Title
Old English titul, reinforced by Old French title, both from Latin titulus ‘inscription, title’. The word originally denoted a placard or inscription placed on an object, giving information about it, hence a descriptive heading in a book or other composition.
wiktionary
From Middle English title, titel, from Old English titul(“title, heading, superscription”), from Latin titulus(“title, inscription”). Doublet of tilde, titer/ titre, titlo, tittle, and titulus.
etymonline
title (n.)
c. 1300, "inscription, heading," from Old French title "title or chapter of a book; position; legal permit" (12c., Modern French titre, by dissimilation), and in part from Old English titul, both from Latin titulus "inscription, label, ticket, placard, heading; honorable appellation, title of honor," of unknown origin. Meaning "name of a book, play, etc." first recorded mid-14c. The sense of "name showing a person's rank" in English is first attested 1580s. Sports championship sense attested from 1913 (originally in lawn tennis), hence titlist (1913). A title role in theater is one which gives its name to the play.
title (v.)
"to furnish with a title," early 14c., from title (n.). Related: Titled; titling.
