verbthird conjugation
tangō
tangō (present infinitive tangere, perfect active tetigī, supine tāctum)
Classical[ˈtaŋ.ɡoː]Ecclesiastical[ˈtaŋ.ɡo]
№ 534 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary
Meaning
- transitiveto touch, grasp
Near-synonyms: mulceō, palpō
Nōlī mē tangere.
Don't touch me. - transitiveto reach, arrive at, come to a place
- transitiveto attain to
- transitiveto subtract, rob
- poetictransitiveto strike, beat, knock
- transitiveto move, affect, influence
saepe tamen patriae dulcī tanguntur amōre
Yet often they are moved by sweet love of [their] native land8 CE, Ovidius, Fasti 5.653 - transitiveto bewitch, enchant, charm
- transitiveto come home to
Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers
manū sentiō; digitīs rem tangimus.tangō -ere — in Mille Verba, Corpus Hūmānum
manū contingōtangō -ere — in Evangelium secundum Matthaeum, ch. 6, 7, 18
manū attingōtangō -ere — in Evangelium secundum Marcum, ch. 3
Conjugation conjugation 3
| form | present | imperfect | future | perfect | pluperfect | fut. perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st sg. | tangō | tangēbam | tangam | tetigī | tetigeram | tetigerō |
| 2nd sg. | tangis | tangēbās | tangēs | tetigistī | tetigerās | tetigeris |
| 3rd sg. | tangit | tangēbat | tanget | tetigit | tetigerat | tetigerit |
| 1st pl. | tangimus | tangēbāmus | tangēmus | tetigimus | tetigerāmus | tetigerimus |
| 2nd pl. | tangitis | tangēbātis | tangētis | tetigistis | tetigerātis | tetigeritis |
| 3rd pl. | tangunt | tangēbant | tangent | tetigērunt tetigēre | tetigerant | tetigerint |
active subjunctive
| form | present | imperfect | perfect | pluperfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st sg. | tangam | tangerem | tetigerim | tetigissem |
| 2nd sg. | tangās | tangerēs | tetigerīs | tetigissēs |
| 3rd sg. | tangat | tangeret | tetigerit | tetigisset |
| 1st pl. | tangāmus | tangerēmus | tetigerīmus | tetigissēmus |
| 2nd pl. | tangātis | tangerētis | tetigerītis | tetigissētis |
| 3rd pl. | tangant | tangerent | tetigerint | tetigissent |
passive indicative
| form | present | imperfect | future |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st sg. | tangor | tangēbar | tangar |
| 2nd sg. | tangeris tangere | tangēbāris tangēbāre | tangēris tangēre |
| 3rd sg. | tangitur | tangēbātur | tangētur |
| 1st pl. | tangimur | tangēbāmur | tangēmur |
| 2nd pl. | tangiminī | tangēbāminī | tangēminī |
| 3rd pl. | tanguntur | tangēbantur | tangentur |
passive subjunctive
| form | present | imperfect |
|---|---|---|
| 1st sg. | tangar | tangerer |
| 2nd sg. | tangāris tangāre | tangerēris tangerēre |
| 3rd sg. | tangātur | tangerētur |
| 1st pl. | tangāmur | tangerēmur |
| 2nd pl. | tangāminī | tangerēminī |
| 3rd pl. | tangantur | tangerentur |
imperative
| form | active | passive |
|---|---|---|
| pres. 2nd sg. | tange | tangere |
| pres. 2nd pl. | tangite | tangiminī |
| fut. 2nd sg. | tangitō | tangitor |
| fut. 3rd sg. | tangitō | tangitor |
| fut. 2nd pl. | tangitōte | — |
| fut. 3rd pl. | tanguntō | tanguntor |
infinitives & participles
| form | active | passive |
|---|---|---|
| present infinitive | tangere | tangī |
| perfect infinitive | tetigisse | tāctum esse |
| future infinitive | tāctūrum esse | tāctum īrī |
| present participle | tangēns tangente, tangentem, tangentēs, tangentī, tangentia, tangentibus, tangentis, tangentīs, tangentium | — |
| perfect participle | — | tāctus tācta, tāctā, tāctae, tāctam, tāctārum, tāctās, tācte, tāctī, tāctīs, tāctō, tāctōrum, tāctōs |
| future participle | tāctūrus tāctūra, tāctūrā, tāctūrae, tāctūram, tāctūrārum, tāctūrās, tāctūre, tāctūrī, tāctūrīs, tāctūrō, tāctūrōrum, tāctūrōs, tāctūrum | tangendus tangundus, tangunda, tangundā, tangundae, tangundam, tangundārum, tangundās, tangunde, tangundī, tangundīs, tangundō, tangundōrum, tangundōs, tangundum |
gerundtangendī, tangendō, tangendumsupinetāctum, tāctū
Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book
- rem acu tetigisti
- you have hit the nail on the head.
