tenable

Forms

tenable (plural tenables)^[1] Anglo-Norman also teinable and teniable.^[2]

Etymology

It is formed from French tenir + -able.^[3][4][5] The verb goes back to Vulgar Latin *teniō, for Classical Latin teneō (“to hold”).^[6][7] Picoche places it in a family going back to an Indo-European root meaning “to stretch”.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Wace, in the Roman de Rou (1160–74), calls a city strongly fortified and easy to hold (bien tenable), that is, able to be defended against the enemy.^[3][2]

Semantic evolution

In Old and Middle French tenable served as the verbal adjective of tenir with many senses: “that can be held or kept”, “stable”, “to be kept” of a promise (about 1160), “constant” of the heart (about 1270), “fast” of a colour; as a noun it meant a vassal holding land.^[3][9] These senses have gone.^[9] The Anglo-Norman word meant “lasting”, “defendable” and “valid”.^[2]

It survives for a position that can be defended (after 1360) and, mostly in the negative, for a place where one can stay, which appears in 1631 in Peiresc's letters.^[3][9] Of people, “that can be kept under control”, it was recorded in 1975.^[10] English took tenable from French in the 1570s, of fortresses.^[11]

Timeline

• 1160–1174 – Wace uses it of a city that can be defended.^[3]
• c. 1270 – It is used of a constant heart.^[9]
• After 1360 – Of a fortress that can be held against an army.^[9]
• 1570s – English borrows the word.^[11]
• 1627 – Intenable is first recorded.^[6][9]
• 1631 – Peiresc uses it of a place one can no longer stay in.^[3]
• 1975 – The Lexis records it of people who can be kept in order.^[10]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Where one can stay; bearable (mostly in the negative): Avec ce bruit, le bureau n’est plus tenable.^[12][13][14]
2. (figurative) That can be kept up or maintained, of a position or situation.^[13][10]
3. Of people, that can be kept quiet or under control (mostly in the negative).^[12][14][3]
4. (dated, military) That can be held or defended against the enemy.^[10][15]
5. (nautical) Where an anchor can hold.^[3]

Word family

• intenable

Related words

• tenir
• Latin teneō
• English tenable

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
3. ^ a b c d e f g h 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
4. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ Wiktionnaire (French Wiktionary), fr.wiktionary.org
6. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 13/1, 215a
8. ^ Picoche, Jacqueline (1991), Dictionnaire étymologique du français, Paris: Le Robert (Les Usuels du Robert)
9. ^ a b c d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
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 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
12. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
13. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
14. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
15. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette