tandem

See also: Tandem and tándem

English

Ponies driving in tandem

Tandem bicycle

Etymology

From Latin tandem (“(of time) at length, at last”). In English, applied humorously (by someone who knew Latin) to two horses harnessed "at length" (i.e., in a single line) instead of side-by-side.

Pronunciation

• (UK, General Australian)IPA^(key): /ˈtæn.dəm/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈtæn.dəm/, [ˈtɛən.dəm]

  • Audio (US)

    (file)

• Rhymes: -ændəm

Noun

tandem (plural tandems)

1. A carriage pulled by two or more draught animals (generally draught horses) harnessed one behind the other, both providing the pulling power but only the animal in front able to steer. [from mid 18th c.]
   • 1850-50, William Makepeace Thackeray, Pendennis, ch 3:

     Mr. Foker was no more like a gentleman now than in his school days: and yet Pen felt a secret pride in strutting down High Street with a young fellow who owned tandems, talked to officers, and ordered turtle and champagne for dinner.

2. (transferred sense) A bicycle or tricycle in which two people sit one behind the other, both able to pedal but only the person in front able to steer. [from late 19th c.]
3. (figurative) A group of two or more people, machines etc. working together; close collaboration.
4. (education) A method of language learning based on mutual exchange, where ideally each learner is a native speaker in the language the other person wants to learn.
   • 2007, Jane Woodin, “Intercultural positioning: tandem conversations about word meaning”, in Regina Weinert, editor, Spoken Language Pragmatics, Bloomsbury Publishing, →ISBN:

     Spanish and English tandem learners discuss the meaning of a given word in a semi-structured conversation.

5. (medicine) a hollow metal tube containing radioactive material, inserted through the vagina into the uterus for treatment of gynecological cancer.
   • 2007, Phillip M. Devlin, editor, Brachytherapy: Applications and Techniques, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, page 236:

     This sagittal ultrasound shows the bright signal of the tandem in a good position in the uterus.

Derived terms

• drive Irish tandem
• in tandem
• short tandem repeat
• tandem axle
• tandem bicycle
• tandem cart
• tandem engine
• tandem gait
• tandem harness
• tandem landing gear
• tandem repeat
• tandem spoke
• tandem system
• tandem trailer
• tandem wheel
• tandemwise
• tridem
• variable tandem repeat locus

 

Descendants

• → Assamese: টমটম (tomtom)
• → Bengali: টমটম (ṭomoṭom)
• → Catalan: tàndem
• → Czech: tandem
• → Danish: tandem
• → Dutch: tandem
• → Finnish: tandem
• → French: tandem
• → German: Tandem
• → Greek: τάντεμ (tántem)
• → Hungarian: tandem
• → Italian: tandem
• → Polish: tandem
• → Portuguese: tandem
• → Russian: танде́м (tandɛ́m)
• → Serbo-Croatian: та̀нде̄м / tàndēm
• → Spanish: tándem

Translations

bicycle

• Bulgarian: тандем m (tandem)
• Catalan: tàndem m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 雙人自行車／双人自行车 (shuāngrén zìxíngchē)

• Czech: tandem (cs) m
• Danish: tandem (da) c, tandemcykel c
• Dutch: tandem (nl) m
• Faroese: tvísúkkla f
• Finnish: tandem (fi), tandempyörä
• French: tandem (fr) m
• German: Tandem (de) n
• Greek: τάντεμ n (tántem)
• Hungarian: tandem (hu)
• Ido: tandemo (io)
• Italian: tandem (it) m
• Japanese: タンデム自転車 (tandemu jitensha)
• Korean: 이인용 자전거 (iinyong jajeon'geo)
• Norman: bike à deux f
• Polish: tandem (pl) m
• Portuguese: tandem (pt) m
• Russian: танде́м (ru) m (tandɛ́m)
• Spanish: tándem m
• Vietnamese: xe đạp đôi

arrangement

• Dutch: tandem (nl) m
• Finnish: tandem (fi)
• Hebrew: טַן דּוּ (he) (tan du)
• Portuguese: fila (pt) f, linha (pt) f
• Russian: танде́м (ru) m (tandɛ́m), па́ра (ru) f (pára)
• Serbo-Croatian: tandem (sh) m

Adverb

tandem (not comparable)

1. One behind the other.

   to ride tandem on a bicycle-built-for-two

   The horses were harnessed tandem.

Synonyms

• in tandem

Translations

One behind the other

• Bulgarian: един зад друг (edin zad drug)
• Finnish: peräkanaa (fi)
• Ido: tandeme (io)
• Russian: гусько́м (ru) (gusʹkóm), цу́гом (ru) (cúgom), танде́мом (tandɛ́mom) (on a bicycle)
• Tagalog: angkas (tl)

Adjective

tandem (not comparable)

1. Together; working as one.

   Their skillful tandem work made the project quick and successful.

Derived terms

• randem

Translations

together; working as one

• Bulgarian: заедно (bg) (zaedno), съвместно (bg) (sǎvmestno)
• Dutch: samen- (nl)
• Finnish: yhteistyössä, yhdessä (fi)

Further reading

• tandem on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Czech

Etymology

Borrowed from German Tandem, from English tandem, originally from Latin tandem (“at last”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈtandɛm]

Noun

tandem m inan

1. tandem

Declension

Declension of tandem (hard masculine inanimate)

	singular	plural
nominative	tandem	tandemy
genitive	tandemu	tandemů
dative	tandemu	tandemům
accusative	tandem	tandemy
vocative	tandeme	tandemy
locative	tandemu	tandemech
instrumental	tandemem	tandemy

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from English tandem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɑn.dɛm/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

tandem m (plural tandems, diminutive tandempje n)

1. tandem (vehicle, bicycle)
2. tandem (arrangement)
3. (biology) A phase in the mating ritual of dragonflies.
4. A pair, a couple, a duo.

