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entretenir

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Etymology and origin of the French word entretenir

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1155 Wace, Brut More words from the 12th century
Ultimate origin
Latin teneō
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
French tenir
French entretenir
From the same root
French retenir ← tenir
French tenable ← tenir
French tenant ← tenir

Pronunciation

  • /ɑ̃.tʁə.t(ə).niʁ/[1]

Forms

entretenir[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French entre- + tenir.[2][3][4][5] Its parts go back to Latin inter (“between, among”) and teneō (“to hold”).[6][7]

Cognate with Occitan entretenir, Spanish entretener and Italian intrattenere.[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in 1155 in Wace's Brut as the reflexive soi entretenir “to support one another”, a sense now lost;[2][3][4] the Anglo-Norman Dictionary also gives “to hold each other, cling together”.[9]

Semantic evolution

At the end of the 14th century, in Froissart, it came to mean “to keep in the same state, maintain”.[2][3] About 1450 it took the sense of providing what a person needs to live, whence keeping a mistress (entretenir une maîtresse, recorded by Oudin in 1640), and since 1538 the figurative use of feeding someone with promises.[2][3][10] From 1456–67 (the Cent nouvelles nouvelles) it also meant “to converse”, a sense now carried by the construction with de and by the reflexive s'entretenir (1835).[2][3] The concrete sense “to keep in good repair” (1580, reflexive) grew out of “to maintain”.[3]

The old literal sense “to hold together the parts of a whole” was kept by the Académie until 1878 and survives in the building term entretoise.[2] The English verb entertain (late 15th century) comes from the Old French verb.[6]

Timeline

  • 1155 – Soi entretenir “to support one another” appears in Wace's Brut.[2][3]
  • Late 14th century – Froissart uses it for “to maintain”.[2]
  • c. 1450 – The Mystère du Vieil Testament uses it for providing for a person.[2]
  • 1456–1467 – The Cent nouvelles nouvelles uses it for “to converse”.[2]
  • Late 15th century – The English word entertain is first recorded.[6]
  • 1538 – Robert Estienne records a figurative sense.[10][3]
  • 1580 – First found as “to keep in good repair”.[3]
  • 1640 – Oudin records entretenir une maîtresse.[10]
  • 1800 – The derivative entreteneur is recorded for a man who keeps a woman.[2][3]
  • 1835 – S'entretenir is recorded in its modern construction.[3]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To keep (something) going, make it last; to sustain (relations, a correspondence).[11][12][10]
  2. To keep (someone) in a state of mind or a belief.[11][12]
  3. To nurse (a hope, a feeling) in oneself.[11]
  4. To keep in good repair; to maintain (a road, a car, one's fitness).[11][1]
  5. To provide for (someone)'s needs, support;[11][3] femme entretenue: a kept woman.[11][3]
  6. To talk to (someone) about something, with de.[11]
  7. (reflexive) S'entretenir: to converse, to have a talk with someone.[11][1]

Word family

  • entreteneur

Usage notes

The proverb les petits cadeaux entretiennent l'amitié “little gifts keep friendship alive” uses the sense “to make last”.[11][12]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 13/1, 212b
  6. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  7. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  8. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  9. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
  10. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
  12. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
Cite this entry

“Entretenir.” Etymologically, 14 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/entretenir. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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