Old English teag, "cord, band, thong, fetter," literally "that with which anything is tied," from Proto-Germanic *taugo (cognates: Old Norse taug "tie," tygill "string"), from PIE *deuk- "to pull, to lead" (cognates: Old English teon "to draw, pull, drag;" see duke, n.).Figurative sense is recorded from 1550s. Sense of "cravat, necktie" (usually a simple one knotted in front) first recorded 1761. The railway sense of "cross-beam between and beneath rails to keep them in place" is from 1857, American English. Meaning "equality between competitors" is first found 1670s, from notion of a connecting link. Tie-breaker is recorded from 1938.

Old English tigan, tiegan "to tie, bind, join, connect," from the source of tie, n.. Meaning "to finish equal to a competitor" is from 1888. Related: Tied; tying. To tie the knot in the figurative sense "form a union" is from 1707. Tie one on "get drunk" is recorded from 1944.