entry
team
/tiːm/Group working together toward a shared goal
From O.English, from Proto-Germanic team (Descendants or beings joined for pulling and working together).
from PIE *douk-mo-
+1 more sourcefrom Proto-Germanic *tau(h)maz (source also of Old Norse taumr , Old Frisian tam "bridle; progeny, line of descent,"...
+1 more sourcefrom Old English team "descendant, family, race, line; child-bearing, brood;" also "company, band;"
+1 more sourcefrom Middle English tem, teem, teme
from Old English team "descendant, family, race, line; child-bearing, brood;" also "company, band;"
+1 more sourceWord Ancestry
from PIE *douk-mo-
+1 more sourcefrom Proto-Germanic *tau(h)maz (source also of Old Norse taumr , Old Frisian tam "bridle; progeny, line of descent,"...
+1 more sourcefrom Old English team "descendant, family, race, line; child-bearing, brood;" also "company, band;"
+1 more sourcefrom Middle English tem, teem, teme
from Old English team "descendant, family, race, line; child-bearing, brood;" also "company, band;"
+1 more sourceLong before a team meant colleagues in matching shirts, Old English tēam could mean offspring, a brood, or a set of draft animals harnessed to pull together. The underlying image was apparently something that draws or leads, linking the word to Germanic relatives such as German Zaum, “bridle,” and Dutch toom, “reins.” By the early Middle English period, team could describe people acting together in a legal case; the modern general sense of people united for a purpose appears in the 1520s. Its sporting identity arrived much later: “team” meant one side in a contest by 1846, while “team player” appeared in baseball in 1886. The memorable twist is that a team began not as a meeting of minds, but as a harnessed line of living creatures pulling in the same direction.
The Story
Long before a team meant colleagues in matching shirts, Old English tēam could mean offspring, a brood, or a set of draft animals harnessed to pull together. The underlying image was apparently something that draws or leads, linking the word to Germanic relatives such as German Zaum, “bridle,” and Dutch toom, “reins.” By the early Middle English period, team could describe people acting together in a legal case; the modern general sense of people united for a purpose appears in the 1520s. Its sporting identity arrived much later: “team” meant one side in a contest by 1846, while “team player” appeared in baseball in 1886. The memorable twist is that a team began not as a meeting of minds, but as a harnessed line of living creatures pulling in the same direction.
Modern Usage
Informal: one’s regular crew, clique, or group of companions; also a sarcastic corporate email address meaning “everyone but me.”
Notable References
- Urban Dictionary entries for “TEAM” and “team”
Kin & Kindred
From 'team'·Descendants or beings joined for pulling and working together
Derived Terms
English words from this root
Sources
Urban Dictionary
Wikipedia
Wiktionary