
• rem acū tetigistī, acū tetigistī
• tāctilis
• tāctus
• tagāx
• tangibilis
• taxō

Descendants

• Italo-Romance:
  • Italian: tangere
• Gallo-Romance:
  • Franco-Provençal: taignir
  • Old Catalan: tànyer
  • Old French: taindre
• Ibero-Romance:
  • Old Galician-Portuguese:
    • Galician: tanguer
    • Portuguese: tanger
  • Spanish: tañer, → tangir (learned)

Further reading

• “tango”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• tango in Enrico Olivetti, editor (2003-2025), Dizionario Latino, Olivetti Media Communication
• “tango”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• tango in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[2], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • the lightning has struck somewhere: fulmen locum tetigit
    
  • to be struck by lightning: fulmine tangi, ici
    
  • to be struck by lightning: de caelo tangi, percuti
    
  • the country-house stands near the road: villa tangit viam
    
  • to be contiguous, adjacent to a country: tangere, attingere terram
    
  • to touch briefly on a thing: breviter tangere, attingere aliquid
    
  • to make a cursory mention of a thing; to mention by the way (not obiter or in transcursu): strictim, leviter tangere, attingere, perstringere aliquid
    
  • you have hit the nail on the head: rem acu tetigisti
    

Polish

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish tango.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtaŋ.ɡɔ/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aŋɡɔ
• Syllabification: tan‧go

Noun

tango n

1. tango (ballroom dance)

Declension

Declension of tango

	singular	plural
nominative	tango	tanga
genitive	tanga	tang
dative	tangu	tangom
accusative	tango	tanga
instrumental	tangiem	tangami
locative	tangu	tangach
vocative	tango	tanga

Derived terms

noun

• białe tango

Further reading

• tango in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• tango in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Portuguese

tango

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɐ̃.ɡu/

• Rhymes: -ɐ̃ɡu
• Hyphenation: tan‧go

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Spanish tango, probably from a Niger-Congo language.

Noun

tango m (plural tangos)

1. tango (ballroom dance)
2. a style of music associated with the tango dance (used to accompany and set the beat for the dance)

Etymology 2

Verb

tango

1. first-person singular present indicative of tangar

Romanian

Noun

tango n (plural tangouri)

1. Obsolete form of tangou.

Declension

Declension of tango

	singular			plural
	indefinite	definite		indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	tango	tangoul		tangouri	tangourile
genitive-dative	tango	tangoului		tangouri	tangourilor
vocative	tangoule			tangourilor

References

• tango in Academia Română, Micul dicționar academic, ediția a II-a, Bucharest: Univers Enciclopedic, 2010. →ISBN

Sambali

Noun

tangô

1. nod

Serbo-Croatian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tânɡo/
• Hyphenation: tan‧go

Noun

tȁngo m (Cyrillic spelling та̏нго)

1. tango (dance)

Declension

Declension of tango

	singular	plural
nominative	tȁngo	tanga
genitive	tȁnga	tanga
dative	tangu	tangima
accusative	tango	tanga
vocative	tango	tanga
locative	tangu	tangima
instrumental	tangom	tangima

Slovak

Etymology

Derived from Spanish tango.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtaŋɡɔ/

Noun

tango n (genitive singular tanga, nominative plural tangá, genitive plural táng, declension pattern of mesto)

1. (dance) tango

Declension

Declension of tango
(pattern mesto)

	singular	plural
nominative	tango	tangá
genitive	tanga	táng
dative	tangu	tangám
accusative	tango	tangá
locative	tangu	tangách
instrumental	tangom	tangami

Derived terms

• tangový

Further reading

• “tango”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2003–2025

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtanɡo/ [ˈt̪ãŋ.ɡo]
• Rhymes: -anɡo
• Syllabification: tan‧go

Etymology 1

Probably from a Niger-Congo language, but an onomatopoeic origin for the dance has been suggested as well.

Noun

tango m (plural tangos)

1. tango (ballroom dance)
2. a style of music associated with the tango dance (used to accompany and set the beat for the dance)

Derived terms

• nuevo tango
• tanguito

Descendants

• → English: tango
• → Polish: tango
• → Portuguese: tango
• → Swedish: tango

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

tango

1. first-person singular present indicative of tangar

Further reading

• “tango”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10

Anagrams

• Tonga

Swahili

Pronunciation

• Audio (Kenya):

  (file)

Noun

tango class V (plural matango class VI)

1. cucumber

   Synonym: tangopepeta

Swedish

Etymology

From Spanish tango.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtaŋɡʊ/
• Rhymes: -aŋɡʊ

Noun

tango c

1. (dance) tango

   att dansa tango

   to tango ["to dance type of dance" is idiomatic in Swedish (including for dances that end in "-dans")]

Declension

Declension of tango

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	tango	tangos
	definite	tangon	tangons
plural	indefinite	tangor, tangoer, tangos	tangors, tangoers, tangos
	definite	tangorna, tangoernas	tangornas, tangoernas

References

• tango in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• tango in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• tango in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

Anagrams

• antog

Tagalog

Etymology

Compare Bikol Central tango, Kapampangan tangu, and Maranao dango.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /taˈŋoʔ/ [t̪ɐˈŋoʔ]
• Rhymes: -oʔ
• Syllabification: ta‧ngo

Noun

tangô (Baybayin spelling ᜆᜅᜓ)

1. nod; nodding (of the head)

   Synonym: pagtango

2. (by extension) consent; agreement

   Synonyms: pagpayag, pagsang-ayon, pag-oo, pagpapahinuhod, pagpapaoo

Derived terms

• itango
• magpatango
• mapatango
• pagtango
• patango
• patango-tango
• patanguin
• tanguan
• tatango-tango
• tumango

Anagrams

• taong, angot, ganto

Ternate

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈta.ŋo]

Verb

tango

1. (intransitive) to lie down

Conjugation

Conjugation of tango

		singular	plural
			inclusive	exclusive
1st person		totango	fotango	mitango
2nd person		notango	nitango
3rd person	masculine	otango	itango yotango (archaic)
	feminine	motango
	neuter	itango

References

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

Waray-Waray

Noun

tangó

1. canine tooth
2. tusk of animals