pertain

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English pertenen, also partenen, perteinen and portenen,^[2][3][4] borrowed from Old French partenir (“to belong”), also pertenir, the Anglo-Norman and Old French form,^[5][6][3][7] and directly borrowed from Latin pertineō (“to extend, reach; to concern, belong”).^[5][6][3][2] The Latin verb is formed from per- (“through”) and teneō (“to hold”),^[6][8][9] from Proto-Indo-European *ten- (“to stretch”).^[6][8] The Anglo-Norman verb is recorded from 1121–25, with senses such as "to belong to", "to concern" and "to be fitting".^[10] Hoad and the Shorter Oxford trace the English verb to the stressed stem of the French one,^[7][11] and the OED notes that they partly reflect the varying stems of the Old French verb, as in contain, detain, maintain and retain.^[5] Klein points out that per- replaced the prefix Old French par-, as in peradventure.^[12] The same Latin verb gave pertinent.^[7][12]

Earliest recorded meaning

To belong to something, especially as a part or an accessory: before 1325, in the Statutes of the Realm.^[5] Barnhart and Etymonline give the first sense as "to be attached legally", in the form portenen before 1325.^[3][6]

Semantic evolution

In the Wycliffite Bible of about 1382 the verb is used of what belongs to a person as a possession or right, of what is one's care or concern, and of what relates or refers to something;^[5] these senses are recorded from the late 14th century in Etymonline too.^[6] The senses of belonging as a possession and of being a concern died out in the 19th century, while "to relate to", especially in the participle phrase pertaining to, became the main modern use.^[5][13] as pertains to, as regards, is recorded from Tyndale's New Testament of 1526.^[5] Johnson (1755) defined it simply as "to belong; to relate".^[14] In the 20th century the verb also came to mean "to apply, to be in force", like obtain.^[5]

Timeline

• before 1325 – to belong to something as a part or accessory.^[5][3]
• before 1382 – to belong to a person as a possession or right (obsolete by 1819); to be someone's concern (obsolete by 1870); to relate or refer to.^[5]
• c. 1384 – to belong as an attribute or duty; to be appropriate.^[5]
• 1526 – as pertains to, as regards.^[5]
• 1900 – to apply; to remain in force.^[5]

Meanings

Verb

1. To have reference or relevance to something; to relate: questions pertaining to the budget.^[13][4][5]
2. To belong to something as a part, member or accessory.^[4][13][5]
3. To belong as an attribute or duty; to be fitting or appropriate.^[4][13][5]
4. To apply or be in force: The same rules pertain in every state.^[5]

Word family

• unpertaining

Related words

• pertinent
• pertinence
• pertinency
• appertain
• contain
• detain
• maintain
• retain
• tenant

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
3. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
9. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
11. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
12. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
13. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
14. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.