tense English · revision 15193

+ Tense, a form of a verb, comes from Old French; tense, stretched tight, comes from Latin.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /tens/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ {{homograph|1|verb form}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1315|origins=la tempus}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The verb form is [[inh|enm|tens|t=time]], [[bor|fro|tens|t=time, period]] (modern [[fr|temps]]),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from [[la|tempus|t=a portion of time]] (see [[temporal]]).^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) It is a doublet of [[tempo]].^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Time, a period of time: about 1315 in the OED, the early 14th century in Etymonline; the sense is now obsolete or archaic.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The grammatical sense, a form of a verb showing the time of an action or state, is from 1388 in the OED and the late 14th century in Etymonline,^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) but Barnhart's first example, before 1333 in William of Shoreham's poems, already has it.^(Barnhart 1988) Compounds such as ''tense marker'' are from 1892.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1315 – time (obsolete).^(OED 1989)

+ * before 1333 – tense of a verb.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1388 – grammatical tense.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1892 – tense-form, tense marker.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(grammar)'' Any of the forms of a [[verb]] that show the time of the action or state, such as past, present or future.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # ''(grammar)'' A set of such forms expressing one particular time.^(AHD)

+

+ {{homograph|2|stretched tight}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1668|origins=la tendō}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The adjective is [[bor|la|tēnsus|t=stretched]], the past participle of [[m|la|tendō|t=to stretch, extend]] (see [[tend]]).^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(NODE 1998)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Stretched tight, taut: 1670 in Barnhart and the OED, the 1660s in Etymonline,^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) 1668 in Merriam-Webster.^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The figurative sense, in a state of nervous strain, is first recorded in 1821, in Coleridge.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) The verb, to stretch tight, is from 1676,^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024) and the intransitive sense, to become tense, by 1884, often as ''tense up''.^(Etymonline) In phonetics a tense sound is one articulated with taut muscles (1909).^(OED 1989)^(AHD)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1668 – tense (adjective).^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1670 – stretched tight.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1676 – to tense (verb).^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1821 – nervous, strained.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1884 – to become tense.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1909 – tense (phonetics).^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Stretched tight; [[taut]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Under mental or nervous [[strain]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Causing strain or [[suspense]]: ''a tense day''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(phonetics)'' Of a speech sound, pronounced with the muscles held taut.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To make or become tense, often with ''up''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[tensely]]

+ * [[tenseness]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[tend]]

+ * [[tension]]

+ * [[tent]]

+ * [[intense]]

+ * [[tensile]]

+ * [[tempo]]

+ * [[temporal]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}