tend

English

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /tɛnd/
  • Audio (US)(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɛnd

Etymology 1

From Middle English tenden, from Old English tendan (“to kindle, set on fire”) (usually in compounds ātendan, fortendan, ontendan), from Proto-Germanic *tandijaną (“to kindle”), of unknown origin. Cognate with Danish tænde (“to kindle”), Swedish tända (“to kindle”), Gothic 𐍄𐌰𐌽𐌳𐌾𐌰𐌽 (tandjan, “to kindle”), Icelandic tendra (“to ignite”), German zünden (“to light, ignite, fire”). Related to tinder.

Alternative forms

Verb

tend (third-person singular simple present tends, present participle tending, simple past and past participle tended)

  1. (transitive, now chiefly dialectal) To kindle; ignite; set on fire; light; inflame; burn.
Derived terms

Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English *tenden, from Old French tendre (“to stretch, stretch out, hold forth, offer, tender”), from Latin tendere (“to stretch, stretch out, extend, spread out”).

Verb

tend (third-person singular simple present tends, present participle tending, simple past and past participle tended)

  1. (law, Old English law) To make a tender of; to offer or tender.
  2. (followed by a to infinitive) To be likely, or probable to do something, or to have a certain characteristic. [from the mid-14th c.]
    They tend to go out on Saturdays.
    It tends to snow here in winter.
Usage notes
  • In sense 2. this is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive.
  • See Appendix:English catenative verbs
Derived terms
Translations

See also

  • be given to

Etymology 3

From Middle English tenden, by apheresis of attenden (“to attend”). More at attend.

Verb

tend (third-person singular simple present tends, present participle tending, simple past and past participle tended)

  1. (with to) To look after (e.g. an ill person.) [from the early 14th c.]
    We need to tend to the garden, which has become a mess.
  2. To accompany as an assistant or protector; to care for the wants of; to look after; to watch; to guard.
    Shepherds tend their flocks.
    • Emerson
      There's not a sparrow or a wren, / There's not a blade of autumn grain, / Which the four seasons do not tend / And tides of life and increase lend.
  3. To wait (upon), as attendants or servants; to serve; to attend.
    • Shakespeare
      Was he not companion with the riotous knights / That tend upon my father?
  4. (obsolete) To await; to expect.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Shakespeare to this entry?)
  5. (obsolete) To be attentive to; to note carefully; to attend to.
    • Chapman
      Being to descend / A ladder much in height, I did not tend / My way well down.
  6. (transitive, nautical) To manage (an anchored vessel) when the tide turns, to prevent it from entangling the cable when swinging.
Translations

Further reading

  • tend in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
  • tend in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
  • tend at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

Albanian

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Proto-Albanian *tend-, from Proto-Indo-European *ten-d- 'to distend; draw, stretch (out)'. Cognate to Latin tendo (“to stretch (out), strain”). Present dendë with assimilation of the anlaut[1].

Verb

tend (first-person singular past tense denda, participle dendë)

  1. to stuff, cram, to compress

References

  1. ↑ Albanische Etymologien (Untersuchungen zum albanischen Erbwortschatz), Bardhyl Demiraj, Leiden Studies in Indo-European 7; Amsterdam - Atlanta 1997, p.129

French

Verb

tend

  1. third-person singular present indicative of tendre

Anagrams

This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.