Tact Comes From the Latin for Touch
Tact is skill in handling delicate situations. The word's root is physical contact.
Tact is skill and sensitivity in dealing with others or with difficult situations. Latin *tactus* means touch, and the metaphor is exact: a tactful person handles a subject lightly, while a tactless one handles it roughly. English says the same thing in *a delicate touch*, *touchy*, and *handling someone with kid gloves*. The same root gives *contact*, *intact* (untouched), *tangible*, *tactile* and *tangent*, the line that touches a curve at a single point.
- Sensitivity. *Handled with tact.*
- Tactful. *A tactful reply.*
- Tactless. *A tactless remark.*
- Tactile — of touch. *Tactile.*
- Latin — *tangere*, to touch. *The root.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | tact | Tact. |
| Adjective | tactful | Tactful. |
| Adjective | tactless | Tactless. |
| Related | tactile | Tactile. |
| Latin | tangere | To touch. |
- She handled it with tact.Skill.
- A tactless question.Failure.
- Tactus means touch.Etymology.
The tangere family
- Contact — touching together
- Intact — untouched, therefore whole
- Tangible — able to be touched
- Tangent — a line touching a curve at one point
- Contagion — spread by touching
Latin *tactus*, touch, from *tangere*, to touch.
Why does tact come from touch?
Because handling a delicate matter is imagined as handling it lightly, the same metaphor as a delicate touch.
Is intact related?
Yes. It means untouched, and therefore undamaged and whole.