Added 8 October 2026
teach
/ˈtiːt͡ʃ/ verb
In Latin: doceō, instruo, addoceo Wiktionary
verb Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about teach at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
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To pass on knowledge to.
Can you teach me to sew? Can you teach sewing to me?
-
To pass on knowledge generally, especially as one's profession; to act as a teacher.
She used to teach at university.
- To cause (someone) to learn or understand (something).
Origin
From Middle English techen, from Old English tǣċan (“to show, declare, demonstrate; teach, instruct, train; assign, prescribe, direct; warn; persuade”), from Proto-West Germanic *taikijan, from Proto-Germanic *taikijaną (“to show”), from Proto-Indo-European *deyḱ- (“to show”). Cognate with Scots tech, teich (“to teach”), German zeigen (“to show, point out”), zeihen (“accuse, blame”), Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐍄𐌴𐌹𐌷𐌰𐌽 (gateihan, “to announce, declare, tell, show, display”), Latin dīcō (“speak, say, tell”), Ancient Greek δείκνυμι (deíknumi, “show, point out, explain, teach”), Sanskrit दिशति (diśati, “to point out, show, tell, teach”). More at token.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)