Etymology
1. O.E.
tacen "sign, symbol, evidence" (related to
tæcan "show, explain, teach"), from P.Gmc.
*taiknan (cf. O.S.
tekan, O.N.
teikn "zodiac sign, omen, token," O.Fris., M.Du.
teken, Du.
teken, O.H.G.
zeihhan, Ger.
zeichen, Goth.
taikn "sign, token"), from PIE base
*deik- "to show" (see teach). Meaning "coin-like piece of stamped metal" is first recorded 1598. The adj. meaning "nominal" is from 1915, from the noun. In integration sense, first recorded 1960;
tokenism is first recorded 1962. Original sense of "evidence" is retained in
by the same token (1463), originally "introducing a corroborating evidence."
2. From Middle English token, taken, from Old English tācn (“sign, symbol”), from Proto-West Germanic *taikn, from Proto-Germanic *taikną (“indicator, symbol, sign”), from Proto-Indo-European *deyḱ- (“to show, instruct, teach”) with Germanic *k rather than *h by Kluge's law.
3. Cognate with Scots takin, taiken (“token, sign”), Saterland Frisian Teken (“sign, symbol”), West Frisian teken (“sign, mark, symbol”), Dutch teken (“sign, indication, symbol”), German Low German Teken (“sign, symbol”), German Zeichen (“sign, token”), Danish tegn (“sign, token, character”), Swedish tecken (“sign, indication”), Faroese tekn, tekin (“mark, sign, signal”), Icelandic teikn (“sign, omen”), Icelandic tákn (“symbol”).
4. The verb is from Middle English toknen, from Old English tācnian. See: Dutch '
teken', German, old spelling '
Zeichen', Middle English '
toknen'.