Etymologically
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attendo

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [atˈtɛn.doː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [atˈtɛn.do][1]

Forms

attendō (present infinitive attendere, perfect active attendī, supine attentum); third conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin ad- (“to, towards”) + tendō (“to stretch”), literally “to stretch towards”.[2][1][3] The verb tendō is inherited from Proto-Italic *tend-, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *ten-d(ʰ)- (“to stretch”), from the root *ten- of teneō.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citations are Terence, who asks the audience to listen in silence, and Accius, who has someone strain his ear.[2] Köbler dates Terence 190–159 BC.[5]

Semantic evolution

It was used first with animum or aurem: animum attendere was to turn the mind towards, pay attention, and aurem attendere to strain the ear.[2] Used alone it meant to listen attentively, as Cicero says “listen, Laterensis, and pay attention”, and to watch closely.[2] Lewis and Short note that the literal sense, stretching a bow towards something, appears only in Apuleius.[6]

It survives in Italian attendere, French attendre and Spanish atender.[1] English attend meant “to direct one's mind” in the early 14th century.[3]

Timeline

  • 190–159 BC – Terence asks the audience to pay attention.[2][5]
  • 170–c. 90 BC – Accius uses aurem attendere.[2][5]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of listening attentively.[2][5]
  • early 14th century – English attend is recorded.[3]

Meanings

Verb

  1. animum attendere, to pay attention.[2]
  2. aurem attendere, to listen hard.[2]
  3. To listen attentively; to watch closely.[2]
  4. To direct or turn towards.[1][6]

Word family

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press