תיק
tik
Bag, briefcase; file, portfolio.
What does it literally mean, and what do Israelis actually mean?
What it literally means
Literal: "case, sheath."
שמתי את המחשב בתיק ויצאתי.Samti et ha-machshev ba-tik ve-yatzati.I put the laptop in the bag and left.
What Israelis actually mean
Bag; and any official case-file, "le-sagor et ha-tik" = to close the case.
המשטרה סגרה את התיק מחוסר ראיות.Ha-mishtara sagra et ha-tik me-choser re'ayot.The police closed the case for lack of evidence.
Where did this word come from?
From Greek θήκη (thēkē, "case, box, sheath", the same root survives in English "theca," "bibliothèque/discothèque"). Klein and Even-Shoshan derive Mishnaic Hebrew תיק ("case, container," e.g., the Torah-scroll case still used by Mizrahi communities) from Greek thēkē. Modern Hebrew extended it: schoolbag, briefcase, portfolio, and a *file*: police file, court case, tax file. The container→dossier extension is a well-supported internal development.
Register & social context
Universal. In bureaucratic Hebrew "tik" is not a bag at all, "niftach lo tik" means "a file was opened on him." Context decides.
Root & morphology
Loan; extended from physical case → bureaucratic file (tik chakira, tik mas, "le-sagor et ha-tik").
Influences & contact languages
- Greek· contactGreek thēkē, "case, box, sheath" (Klein, Even-Shoshan), cf. English "theca," "discothèque."
Associated places · modern location anchors
Which places are associated with this word?
2 places carry documented relationships to this word. These associations are unordered, so no traveled path is inferred.
Hear it in the wild
שמתי את המחשב בתיק ויצאתי.
Samti et ha-machshev ba-tik ve-yatzati.
I put the laptop in the bag and left.
המשטרה סגרה את התיק מחוסר ראיות.
Ha-mishtara sagra et ha-tik me-choser re'ayot.
The police closed the case for lack of evidence.
What English speakers get wrong
In bureaucratic Hebrew "tik" is not a bag at all, "the Tik" can be your tax file or an indictment. Context decides.
What lives next to this word?
Sources & review
Want to use this word? Understand it inside a full sentence: Open baba →