The word "tee-shirt" is a compound noun that transparently describes the garment's defining characteristic: its shape. The first element, "tee," is a direct reference to the capital letter T, which the shirt's body and sleeves resemble when laid flat. The second element, "shirt," has a deep Germanic lineage, originating from the Old English scyrte, meaning a short garment, itself from a Proto-Germanic root. The term emerged in American English in the early 20th century, originally as "T-shirt," to distinguish this simple, shaped undergarment from a standard shirt with buttons and a collar. Over time, the hyphenated form "tee-shirt" became a common variant, preserving the literal, descriptive logic of the original compound.

Structure: tee (shape) + shirt (garment) tee: English, from the letter 'T', representing the shape of the garment. shirt: Old English scyrte, from Proto-Germanic skurtijǭ, meaning a short garment. It functions as the base noun denoting an article of clothing.