The word 'tailpiece' is a transparent compound formed from two native English elements. 'Tail', with its ancient sense of an extremity or appendage, combines with 'piece', a word for a part or portion, which entered English via French from a probable Celtic source. The compound logically describes a component situated at the end of an object. Its most specific modern application is in lutherie, where it names the block on a stringed instrument which anchors the strings, a clear conceptual evolution from the general meaning of a final part or appendix.

Structure: tail (end part) + piece (part) - tail: From Old English tægl, tægel (a tail). A Germanic word of uncertain ultimate origin, possibly from a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to pull, drag." Its functional role is to denote the rear or end part of something. - piece: From Old French piece (piece, portion), likely from a Vulgar Latin pettia, of Gaulish origin. Its functional role is to denote a separate or distinct part of a whole.