Etymologically
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tensio

Etymology and origin of the Latin word tensio

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
Vitruvius
Ultimate origin
Latin (tendō)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin tensio
English tension

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈtẽː.si.oː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈtɛn.si.o][1]

Forms

tēnsiō f (genitive tēnsiōnis); third declension[1]

Etymology

It is from tendō “to stretch” with the suffix -tiō.[2][1][3] It is also spelled ⟨tentiō⟩.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Gaffiot's earliest citation is from Vitruvius, of tension and the cords that produce it.[4] Köbler dates Vitruvius c. 84–c. 25 BC.[5]

Semantic evolution

It meant the process of drawing tight, tension, in Vitruvius the cords for tension, and in medicine a constriction, spasm.[2][4] In Hyginus it meant the pitching of tents.[6][4] Lewis and Short call it post-Augustan and very rare.[6]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant stretching out, extension, contraction, tension, setting up.[7] British Medieval Latin used it for stretching a bow and tightness.[8] It survives in Spanish tesón and Portuguese tesão, and French tension or the Latin gave English tension in the 1530s, “a stretched condition”.[1][3]

Timeline

  • c. 84–c. 25 BC – Vitruvius uses it of tension.[4][5]
  • 1530s – English tension is recorded.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Drawing tight, tension; a spasm.[2]
  2. The pitching (of tents).[6]
  • tendicula
  • tendō
  • tendor
  • tēnsūra
  • tēnsus
  • tenta
  • tentīgō
  • tentipellium
  • tentō
  • tentōrium
  • English tension

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d 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. ^ a b c d Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  5. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  8. ^ Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press

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Cite this entry

“Tensio.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/tensio. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·