- villa tangit viam
- the country-house stands near the road.
- fulmine tangi, ici
- to be struck by lightning.
- fulmen locum tetigit
- the lightning has struck somewhere.
- de caelo tangi, percuti
- to be struck by lightning.
- tangere, attingere terram
- to be contiguous, adjacent to a country.
- breviter tangere, attingere aliquid
- to touch briefly on a thing.
- divino quodam spiritu inflatus or tactus
- inspired.
1 more phrases
- strictim, leviter tangere, attingere, perstringere aliquid
- to make a cursory mention of a thing; to mention by the way (not obiter or in transcursu).
tango, tĕtĭgi, tactum, 3 (old collat. form tago, xi, 3:
I.
tagit Pacuvius in Teucro: ut ego, si quisquam me tagit. Et tagam idem in Hermiona: aut non cernam, nisi tagam: sine dubio antiquā consuetudine usurpavit. Nam nunc ea sine praepositionibus non dicuntur, ut contigit, attigit, Fest. p. 356 Müll.: PELLEX ARAM IVNONIS NE TANGITO, Lex Numae ap. Fest. p. 222 ib.: sed o Petruelle, ne meum taxis librum, Varr. ap. Non. 176, 18, and 180, 8), v. a. root tag-; Gr. τε-ταγ-ών, grasping; τῆ, take; Lat. tago, tagax; Goth. tēkan, to touch; Engl. take; cf.: inter, contages, to touch (syn. tracto). I. Lit.
A. In gen.:
tangere enim et tangi, nisi corpus, nulla potest res, Lucr 1, 304: tange utramvis digitulo minimo modo, Plaut. Rud. 3, 4, 15: genu terram tangere, Cic. Tusc. 2, 24, 57: virgā Virginis os, Ov. M. 11, 308: aliquem cubito, Hor. S. 2, 5, 42.—B. In partic.
1. To touch, i. e.,
a. To take, take away, curry off: Sa. Tetigin' tui quidquam? Aes. Si attigisses, ferres infortunium, Ter. Ad. 2, 1, 24:
de praedā meā teruncium nec attigit nec tacturus est quisquam, Cic. Fam. 2, 17, 4: quia tangam nullum ab invito, id. Agr. 2, 25, 67; Liv. 29, 20. — b. To taste, to eat, to drink:
salsa sunt, tangere ut non velis, Plaut. Poen. 1, 2, 35: illa (corpora) Non cani tetigere lupi, Ov. M. 7, 550: saporem, id. F. 3, 745: cupiens varià fastidia cenā Vincere tangentis male singula dente superbo, Hor. S. 2, 6, 87: Superorum tangere mensas, Ov. M. 6, 173: tetigit calicem clanculum, has emptied, Plaut. Mil. 3, 2, 10. —2. Of places.
