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
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