tacky [L18th] The origin of tacky in the sense ‘sticky’ is from the word tack [ME] ‘to fasten lightly’, or for an object that does that job, which probably came via Old French taque from a Germanic root. The origin of this word is obscure. The sense of tacky meaning ‘in poor taste, cheap’ is different, but obscure. It was first found at the beginning of the 19th century in the USA meaning a weedy horse. By the late 19th century it was applied to a poor white in some southern states, and had also acquired its modern sense. The shortening tack did not happen until the 1980s. The sense tack for equipment used in horse riding [E20th] is found earlier [L18th] for ‘equipment’ and is a shortening of tackle [ME], which also comes from a Germanic root.