ABSTRACT
Tack An abbreviated form of tackle, ‘the equipment of a horse, harness’, from Middle Low German takel, meaning ‘equipment generally’. But tack, from French tache, was itself a word which in earlier times meant ‘a contrivance for fastening two parts together’ or ‘a hook for hanging anything on’. Since most riding tack involves fastening and hanging, the latter word may well have influenced the adoption of the shortened form. Its use as a verb is also found: ‘We go on to show how to tack-up a horse in racing equipment’ (Sporting Life 16 May 1990).
