atener

Forms

atener (first-person singular present atengo, first-person singular preterite atuve, past participle atenido)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin attineō (“to hold to, keep”).^[2][1][3] The Latin verb is formed ad- + teneō (“to hold”).^[4][1] Corominas treats the verb in the article on tener, among the verbs built on it.^[5] Cuervo describes it as an intensive form of that verb.^[6] Barcia derived it from the preposition a and the simple verb, while the Academy gave the Latin source.^[7]

The same Latin verb is Romanian aține (“to lie in wait”), Italian attenere, Old French atenir, Old Occitan atener, Catalan atenir-se and Portuguese ater.^[3][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Corominas's first record is a document of 1218 in Menéndez Pidal's Documentos lingüísticos.^[5] The Aragonese Fueros de Aragón (1247) use it in the sense “to keep, abide by”: Aquel qui non querra atener la conueniença “he who will not keep the agreement”.^[8]

Semantic evolution

In the 13th and 14th centuries the verb meant to maintain, keep or observe something.^[9] Alfonsine prose also used it for keeping pace with someone, and the pronominal form for keeping company: the Partidas forbid clerics to associate with gamblers.^[10] Cuervo traces the senses “to lean on, draw close” and “to keep up with someone” to the old sense “to sustain”.^[6] Nebrija recorded atenerse en voto a otro “to side with another's vote”.^[11]

The Diccionario de Autoridades (1726) knew only “to keep pace with others”, and called it old and little used.^[12] The Academy added the pronominal “to lean on, rely on” in 1869, and “to keep to, abide by” in 1899, the main sense today.^[13][14][2] Moliner notes its use in commands, telling someone to accept the consequences without complaint.^[15]

Timeline

• 1218 – first record, in a document published by Menéndez Pidal.^[5]
• 1247 – the Fueros de Aragón speak of keeping an agreement.^[8]
• 1256–1300 – the Partidas use atenerse for keeping company.^[10]
• 1270–1284 – the Estoria de España uses it for keeping pace.^[10]
• c. 1495 – Nebrija records atenerse en voto a otro.^[11]
• 1575 – a record from Chile.^[16]
• 1726 – the Diccionario de Autoridades calls the verb old and little used.^[12]
• 1869 – the Academy adds the pronominal sense “to rely on”.^[13]
• 1899 – the Academy adds “to keep to, abide by”.^[14]

Meanings

Verb

1. (obsolete, transitive) To maintain, keep or observe something.^[2][1]
2. (obsolete, intransitive) To keep pace with someone.^[2][1]
3. (pronominal, with a) To abide by, keep to: Me atengo a lo que firmamos ayer.^[2][1][15]
4. (pronominal) To rely on someone or something as the safer course.^[2][1]

Related words

• tener
• atinente
• Latin attineō
• Portuguese ater

Usage notes

It is conjugated like tener (atengo, atuve).^[1][12] The set phrase atenerse a las consecuencias means to accept the consequences.^[1][15]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Real Academia Española; Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2014–), Diccionario de la lengua española, 23rd ed., online version 23.8, https://dle.rae.es, p. s.v. atener
3. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. s.v. attinēre
4. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 5, 461
6. ^ a b Cuervo, Rufino José (1886–1893), Diccionario de construcción y régimen de la lengua castellana, vols. I–II (A–D), París: A. Roger y F. Chernoviz, p. 1, 740
7. ^ Echegaray, Eduardo de (1887–1889), Diccionario general etimológico de la lengua española, 5 vols., Madrid: José María Faquineto, p. 530
8. ^ a b Real Academia Española (2013–), Corpus del Diccionario histórico de la lengua española (CDH), version 3.1, https://apps.rae.es/CNDHE, p. s.v. atener
9. ^ Alonso Pedraz, Martín (1986), Diccionario medieval español: desde las Glosas Emilianenses y Silenses (s. X) hasta el siglo XV, 2 vols., Salamanca: Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca, p. 436
10. ^ a b c Kasten, Lloyd A.; Nitti, John J.; Gago Jover, Francisco (2002–), Diccionario de la prosa castellana del Rey Alfonso X, New York: Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies (electronic edition 2024), p. s.v. atener
11. ^ a b Nebrija, Antonio de (1513), Vocabulario español-latino, Salamanca, ed. Marina Vidal Díez (2007), Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes, p. 298
12. ^ a b c Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 1, 464
13. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1869), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 11th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de Don Manuel Rivadeneyra, p. 82
14. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1899), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 13th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de los Sres. Hernando y Compañía, p. 106
15. ^ a b c Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. atener
16. ^ Boyd-Bowman, Peter (2003), Léxico hispanoamericano 1493–1993, ed. Ray Harris-Northall and John J. Nitti, New York: Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies, p. s.v. atener