Tee
/tiː/noun
The name of the letter T, or a small peg used to support a golf ball.
Did you know?The letter-name tee ultimately traces through Greek tau and Phoenician taw, whose sign is commonly interpreted as a mark or cross-like symbol; the golf sense developed separately in Scots.
Etymological Timeline
Late 2nd millennium BCE
Proto-Sinaitic
𐤕
“A mark-like sign, conventionally reconstructed as the ancestor of later T-shaped letters”
1st millennium BCE
Phoenician
𐤕 taw
“The letter taw, associated with a mark or sign”
Ancient Greek
Greek
ταῦ tau
“The name of the letter Τ”
1st century BCE–1st century CE
Latin
T
“The letter T, inherited from the Greek alphabet”
Middle English
English
te
“The spoken name of the letter T, transmitted through medieval French usage”
18th century
Scots/English
tee
“A small raised support or starting place for a golf ball; the golf sense is distinct from the letter-name origin”
Modern English
English
tee
“The letter T or a golf support; also, informally, a T-shirt”