French

Etymology

Borrowed from English tandem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tɑ̃.dɛm/

Noun

tandem m (plural tandems)

1. tandem (vehicle, bicycle)

Further reading

• “tandem”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Anagrams

• dament

Ido

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin tandem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtandɛm/

Adverb

tandem

1. (neologism) finally, at last, eventually

   Synonym: fine

Italian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English tandem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtan.dem/
• Rhymes: -andem
• Hyphenation: tàn‧dem

Noun

tandem m (invariable)

1. tandem (all senses)

Latin

Etymology

From tam (“so”) +‎ -dem (“new interpreted particle from īdem”). Compare with its earlier doublet: tamen. Both with original meaning supposedly "so(much)ever".

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈtan.dem/, [ˈt̪än̪d̪ɛ̃ˑ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈtan.dem/, [ˈt̪än̪d̪em]

Adverb

tandem (not comparable)

1. at length, at last, finally, eventually
   • 29 BCE – 19 BCE, Virgil, Aeneid 4.304:

     Tandem hīs Aenēān compellat vōcibus ultrō: [...].

     At last [Dido] – of her own accord – confronts Aeneas, to say to him: [...].

2. used also as an adverbial intensifier of interrogatives to a somewhat greater degree than -nam

Usage notes

• The particle -nam and adverb tandem (“finally”) may be added to interrogative pronouns and adverbs to add emphasis. The adverb tandem adds stronger emphasis.

Synonyms

• demum, postremo

Related terms

Latin correlatives ^(edit)

type	demonstrative			anaphoric	identity	interrogative/ relative	indefinite					negative	other
	proximal	medial	distal				relative	indefinite	universal	free choice	negative polarity
basic	hic	iste, istic	ille, illic	is	ipse, īdem	quis/quī	quisquis, quīcumque	quis, quī, quīdam, aliquis, aliquī, quispiam	quisque	quīvis, quīlibet	quisquam, ūllus, °aliquisquam	nēmō, nihil, nūllus	alius
dual						uter	utercumque	alteruter	uterque	utervīs, uterlibet		neuter	alter
place	hīc	istīc	illīc	ibī̆	ibī̆dem	ubī̆	ubiubi, ubī̆cumque	alicubī, uspiam	ubīque	ubivīs, ubilibet	usquam	nusquam, nūllibī	alibī, aliās
source	hinc	istinc	illinc	inde	indidem	unde	undecumque, undeunde	alicunde	undique	°undelibet			aliunde
destination	hūc, °hōrsum	istūc, °istōrsum	illūc, °illōrsum	eō	eōdem	quō, quōrsum	quōquō, quōcumque	aliquō, quōpiam, °aliquōvorsum		quōvīs, quōlibet	quōquam	nusquam, nūllōrsum	aliō, aliōrsum
method, means, path, place	hāc	istāc	illāc	eā	eādem	quā	quāquā, quācumque	aliquā	quāque	quāvīs, quālibet		nēquāquam, haudquāquam	aliā
manner	hōc modō	istō modō	illō modō	ita, sīc, eō modō	item, itidem	ut, quī, quō modō, quōmodo, quemadmodum	utut, utcumque, quōmodocumque	quī, quōdam modō, aliquō modō	utique	quōmodolibet	ūllō modō	nūllō modō	aliter, aliōquī, alterō/aliō modō
time	num, nunc		ōlim	tum, tunc	simul	quandō, ‡cum	cumque, quandōcumque, quandōque	quondam, aliquandō	quandōque	quandōlibet	umquam	numquam	aliās
quantity				tam	†tamen, †tandem	quam	†quamquam	aliquam		quamvīs, quamlibet
size				tantus	tantusdem	quantus	quantuscumque	aliquantus		quantusvīs, quantuslibet
quality				tālis		quālis	quālis, quāliscumque	aliquālis		quālislibet
number				tot	totidem	quot	quotquot, quotcumque	aliquot		quotlibet
order				totus		quotus	quotuscumque	aliquotus		quotuslibet
repetition				totiēns		quotiēns	quotiēnscumque	aliquotiēns		quotiēnslibet
multiplication				totuplex		quotuplex
† Turned conjunction with original meaning somewhat dissimulated ° Rare ‡only used as a conjunction, not as an interrogative

Descendants

• Sicilian: tannu

References

• “tandem”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “tandem”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• tandem in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Sihler, Andrew L. (1995) New Comparative Grammar of Greek and Latin, Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, →ISBN

Portuguese

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈtɐ̃.dẽj̃/ [ˈtɐ̃.dẽɪ̯̃]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈtɐ̃.dɐ̃j̃/

• Hyphenation: tan‧dem

Noun

tandem m (plural tandens)

1. tandem (bicycle with two seats and two sets of pedals)

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French tandem.

Noun

tandem n (plural tandemuri)

1. tandem

Declension

Declension of tandem

	singular		plural
	indefinite articulation	definite articulation	indefinite articulation	definite articulation
nominative/accusative	(un) tandem	tandemul	(niște) tandemuri	tandemurile
genitive/dative	(unui) tandem	tandemului	(unor) tandemuri	tandemurilor
vocative	tandemule		tandemurilor

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtanden/ [ˈt̪ãn̪.d̪ẽn]
• Rhymes: -anden

Noun

tandem m (plural tandems)

1. tandem
2. language exchange