Borrowed from Old East Slavic тълкъ (tŭlkŭ, “interpreter; interpretation, explanation”) (compare Russian толк (tolk, “sense, judgment”), толковать (tolkovatʹ, “to explain, to interpret”)). The Old East Slavic term is etymologically related to Latin loquī (“to speak”). The term was borrowed into Latvian at some point up to the 13th century and was first mentioned in 17th-century sources, already in its present form.