a. To reach, arrive at, come to a place (syn. pervenio):
Verres simul ac tetigit provinciam, statim, etc., Cic. Verr. 2, 1, 10, § 27; cf. id. Att. 6, 1, 6: portus, Verg. A. 4, 612: terminum mundi armis, Hor. C. 3, 3, 54: vada, id. ib. 1, 3, 24: lucum gradu, Ov. M. 3, 36: domos, id. ib. 4, 779; 6, 601: quem (Nilum) simul ac tetigit, id. ib. 1, 729: ut tellus est mihi tacta, id. Tr. 3, 2, 18: limina, id. M. 10, 456; Juv. 14, 44: nocturno castra dolo, Ov. H. 1, 42 et saep.—b. To border on, be contiguous to:
qui (fundi) Tiberim fere omnes tangunt, Cic. Rosc. Am. 7, 20: haec civitas Rhenum tangit, Caes. B. G. 5, 3: quae (villa) viam tangeret, Cic. Mil. 19, 51: vertice sidera, Ov. M. 7, 61. — 3. To touch, i. e.,
a. To strike, hit, beat (mostly poet.):
chordas, Ov. R. Am. 336: flagello Chloen, Hor. C. 3, 26, 12: quem tetigit jactu, Prop. 2, 34 (3, 32), 60: loca tangere fundā, Tib. 4, 1, 97: te hora Caniculae Nescit tangere, to touch, affect, Hor. C. 3, 13, 10.—Euphem., to put to death: quemquam praeterea oportuisse tangi, Cic. Att. 15, 11, 2: statua aut aera legum de caelo tacta, i.e. struck by lightning, id. Div. 2, 21, 47; so, de caelo tactus, Liv. 25, 7, 7; 29, 14, 3; Verg. E. 1, 17: e caelo tactum, Plin. 36, 4, 4, § 10; cf.: ulmus fulmine tacta, Ov. Tr. 2, 144: tacta aedes Junonis, Plin. 2, 54, 55, § 144.—Prov.: tetigisti acu (rem), you have hit the nail on the head, Plaut. Rud. 5, 2, 19; cf.: tangis en ipsos metus, the thing you fear, Sen. Oedip. 795.—b. To take hold of, to touch, handle, etc.;
esp. in mal. part.: virginem, Ter. Ad. 4, 5, 52: cur id ausus's facere ut id quod non tuom esset tangeres? Plaut. Aul. 4, 10, 14; Ter. Heaut. 4, 6, 15; id. Eun. 4, 7, 27 sq.; Cat. 21, 8; Hor. S. 1, 2, 28; 1, 2, 54.—Absol.: cibum una capias, assis, tangas, ludas, propter dormias, Ter. Eun. 2, 3, 81 (82): si non tangendi copia'st, id. ib. 4, 2, 10; id. Phorm. 5, 8 (9), 5.—4. To besprinkle, moisten, wash, smear, anoint (poet. and in post-Aug. prose;
syn. tingo): corpus aquā, Ov. F. 4, 790: comas tristi medicamine, id. M. 6, 140: oculos olivo, Pers. 3, 44: superiorem palpebram salivā, Plin. 28, 4, 7, § 38: caput igne sulfuris, Prop. 4 (5), 8, 86. cf.: voluit tangi lucerna mero, id. 4 (5), 3, 60: luto corpora tangit amor, Tib. 1, 8, 52.—5. To color, dye:
supercilium madidā fuligine, Juvenc. 2, 93. —II. Trop.
A. Of the mind or feelings, to touch, move, affect, impress:
minae Clodii contentionesque modice me tangunt, Cic. Att. 2, 19, 1: si vos urbis, si vestri nulla cura tangit, Liv. 3, 17, 3: Numitori tetigerat animum memoria nepotum, id. 1, 5: mentem mortalia tangunt, Verg. A. 1, 462: si curat cor spectantis tetigisse querela, Hor. A. P. 98: nec formā tangor, poteram tamen hac quoque tangi, Ov. M. 10, 614: vota tamen tetigere deos, tetigere parentes, id. ib. 4, 164: nymphas tetigit nova res, id. ib. 15, 552: nec amor nos tangit habendi, id. A. A. 3, 541: exemplo tangi, id. H. 15 (16), 326; id. F. 5, 489; Prop. 1, 9, 17: religione tactus hospes, Liv. 1, 45, 7: tetigerat animum memoria nepotum, id. 1, 5, 6: si quem gloria tangit, Sen. Hippol. 27.—B. Qs. to prick or stick one, i. e.,
1. To take in, trick, dupe; to cozen or cheat out of any thing (anteclass.):
tuom tangam patrem, Plaut. Ps. 1, 1, 118; cf.: probe tactus Ballio est, id. ib. 5, 2, 13: tangere hominem volt bolo, id. Poen. prol. 101: istis adeo te tetigi triginta minis, id. Ep. 5, 2, 40: senem triginta minis, Poët. ap. Cic. de Or. 2, 64, 257: lenunculum aere militari, Plaut. Poen. 5, 5, 7: patrem talento argenti, Turp. ap. Non. 408, 28: tactus sum vehementer visco, I am limed, caught, Plaut. Bacch. 5, 2, 39: volucres harundinibus, Petr. 109.—2. To sting or nettle any one by something said:
