Etymologically
Log in

extend

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 04:10. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ɪkˈstend/, /ekˈstend/[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English extenden, borrowed from Latin extendere (“to stretch out, spread out; increase, prolong”),[2][3][4][5] probably influenced by Anglo-French and Old French estendre “to stretch out, increase” (modern French étendre),[3][2][6] from ex- “out” (see ex-) and tendere “to stretch”,[2][3] from the PIE root Proto-Indo-European *ten- (“to stretch”).[2] See tend.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

To value or assess land, to calculate its extent for taxation: before 1338, in Mannyng's Chronicle, in Barnhart; the early 14th century in Etymonline.[3][2] This legal sense is now historical.[7][2]

Semantic evolution

To stretch out or lengthen is from 1387, in Trevisa,[3] and by the late 14th century the word also meant to lengthen in time and to straighten an arm or wing;[2] the OED has laying out at full length from about 1386.[8] To make longer or broader in space, and the intransitive sense, to cover an area, are from the early 15th century.[2] Hoad dates the senses “enlarge the scope of” and “hold out, offer” to the 16th century.[4] To expand or become distended is from 1753.[2][8] Of a horse, to exert itself at full gallop is from 1727.[8][9] Extension and extensive first had medical senses, swelling or distention, before 1400 and before 1425.[3]

Timeline

  • before 1338 – to value land for taxation.[3]
  • 1387 – to stretch out, lengthen.[3]
  • early 15th century – to cover an area.[2]
  • 16th century – to enlarge, to offer.[4]
  • 1727 – of a horse.[8]
  • 1753 – to expand.[2][8]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. To stretch out or straighten a limb.
  2. To make longer or larger, in space or in time: extend a deadline.
  3. To reach or continue to a certain point: the land extends five miles.
  4. To offer or give: extend a welcome.
  5. To make wider in scope or application.
  6. To make oneself work to full capacity.

Word family

  • extendibility
  • extendability
  • extendible
  • coextend
  • hyperextend
  • overextend
  • extender

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  9. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin