Etymologically
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tenter

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /tɑ̃.te/[1]

Forms

tenter[1] Old French tempter, tanter.[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin temptō (“to touch, feel; to try, test; to attack”), also written “tentō”, probably after the popular pronunciation.[4][5][2][6] The TLFi, the Grand Robert and the Petit Robert note its confusion with tentō (“to shake, agitate”), a frequentative of tendō (“to stretch”), Rey says “temptō” itself has no known etymology.[2][5][7][4] The TLFi and Wiktionary present the French verb as coming down from the Latin rather than borrowed from it.[2][1]

Compare Old Occitan temptar, Spanish tentar and Italian tentare.[8][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Oxford Psalter (first half of the 12th century) has tempter Deu, to ask God for proofs of his power without need.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

In the Voyage de saint Brendan (about 1125) it means to incite someone to a forbidden thing, and at the end of the 12th century God tente a person's fidelity; the Bible's Dieu tenta Abraham keeps this sense.[2][4][5] The secular sense “to make someone want something” is in Jean de Meun (about 1275), whence être tenté de (1623) and se laisser tenter.[2][4]

“To try, attempt” is found in the mid-13th century, tenter la fortune is in Amyot (1559), tenter fortune in 1740, and tenter de with the infinitive in 1670.[2][4] Tenter Dieu came to mean to put oneself in danger (1656), as does tenter le diable.[4][7] The old sense “to probe a wound” (about 1180) was lost in the 16th century.[4]

Timeline

  • First half of the 12th century – Tempter Deu, Oxford Psalter.[2]
  • c. 1125 – To tempt to sin, Voyage de saint Brendan.[2]
  • c. 1180 – To probe a wound.[4]
  • Mid-13th century – “To try”.[2]
  • c. 1275 – To make someone want, Jean de Meun.[2]
  • 1559 – Tenter la fortune, Amyot.[2]
  • 1623 – Être tenté de.[2]
  • 1670 – Tenter de with the infinitive.[4]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To attempt, try: tenter une expérience, tenter de s'enfuir, tenter sa chance.[10][1][4]
  2. To tempt, attract, appeal to: ce voyage me tente, être tenté de, to be inclined to.[1][2]
  3. To tempt to sin: le démon tenta Ève, tenter le diable.[7]
  4. (literary) Tenter Dieu: to court disaster, (dated) to put to the test.[7][5]

Word family

  • tentant
  • retenter
  • tentation
  • tentative
  • tentateur
  • Latin temptō
  • English tempt

Usage notes

A separate verb tenter “to cover with a tent” (1869) is derived from tente.[5][8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o 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 Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b c d e Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 13/1, 182b
  7. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  9. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  10. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)