Etymologically
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tension

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈtɛnʃn̩/ (UK); /ˈtɛnʃən/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Middle French tension or directly borrowed from Latin tēnsio (“a stretching”),[2][3][4] a noun of state from tēnsus, the past participle of tendere (“to stretch”) (see tend),[2][3] from PIE Proto-Indo-European *ten- (“to stretch”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A stretched condition, especially in the body: 1533, in Elyot's Castel of Helth.[2][5][3]

Semantic evolution

In mechanics and physics, the stress produced by stretching is from the 1680s.[3] Electromotive force, as in high-tension wires, is from 1785.[3][2] Strain of the mental powers is from before 1763,[2][5] and nervous or emotional strain from 1847.[5] A strained relationship between people or nations follows.[6][7] In psychology, tension is a state of strain from anxiety or need (1884).[5]

Timeline

  • 1533 – a stretched condition.[2][5]
  • 1680s – in mechanics.[3]
  • before 1763 – mental strain.[2]
  • 1785 – electrical tension.[3]
  • 1847 – emotional strain.[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The state of being stretched tight.
  2. Mental or emotional strain; stress.
  3. A strained relationship between people or groups.
  4. (physics) A pulling force; also voltage, as in high tension.

Verb

  1. To apply tension to.

Word family

  • tensional
  • tensionless
  • tensioner
  • hypertension
  • hypotension
  • pretension
  • overtension
  • posttension

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  7. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins