tackle

Where does the word "tackle" come from? It comes from Middle Dutch takel, passing through Middle English before entering English (1500s).

Tackle’s story begins in Middle Dutch: takel meant “rigging.” A ship's rigging and hoisting gear. By 1200s, the word had taken hold in Middle English as takel. Gear or equipment, especially a ship's. It reached English by 1500s as tackle. The sporting sense, to seize an opponent, dates from the 1870s. Today, tackle means equipment for a task; to deal with a problem.

1. Stage 1 · Middle Dutch · medieval takel "rigging", a ship's rigging and hoisting gear.
2. Stage 2 · Middle English · 1200s takel "gear", gear or equipment, especially a ship's.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1500s tackle "gear; to grapple", the sporting sense, to seize an opponent, dates from the 1870s.