quo pacto Rhodium tetigerim in convivio, Ter. Eun. 3, 1, 30; cf. maledictis, Fest. p. 356 Müll.—C. Of speech, to touch upon, mention, speak of, refer to, cite:
non tango, quod avarus homo est, quodque improbu' mitto, Lucil. ap. Rufin. Schem. Lex. § 12 (p. 274 Frotsch.): leviter unum quodque tangam, Cic. Rosc. Am. 30, 83: ubi Aristoteles ista tetigit? id. Ac. 2, 44, 136: illud tertium, quod a Crasso tactum est, id. de Or. 2, 10, 43: ne tangantur rationes ad Opis, be discussed, examined, Anton. ap. Cic. Phil. 8, 9, 26: si tacta loquar, Manil. 3, 21; cf.: quid minus utibile fuit quam hoc ulcus tangere Aut nominare uxorem? Ter. Phorm. 4, 4, 9.—D. To take in hand, undertake (rare):
carmina, Ov. Am. 3, 12, 17: quis te Carminis heroi tangere jussit opus? prop. 4, 2 (3, 3), 16.Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
tangō tetigī, tāctus, ere
TAG-, to touch : ut eorum ossa terra non tangat: de expiandis, quae Locris in templo Proserpinae tacta violataque essent, L.: virgā Virginis os, O.: cubito stantem prope tangens, H.—Of places, to border on, be contiguous to, adjoin, reach : qui (fundi) Tiberim fere omnes tangunt: haec civitas Rhenum tangit, Cs.: quae (villa) viam tangeret: vertice sidera, O.— To touch, take, take away, carry off : Tetigin tui quidquam? T.: de praedā meā teruncium.— To taste, partake of, eat, drink : illa (corpora), O.: singula dente superbo, H.— To reach, arrive at, come to : provinciam: portūs, V.: lucum gradu, O.: Et tellus est mihi tacta, O.: nocturno castra dolo, O.— To touch, strike, hit, beat : chordas, O.: Te hora Caniculae Nescit tangere, to affect , H.: quemquam praeterea oportuisse tangi, i. e. be put to death .—In the phrase, de caelo tactus, struck by lightning : statua aut aera legum de caelo tacta: tacta de caelo multa, duae aedes, etc., L.—Of sexual contact, to take hold of, touch, handle : Virginem, T.: matronam, H.: si non tangendi copiast, T.— To besprinkle, mositen, wash, smear, dye : corpus aquā, O.: supercilium madidā fuligine tactum, Iu.—Fig., to touch, reach, move, affect, impress : minae Clodi modice me tangunt: animum, L.: mentem mortalia tangunt, V.: Nec formā tangor, O.: religione tactus hospes, L.— To take in, trick, dupe, cozen, cheat (old): senem triginta minis, Poët. ap. c.— To sting, nettle, wound : Rhodium in convivio, T.— To touch upon, mention, speak of, refer to : leviter unum quidque: ne tangantur rationes ad Opis, be discussed : hoc ulcus tangere Aut nominare uxorem? T.— To take in hand, undertake : carmina, O.
Origins
From Proto-Italic *tangō, nasal infix present from Proto-Indo-European *teh₂g-. Cognate with Ancient Greek τάσσω (tássō), τεταγών (tetagṓn), Old English þaccian (“to touch, pat”). More at thack, thwack.
Insular Romance
- Sardiniantangere
- Sardiniantanghere
Ibero-Romance
- Portuguesetangerfrom Old Galician-Portuguese tanger
- Spanishtañer
- Aragonesetañerse
- Galiciantanguerfrom Old Galician-Portuguese tanger
Borrowings
- Germantangieren
- Spanishtangir
Italo-Romance
- Italiantangere
- Corsicantanghje
Gallo-Romance
- Frenchteindrefrom Old French taindre
- Franco-Provençaltaignir
- Old Catalantànyer
- Bourguignontoindrefrom Old French taindre
- Normanteindrefrom Old French taindre
In English words that came into English from tangō
- taste*tastāre
- tangenttangentem
- contactcontactus
- tangibletangibilis
- attain*attangere
- contingentcontingens
- intactintactus
- tacttāctus
- tactiletactilis
- intangibleintangibilis
- contiguouscontiguus
- contingencecontingentia
- tactiontactio
- attingentattingēns
- tactustactus
- attingenceattingēns
- tacnodetactus
- attingeattingō
- contagiumcontagium