tendere

Forms

tendere (first-person singular present tèndo, first-person singular past historic tési, past participle téso, auxiliary avére)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin tendō (“to stretch, extend”).^[2][3][4][1] The verb is found in nearly all the Romance languages: French tendre, Occitan tendre, Spanish tender, Portuguese tender, Sardinian tendere and Old Romanian tinde.^[3][5] The DÉRom finds cognates in every branch except Dalmatian and reconstructs a Proto-Romance verb with the senses “to hold out (something to someone)”, “to stretch taut” and “to spread out”.^[6]

The Latin verb goes with teneō (“to hold”); both come from the root Proto-Indo-European *ten- (“to stretch”), the first with a completed sense in space, the second with a lasting sense in time.^[3][2] De Vaan reconstructs a present *ten-d(h)- beside the participle *tn-to-.^[7] Cognates with the sense “to stretch” are Ancient Greek τείνω (teínō), from ⟨*tenyō⟩, and German dehnen.^[3]

Many Romance words come from the Latin past participle tē(n)sum, the source of teso.^[2] Those that keep the cluster ⟨-ns-⟩ (tensione) are learned, while tesare presupposes a spoken Latin *tensāre, with many outcomes in the dialects.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in the Novellino, at the end of the 13th century, with the sense “to spread out, unfold by pulling, so as to widen or lengthen as far as possible”.^[2][8] There a father fece tendere uno ricco padiglione “had a rich pavilion pitched”.^[9]

Semantic evolution

Pulling a thing taut led to the hunter's use, setting nets and traps;^[10][2] Dante has Tendiam le reti “let us spread the nets”, and the figurative laying of snares followed.^[10][2] Holding out a hand or arm is in Dante, and the intransitive “to strive towards an end” in Francesco da Barberino, both before the mid-14th century.^[2] Savonarola (before 1460) uses it of a colour, taste or smell that comes close to a given shade, and “to be naturally inclined” is recorded in 1855.^[2]

The derivatives followed the abstract senses: tendenza “inclination” is in Anton Maria Salvini (before 1729), and tendenzioso (1890) was called “false coinage” by Fanfani and Arlìa.^[2] Tensione “stretching” is in the vernacular Crescenzi about 1350, and took the electrical sense in 1891.^[2]

Timeline

• Late 13th century – the Novellino uses tendere of pitching a pavilion.^[2][9]
• Before 1321 – Dante uses it for holding out a hand.^[2]
• Before 1348 – Francesco da Barberino uses the intransitive “to aim at”.^[2]
• 1348–1353 – Boccaccio uses it for laying a trap.^[2]
• About 1350 – tensione appears in the vernacular Crescenzi.^[2]
• Before 1460 – Savonarola uses it of a colour or taste close to another.^[2]
• Before 1729 – Salvini uses tendenza.^[2]
• 1855 – the sense “to be naturally inclined” is recorded.^[2]
• 1890 – tendenzioso is recorded, and condemned.^[2]

Meanings

Verb

1. To stretch something flexible by pulling its ends apart, to make it taut: tendere un filo tra due alberi.^[4][11][12]
2. To tighten the strings of an instrument; to draw a bow.^[4][11][13]
3. To set nets or traps;^[4][11][13] (figurative) to lay an ambush or a trap for someone: tendere un agguato.^[4][11][13]
4. To hold out or stretch a part of the body: tendere la mano, also figuratively, to offer help;^[4][12][14] tendere l'orecchio, to listen carefully.^[4][12][14]
5. (literary) To direct, turn (one's way) in a direction.^[4][14][13]
6. (intransitive) To head in a direction: Il sentiero tende verso valle.^[4][12]
7. (intransitive) To aim at, strive for: tendere alla perfezione.^[12][14][13]
8. (intransitive) To tend, be inclined: un ragazzo che tende a esagerare.^[12][14][13]
9. (intransitive) To be on the way to changing in a given way; of colours and tastes, to come close to a shade: un verde che tende al giallo.^[4][13]
10. (mathematics) To approach a finite or infinite value.^[15]

Word family

• tendenza
• tendenziale
• tendenzioso
• tenditore
• tensione
• teso
• tesa
• tesare
• tendicatena
• tendicollo
• protendere
• sottendere

Related words

• tenda
• tensore
• tenere
• tenero
• attendere
• contendere
• estendere
• intendere
• pretendere
• stendere
• tendine
• Latin tendō

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
3. ^ a b c d Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
5. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
6. ^ Buchi, Éva; Schweickard, Wolfgang, eds. (2008–), Dictionnaire Étymologique Roman (DÉRom), Nancy: ATILF, http://www.atilf.fr/DERom
7. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
8. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975)
9. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
10. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
11. ^ a b c d Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
12. ^ a b c d e f Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
13. ^ a b c d e f g Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
14. ^ a b c d e Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
15. ^ Wikizionario (Italian Wiktionary), it.wiktionary.org