▪ I. tech, n.1 colloq. (orig. U.S.).
(tɛk)
Also tec.
Abbreviation for Technical College, Technical School (see technical a. 3 a), and Institute of Technology.
| 1906 Dialect Notes III. 161 The Boston Tech., n. phr. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. ‘The best engineering school is Cornell; the next best is Michigan; and the next, Arkansas. The Boston Tech. aint in it.’ 1911 H. Quick Yellowstone Nights iii. 63 The insufferable breed of dubs—..who.. called an Institute of Technology a ‘Tech’. Ibid., I shall have outlived the disgrace of my Tech. training. 1915 E. Wallace Man who bought London viii. 79 ‘I'm off to the {oqq}Tec{cqq},’ he said. c 1921 D. H. Lawrence Mr. Noon viii, in Mod. Lover (1934) 264 He vowed he'd go up to the Tech. with the book. 1947 Book (Christchurch, N.Z.) IX. 32, I told him no, I'd have to finish Tech, I wanted to get matric. 1969 D. Collyer in R. Blythe Akenfield iv. 94 The young people..go to Ipswich Tec. or even to the university and they learn to talk about anything. 1974 Sunday (Charleston, S. Carolina) 7 Apr. 16-c/1 Texas Tech scientists will visit drought-stricken Africa to try to improve its resources and find a cure for famine and proverty. 1980 R. McCrum In secret State x. 86 Rosie's pride would not let her admit that she..had been to the local Tech. |
▪ II. tech, n.2
(tɛk)
Slang abbrev. of technician c.
| 1942 Yank 21 Oct. 15 They're the same kind of tech chevrons. 1953 Mag. Fantasy & Sci. Fiction Nov. 30 Let the techs worry about that. 1976 Amer. Speech 1973 XLVIII. 194 They used to be called orderlies. Today, however, many of these assistants demand the title of nursing tech or emergency room tech. 1977 R.A.F. News 11–24 May 8/4 Chf Tech Mick Young..took part in a cycling expedition... Jnr Tech Rob Patrick..was a schoolboy..cycling champion. 1980 A. Skinner Mind's Eye xx. 258 He's got..a thing the other techs made him. |
▪ III. tech, n.3
(tɛk)
[Abbrev. of technology.]
1. high-tech = high-technology attrib. phr. s.v. technology 1 d; spec. with reference to a style of architecture and interior design that imitates the functionalism of industrial technology. Also (unhyphened) as n. phr. Similarly low-tech attrib. phr.
| 1972 Last Whole Earth Catalog (Portola Inst.) 247/1 It's the only high-tech home I've found at all lovable. 1978 Kron & Slesin High-Tech 1 Some people call this phenomenon ‘the industrial style’, but we call it ‘high-tech’. High-tech..is a term currently used in architectural circles to describe buildings incorporating prefabricated..building components. 1979 Jrnl. R. Soc. Arts Nov. 743/2 Late-Modernism takes the ideas and forms of the Modern Movement to an extreme, exaggerating the structure and technological image of the building beyond the point which the Modernists would have found acceptable, sometimes meriting the label ‘High-Tech’ as a result. 1980 New Age (U.S.) Oct. 36/2 A pocket calculator, a very high-tech gadget. 1981 Farmstead Mag. Winter 24/2 These solar greenhouses are often hi-tech. Ibid. 26/1 The low-tech greenhouse. 1983 Times 25 Jan. 26/7 Mrs Williams touched on such subjects as..the need for more ‘high-tech’. |
2. Chiefly attrib. = technology 1 b. rare.
| 1982 Times 6 May 17/6 (heading) Whitehall backs new tech firms. 1983 New Scientist 16 June 769/3 (Advt.), Signaal, Philips space-tech company, has developed a meteorological ground station. |
▪ IV. tech, a.
(tɛk)
Colloq. (orig. U.S.) abbrev. of technical a. techspeak [-speak], technical jargon.
| 1956 [see latent a. j]. 1974 Some Technical Terms & Slang (Granada Television), Tech run, technical run. A rehearsal by the actors in the rehearsal room to which the technical staff who will be responsible for the programme in the studio are invited to sort out technical problems. 1974 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 20 Feb. 34/9 Will Genge aim at the championship aside from his duties as tech supervisor? 1982 80 Microcomputing Feb. 330/1 This is code, jargon, techspeak, whatever. |
▪ V. tech
var. tetch, tache Obs.