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intend

Etymology and origin of the English word intend

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
c. 1300
Borrowed from
Old French entendre
Ultimate origin
Latin (intendo)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ɪnˈtɛnd/[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English entenden, later intenden,[2][3] borrowed from Old French entendre (“to direct one's attention”), intendre,[3][2][4] from Latin intendere (“to turn one's attention, strain; stretch out”),[3][2] from in-, toward, and tendere, to stretch (see tend),[2][3] from PIE Proto-Indo-European *ten- (“to stretch”).[3] The spelling was altered under the influence of Latin.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

To direct one's attention to, give heed: about 1300.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The sense to have as a plan or purpose, already present in Latin, is first recorded in Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde (about 1385).[2][3] A group of senses from Latin, to stretch out, extend, intensify, existed in the 16th–17th centuries and is obsolete.[6] In modern French entendre chiefly means to hear.[3] A Germanic word for intend was ettle, from Old Norse ætla, to think, propose.[3] The intended, a future spouse, is 18th-century.[4] In Scots and Yorkshire dialect intend meant to expect or hope.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 1300 – to pay attention.[2]
  • c. 1385 – to plan, purpose.[2]
  • c. 1425 – the form intenden.[2]
  • 18th century – one's intended.[4]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. To have in mind as a plan or purpose.
  2. To design or mean for a particular use or person: the shot was intended for him.
  3. To mean or signify.

Word family

  • intender
  • intendment
  • misintend

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Intend.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/intend. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·